An excerpt from the MoMA exhibition program. The excerpt reads:
The works of art in this exhibition were collected by Michael C. Rockefeller during two trips to the Asmat region of New Guinea.
Michael Rockefeller first went to New Guinea as a member of the Peabody Museum (Harvard University) expedition to the Baliem Valley in the interior of the island. Because of his interest in art he decided, while there, to make a trip to the Asmat people of the southern coast in order to gather objects for the Museum of Primitive Art of which he was a Trustee.
His first visit to the Asmat was in the Summer of 1961. He returned in the Fall of that same year.
In gathering works, in photographing people, in taking extensive field notes, Michael Rockefeller’s purpose was to record and preserve the art of a disappearing culture, to document the context of its creation, to understand its creators.
This exhibition is one of the fruits of his labors.
Museums – Museum of Primitive Art, 15 West 54th Street – Asmat Art Exhibitions, also re book, 1962-1971. Nelson A. Rockefeller personal papers; Projects – Series L; Rockefeller Archive Center.
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