On the occasion of World Art Day this April, I felt compelled to delve into the realm of indigenous art, particularly that of our people in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. During a visit to Bentonville, Arkansas, a few months back, I stumbled upon a treasure—a rare Sepik art book, tucked away in a charming vintage bookstore. Its uniqueness and the journey of the artist documented in this book are truly worth sharing.
Stepping into this Bentonville bookstore for the first time, I was unsure of what I might find. But my excitement peaked when I stumbled upon the art section, particularly the books on Oceanic art and Papua New Guinean Art. The unexpected discovery of this rare book, a testament to the history of my Sepik people, in a small town in the United States, was a delightful surprise.
The book's design cover caught my eye, for I can recognize Sepik designs anywhere in the world. The book is titled Sepik Diary, it is a limited edition by Australian artist Frank Hodgkinson. This book was forwarded by the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. The artist's remarkable journey in a dugout canoe, along with a window into the rich history of Sepik and Papua New Guinea.
The Sepik River of Papua New Guinea is acknowledged as one of the great centers of primitive art. It is probably the richest province of primitive art in the world. The incredible variety of its styles easily matches West Africa, and even today, the delineation and cataloging of these styles continue as scholars grope their way through huge European and American collections.
Sepik Diary speaks for itself as the work of an artist of rare ability, perception, and integrity. At home and fascinated to the point of obsession with landscapes, situations, and people far removed from the inspirational norms of most Western contemporary artists, he has responded with a visual, artistic, and literary statement of unique sympathy and excellence.
Frank Hodgkinson's abstract expressionist paintings have been shown in major European and American museums.
Though there is a sense of abstraction, the expression in this diary is vividly real. Through his fever of seeing and observing, the richness and diversity of place, people, and living tradition are urgently transposed into a truly graphic experience. The prose and the sketches are both lyrical and descriptive, exposing an artist's vision of a culture so vital and so different from any Western aesthetic experience.
Frank Hodgkinson collected artifacts for many years, but it was not until 1976, while judging the National Arts Awards in Papua New Guinea, that he had the chance to fly to Wewak and spend some days in the Sepik-Maprik area. Intrigued by a sound pitched so high as to split the eardrums, arrested by the massed stridulation of dragonflies along the banks of the Sepik, he determined to paint that noise and explore the river in greater depth. The following year, he returned as artist-in-residence at the National Arts School, and with his wife Kate and design lecturer Stalin Jawa, he canoed from Pagwi to the Sepik delta in the Bismarck Sea.
His diary of that rugged experience celebrates an exhilarating journey among a people of prolific creativity. I love how books can help us discover our rich artistic history as well as serve as a link to seeing what life was like in the past.
Works Cited:
Abramson, J.A. “The ‘Third Style’ of Sepik River Art.” Artforum, Artforum, 26 Sept. 2023, www.artforum.com/features/the-third-style-of-sepik-river-art-213642/.
Hodgkinson, Frank. “Sepik Diary, Limited Edition.” AbeBooks, Reid Books, 1 Jan. 1984, www.abebooks.com/9780949361011/Sepik-Diary-Limited-Edition-Hodgkinson-0949361011/plp.