Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden

Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden. . The artworks in this garden were created on location in 1994 by ten artists from the Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea. After six months of chopping and chiseling, socializing and sight-seeing, the artists left not only the artworks you see here today, but also a rich collection of memories and friendships with the local community., The artists came from six villages in the Kwoma and Iatmul societies, and for most, it was their first opportunity to work outside Papua New Guinea. Ranging in age from twenty-seven to seventy-four, the artists typically worked in trans-generational teams, combining the extensive mythic and artistic knowledge of the older men with the physical strength of the younger men. All the artists were recognized as the most accomplished master carvers in the Sepik River region. , Integral with the actual carving, the artists collaborated with a team of American and Papua New Guinean landscape architects to develop the site plan for the garden. The goal was to reinterpret Papua New Guinean artistic and design perspectives within the new context of a western public art environment. , The project grew from an idea proposed by the artists Naui Saunambui and Yati Latai to Jim Mason during his anthropological fieldwork on the Sepik River in 1989. Interested in returning something to the people who generously supported his research, Jim Mason returned to Stanford and began organizing and fund-raising under the sponsorship of the Anthropology Department. Four years later he returned to Papua New Guinea to assemble the group of artists, escort them back to the United States, and oversee the project to its completion. , The process of creating the garden was a unique meeting and interaction between communities. For the locals, it was a rich opportunity to develop friendships with the artists and learn about the concerns and life experiences that motivate their works. For the artists, it was an unforgettable journey into the misty jungles of Americana - an expedition that put them face-to-face with the strange rituals and esoteric ways of the Americans., You saw us and you thought we were from a wild area - the jungle. You didn't know us and we didn't know you. But now we know each other and we are brothers. Now we are friends. , Kwospi Marek, closing ceremony