Tribes - Hardcover

Wolfe, Art

3.95

19 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517703688 ISBN 13: 9780517703687

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 1997

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On every continent except Antarctica, there are extraordinary indigenous peoples who adorn themselves with the wondrous ornamentation that nature avoids: multicolored clays and dyes,brilliant feathers, and other exotic elements.

But as civilization expands, it encroaches on their unique ways of life: their customs have begun to change as they are assimilated into dominant societies. To celebrate these traditions, world-renowned nature photographer Art Wolfe has traveled around the world to observe and document the people and places in Tribes, a remarkable collection of more than 120 photographs.

Using his skills as a photographer of the natural world, Wolfe turns his lens on thirty-five diverse groups--among them, the Bumi of Ethiopia, who scar their torsos with raised geometric designs; the Maasai warriors of Kenya, with their towering ostrich plume headdresses and vivid ochre dyes; the Lisu women of northern Thailand, whose indigo turbans are laden with colorful tassels and pounded silver; the men of Samoa, who tattoo their torsos and thighs in marvelous, meaningful patterns; and the Kayapo of the Amazon Basin, who paint themselves with tropical fruit dyes and wear flamboyant headdresses of parrot feathers.

But Tribes is more than a simple document of body art: it is a bold celebration of the pageantry and patterns of everyday life. With an introduction by Harvard anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis and a foreword by Iman, Tribes offers a rare glimpse into the world's most fascinating cultures. Taken tribe by tribe, the variety of adornment and cultural experience Art Wolfe has discovered is astonishing; taken as a whole, the collection of photographs is a testimonial to the power of human creation and spirit.

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About the Author:

Art Wolfe is one of the most celebrated nature photographers living in the United States today. His acclaimed photography is featured frequently in periodicals such as Life, National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, and Smithsonian. Among his many books are the award-winning Light on the Land and Migrations, as well as The Art of Photographing Nature, Wild Cats of the World, and In the Presence of Wolves.

Deirdre Skillman received a B.A. in Russian studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She is currently the senior photo editor at Art Wolfe's studio in Seattle, Washington.

David Maybury-Lewis is professor of anthropology at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1960. In 1972, he and his wife, Pia, founded Cultural Survival, an organization that defends the human rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.

Born in Somalia, Iman is a supermodel and the founder of her own eponymously named cosmetics company, which features products designed exclusively for women of color.

From Booklist:

In his introduction to this striking portrait collection, anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis writes, "In the beginning we were all tribal," a simple yet resonant observation that helps explain the depth of our response to the glorious displays of body ornamentation so lovingly documented here. Not only were our ancestors tribal, but they were also intimately connected to nature, a bond still celebrated in select cultures in their use of feathers, bone, seeds, and leaves in various forms of adornment. In tropical climes, where skin can be exposed to the elements, body painting, tattoos, scarification, and piercings are still used to create elaborate designs signifying religious and social identities. It is a tragedy that so few, yet a miracle that any, tribal cultures survive, a harsh reality that imparts a sense of respect and concern to this elegant volume, in the photographs themselves, in the thoughtful foreword by former model Iman, and in the capsule histories of the tribes portrayed from Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and North and South America. Donna Seaman

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