Pacific Pattern

A lavishly illustrated survey of Pacific fiber art, with a stunning compilation of contemporary, archival, and museum images—an indispensable sourcebook for artists, craftspeople, designers, and architects.

Many of the most appealing and flamboyant designs of the human imagination have been expressed in the form of patterns. Nowhere is this more evident than in the South Pacific, which is home to some of the most innovative and inspirational patterns in fabric and fiber: an ever-changing story in which the islanders have reacted to the changes brought by contacts with Europe or by contemporary Western popular culture. Using natural fibers taken from local plant resources, such as coconut palm or pandanus leaves, and contemporary materials, including unraveled plastic sacking and lengths of shiny video tape, patterns of astonishing creativity and color are woven, bound, knotted, plaited, rubbed, or stamped.

Pacific Pattern provides a visual journey through the history of the Pacific, the techniques associated with fiber and fabric, and their cultural relevance to the people. It is the first book to reach beyond the ritual domain to encompass patterns in the everyday sphere, including the traditional patterns found in floor coverings, cooking containers, or storage baskets and the use of fiber art in architecture and interiors. 327 color illustrations.

Susanne Küchler is Reader in Anthropology at University College, London. She has undertaken research and teaching in the Pacific, the United States, Germany, and Britain, and has written on art, memory, and sacrifice. Graeme Were is Lecturer in World Art in Collections at New York University in London and a Research Fellow at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Glenn Jowitt is a New Zealand-based photographer who has spent over twenty years recording the peoples and craftwork of the Pacific.