CAROL S. IVORY
Professor, Department of Fine Arts
email: ivorycs@wsu.edu

RESEARCH

My research focuses on the arts made by the Polynesian people of the Marquesas Islands, today part of French Polynesia http://www.marquises.pf. Specifically, I document the stages of change in Marquesan art in the post-contact period (1774-present) and place that art within the framework of the contemporary historical, economic, and social forces of each period. My research has taken four main avenues: 1) the reading of hundreds of primary sources, such as journals, logs, and reports from visitors to the Marquesas; 2) the collection and study of illustrations, drawings, and photographs from all periods of Marquesan history; 3) the location, documentation, and analysis of Marquesan objects in museums and private collections world-wide (I've been to more than 80 museums, and have to date recorded and photographed over 2,500 Marquesan pieces); and 4) collaborative work in the Marquesas with contemporary Marquesan artists and cultural leaders.

CURRENT RESEARCH My current research is focused on several projects:
1) development of a book on Vaekehu, high ranking Marquesan woman (c. 1823-1901) and her family.
2) development of book on historical drawings from the Marquesas (with Marie-Noelle Ottino-Garanger).
3) continued research on and attendance at the Marquesan Festivals of Art. The next one will take place in December 2015 on the island of Hiva Oa.
4) continued research on history of tapa and on contemporary arts in the Marquesas.
5) continued interest in and reseach on indigenous Taiwanese art and Polynesian art.

I am currently curating an exhibition on Marquesan art and culture for the musée du quai Branly, Paris (scheduled October 2015)

I am fortunate to be able to travel to the Marquesas at least once a year to lecture on board the Aranui, a mixed freighter/cargo ship that goes between Tahiti and the Marquesas every three weeks. I hope to go again on the Aranui in 2014.

I would like to acknowledge the granting agencies that have supported my work at various times (American Council of Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, Washington State Arts Commission, Washington State University, and University of Washington). I would also like to especially recognize the on-going support of CPTM, the owners of the Aranui.

 

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