Connecting Caroline with Contemporary Artist Jeffry Feeger
I had the pleasure of seeing Jeffry Feeger, a contemporary artist from Papua New Guinea, perform live at Feather in New York this July. It also gave me the opportunity to interview him about the collaboration of Headhunt Revisited and his work in Art Stret Gallery’s “One World – Two Visions” exhibition.
In his own words, Jeffry shares why he believes bringing Caroline’s paintings back into public view is important and how he sees the connection to his beautiful portraits. There are marked differences between Jeffry’s work and Caroline’s – a span of almost 100 years, gender difference and most significant, Caroline was a white American and Jeffry is Papua New Guinean. What they share though, their dedication to documenting the unique culture, creates a conversation that defines time.
How relevant to contemporary Papua New Guinea do you feel the cultural evolution illustrated by the way both artists capture their “heads” is? Do you think the comparison will have historical significance in the future?
Announcing “One World-Two Visions” Collaboration
From Great Depression to Great Recession
Caroline Mytinger, an adventurous artist who traveled to Melanesia to paint the portraits of the indigenous culture of the 1920’s. Caroline returned to the U.S. in 1930 to have her first exhibition in New York of 25 stunning oils. Although there were more exhibition venues for the following 5 years, the Great Depression took its toll on the ability to tell her story. So it has also been with Headhunt Revisited, the years of the Great Recession forced me to put the project on hold.
I am happy to share with you that Headhunt Revisited has new life and new developments!
“One World – Two Visions” is the collaboration with Jeffry Feeger, a Papua New Guinean artist that will give a voice to talented contemporary artists of the remarkable country. So far, Jeffry has created 4 acrylic on canvas pieces that were inspired by Caroline. You can view all 4 pairings here on the Headhunt Revisited site.
In “Top Town Friends” this couple run a transit guest house at top town area Alotau, Milne Bay. The man originates from Samarai Island – where Caroline’s painting was done in 1929. He offers tours of the surrounding islands on his boat. He is well recognized for his support of the local tourism industry and for his knowledge of the history and stories that make up Milne Bay.
On July 11th, I will be traveling to New York to see Jeffry Feeger perform at Feather, a new musical fusing art, music and film. Please join me in the newest leg of Headhunt Revisited journey and “Like” the Facebook page. I will be sharing updates on the progress of the post-production of the documentary film, book and exhibition.
“IOMAI” by C. Mytinger
