II. Collecting history: "Today"

The museum's current collecting activities are related to the 'Mimika-project'. The aim of this project is to bring into the present day the collection and research activities undertaken in the past, and to present the public with the results. A research plan forms an important part of the Mimika Project.^[19]

The chief objective of this plan, which is entitled 'Kamoro woodcarving in diachronic perspective', is to investigate the recent revival of woodcarving in the region. As part of this examination, visual changes will be recorded, the sources of such changes traced, and the interaction between internal and external processes determined. Old and more recent material will be compared in order to register the relative degrees of permanence and change.

The following hypothesis occupies a central place in the research:
'despite unfavourable circumstances, Kamoro culture, seen through its woodcarving (which, outsiders have claimed, has 'died out' since the 1950s), has revealed a remarkable talent for using its own characteristic features to adapt to change'.

Recente developments

Following upon the successful Asmat Art Festival the Kamoro have organised the Kamoro Art Festival annually since 1998. ^[20] This event enables them to draw attention to their art even at the international level.
 

Wood carving intended for sale during the Kamoro Art Festival.(Photo: Travel Indonesia)

In 2000 and 2002 this festival provided the impetus for adding examples of recent woodcarving to the RMV collection. ^[21] This carving is partly traditional, partly innovative in character. When selecting new acquisitions, the museum has paid special attention to the following criteria:
- the quality of the items;
- the way their design and significance connect with that revealed in the existing collection;
- change and innovation.

An additional motif in the collection of modern woodcarving is to make the acquaintance of the best of the present woodcarvers, and to collect examples of their work. A collection of objects, emphasizing the distinghuishing charactaristics of the works of the individual artists, can then be extended in the future, which would permit the museum to present works by individual woodcarvers in a diachronic manner.
Here, we would try to show that each woodcarver has his own style, while still working within the general framework of the 'Kamoro style'. This would also allow us to establish (by analogy with the museum collection of Asmat woodcarving assembled by Prof. A.A. Gerbrands in 1960-1961) to what extent artists repeat their own work exactly, or introduce small variations each time.

The collection assembled in 2000, contains forty-four objects, mostly of recent manufacture. They were acquired during the festival at Pigapu, in the Art Centre of Timika, and in one or two villages. ^[22]
Most of the items are woodcarvings, including not only recently made ceremonial objects in traditional style, but also innovative works (for example, a three-dimensional portrayal of a masked figure), and works originating in tradition, but including new elements (for example, an ancestor board with Christian symbolism). A striking object in this latter group is a spirit pole containing a new element: the Indonesian flag in red and white has been incorporated into the openwork-carved pennant.
A unique item among the newest acquisitions is the central section of the former facade of the Art Centre in Timika, entirely decorated with carving. This facade, made in 1994, was available for purchase because it was about to be replaced by a new one.
Another remarkable item is the dugout canoe donated by the festival organisors. This fills a gap in the existing collection, and also constitutes an essential addition in terms of contextual significance: in the watery landscape of the Mimika region, the dugout canoe has always been a characteristic aspect of the culture. Besides constituting an indispensible means of transport, the canoe (together with other kinds of object) has also had a ceremonial function.

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