Visions of an Enduring World: Jacoulet and the People of Oceania

Aesthetic versus Utility

Jacoulet’s work focuses on the details of language, clothing, adornments, and physiognomy that detail the complex cultures of the Pacific, capturing ethnographic and historical images of Pacific people and occasionally the objects they use daily. Objects of use in the Pacific were often produced with great intention, some bearing designs and motifs with a religious and spiritual nature. Yet in Jacoulet’s portraits these objects are often absent or become purely ornamental, furthering Jacoulet’s aesthetic ideals of paradisal leisure.

How do you think the aesthetic objects in Jacoulet’s portraits compare to original material objects of the Pacific Islands?

VENDEUSE DE MANGUES. MARIANES (MANGO SELLER)
Paul Jacoulet
Japan, c. 1939
Woodblock print
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Child
1982.133.19


















WATER VESSEL
Vanuatu
Coconut shell wrapped in vegetable fiber rope and marked with white paint
Gift of Harlan Givelber
1990.53.39















 

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