Abstract

In Vanuatu, commoditization and revitalization of culture and the arts do not necessarily work against each other; both revolve around value formation and the authentication of things. This book investigates the meaning and value of (art) objects as commodities in differing states of transit and transition: in the local place, on the market, in the museum. It provides an ethnographic account of commoditization in a context of revitalization of culture and the arts in Vanuatu, and the issues this generates, such as authentication of actions and things, indigenized copyright, and kastom disputes over ownership and the nature of kastom itself.

“A fine piece of work… This book addresses a range of important areas that anthropologists and art historians will find fascinating, including issues around repatriation, the art trade, concepts of property and ownership, and cultural revivalism.” • Graeme Were, University of Queensland

“A useful case study of the development of ‘customary’ art in northern Vanuatu.” • Lamont Lindstrom, University of Tulsa

Hugo DeBlock is a Guest Professor at Ghent University and The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium. He has carried out extensive fieldwork in Vanuatu, and his most recent research focuses on visual anthropology, film, and representation in Vanuatu, Zanzibar, and Tanzania.