Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

Pieces of Cloth, Pieces of Culture: Tapa from Tonga and the Pacific Islands.
Addo, Ping-Ann, Ph.D. 2004.

Pieces of Cloth, Pieces of Culture is a catalogue of contemporary and antique tapa (bark cloth), mainly from Tonga, from an exhibit that debuted in Oakland in 2004. The focus of the exhibit was a large (16' x 24') tapa made especially for this exhibit by Tongan women living in the San Francisco Bay Area, shown with tapa cloths from the collection of the Department of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences. Text includes essays on the cultural significance and history of tapa cloth, tools and materials used, and the process of making tapa, as well as information on the Bay Area Tongan community and interviews with the artists. Published by the California College of the Arts in partnership with the California Academy of Sciences.

50 pages, 34 color plates, 44 black & white photographs. Soft cover $10.

CONTENTS

Foreword
Sonia BasSheva Mañjon, Ph.D.

Curator's Note
Ping-Ann Addo

Message from the Tonga Consul General, San Francisco
The Honorable Tevita Kolokihakaufisi

Tapa at the California Academy of Sciences
Russell Hartman

Introduction: Treasured Textiles and Transnational Tongan Communities

Chapter 1: Ngatu in Oakland: New Cloth, New Song, New Associations

Catalog

Chapter 2: Tongan Communities, Arts, and Artists in the San Francisco Bay Area

Artists' Statements and Portraits

Chapter 3: Encountering Tapa in the Pacific Islands

Chapter 4: Tongan Arts as a Transnational Culture System

Ordering information: CAS Department of Anthropology