On every continent except Antarctica, there are extraordinary indigenous peoples who adorn themselves with the wondrous ornamentation that nature avoids: multicolored clays and dyes,brilliant feathers, and other exotic elements.
But as civilization expands, it encroaches on their unique ways of life: their customs have begun to change as they are assimilated into dominant societies. To celebrate these traditions, world-renowned nature photographer Art Wolfe has traveled around the world to observe and document the people and places in Tribes, a remarkable collection of more than 120 photographs.
Using his skills as a photographer of the natural world, Wolfe turns his lens on thirty-five diverse groups--among them, the Bumi of Ethiopia, who scar their torsos with raised geometric designs; the Maasai warriors of Kenya, with their towering ostrich plume headdresses and vivid ochre dyes; the Lisu women of northern Thailand, whose indigo turbans are laden with colorful tassels and pounded silver; the men of Samoa, who tattoo their torsos and thighs in marvelous, meaningful patterns; and the Kayapo of the Amazon Basin, who paint themselves with tropical fruit dyes and wear flamboyant headdresses of parrot feathers.
But Tribes is more than a simple document of body art: it is a bold celebration of the pageantry and patterns of everyday life. With an introduction by Harvard anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis and a foreword by Iman, Tribes offers a rare glimpse into the world's most fascinating cultures. Taken tribe by tribe, the variety of adornment and cultural experience Art Wolfe has discovered is astonishing; taken as a whole, the collection of photographs is a testimonial to the power of human creation and spirit.
In his introduction to this striking portrait collection, anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis writes, "In the beginning we were all tribal," a simple yet resonant observation that helps explain the depth of our response to the glorious displays of body ornamentation so lovingly documented here. Not only were our ancestors tribal, but they were also intimately connected to nature, a bond still celebrated in select cultures in their use of feathers, bone, seeds, and leaves in various forms of adornment. In tropical climes, where skin can be exposed to the elements, body painting, tattoos, scarification, and piercings are still used to create elaborate designs signifying religious and social identities. It is a tragedy that so few, yet a miracle that any, tribal cultures survive, a harsh reality that imparts a sense of respect and concern to this elegant volume, in the photographs themselves, in the thoughtful foreword by former model Iman, and in the capsule histories of the tribes portrayed from Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and North and South America. Donna Seaman
"Art Wolfe's photographs are a superb evocation of some of the most breathtaking spectacles in the world." -- Sir David Attenborough
Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, photographer Art Wolfe has worked on every continent and in hundreds of locations. His stunning images interpret and record the world's fast-disappearing wildlife, landscapes and native cultures, and are a lasting inspiration to those who seek to preserve them all. Wolfe's photographs are recognized throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition and perspective.
"Art Wolfe's work tells a story that is overwhelming, breathtaking, and vast." - Robert Redford
Wolfe's photographic mission is multi-faceted. His vision and passionate wildlife advocacy affirm his dedication to his work. By employing artistic and journalistic styles, he documents his subjects and educates the viewer. His unique approach to nature photography is based on his training in the arts and his love of the environment. His goal is to win support for conservation issues by "focusing on what's beautiful on the Earth." Hailed by William Conway, former president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, as "the most prolific and sensitive recorder of a rapidly vanishing natural world," Wolfe has taken an estimated one million images in his lifetime and has released over sixty books, including the award-winning "Vanishing Act", "The High Himalaya", "Water: Worlds between Heaven & Earth, Tribes", "Rainforests of the World", "The Art of Photographing Nature", as well as numerous children's titles. Graphis included his books "Light on the Land" and the controversial "Migrations" on its list of the 100 best books published in the 1990s.
"There's a stunning clarity and vibrancy in Art Wolfe's wildlife portraits, which are careful, often haunting, compositions." - The New York Times Book Review
In 2000 he published his signature work "The Living Wild", which has more than 70,000 copies in print worldwide and garnered awards from the National Outdoor Book Awards, Independent Publisher, Applied Arts and Graphis. In 2001 WP published the award-winning "Africa", and in 2003 "Edge of the Earth,Corner of the Sky", which captured significant publishing awards, including IPPY (Independent Publishers), Benjamin Franklin (Publishers Marketing Association), and National Outdoor Book Award. Wolfe's latest books are "Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey" (2009), "Alaska, 10th Anniversary Edition" (2010), and "Dogs Make Us Human" (2011).
"Art has the broadest range of excellence of any nature photographer I know." - Galen Rowell
Art Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Photographic Society of America's Progress Medal for his contribution to the advancement of the art and science of photography; he has been awarded with a coveted Alfred Eisenstaedt Magazine Photography Award as well as named Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year by the North American Nature Photography Association. The National Audubon Society recognized Wolfe's work in support of the national wildlife refuge system with its first-ever Rachel Carson Award. He is a member of Canon's elite list of renowned photographers "Explorers of Light" and Microsoft's Icons of Imaging. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for monograph retail products as well as advertising. Numerous North American and international venues have featured his traveling exhibits.
"The intensity, texture, and strange density of Art Wolfe's photographs are truly astonishing." -- Peter Matthiessen
Wolfe has ventured into the world of television production with "On Location with Art Wolfe," "Techniques of the Masters" and as host of "American Photo's Safari", which aired on ESPN 1993-1995. In May 2007 Art made his public television debut with the high definition series "Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge," an intimate and upbeat series that offers unique insights on nature, culture, and the new realm of digital photography. The thirteen-episode first season garnered American Public Television's 2007 Programming Excellence Award--unprecedented for a first season show. The thirteen-episode second season garnered five Silver Telly Awards, their highest honor, for outstanding achievement. It has been broadcast more than 180,000 times in the United States alone and is seen in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
"It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed." -- Art Wolfe
The son of commercial artists, Wolfe was born on September 13, 1951 in Seattle and still calls the city home. He graduated from the University of Washington with Bachelor's degrees in fine arts and art education; in 1999 he was named to the UW Alumni Association's magazine list of 100 "most famous, fascinating and influential" alumni of the 20th century. Wolfe spends nearly nine months a year traveling, carefully researching the locations as well as pre-visualizing the photographs he wants to take. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and serves on the advisory boards for the Nature's Best Foundation and Bridges to Understanding. He donates performances and work to environmental and educational groups every year; his lecture series is also in demand for corporate conventions and trade shows. Wolfe maintains his gallery, stock agency, production company and digital photography school in the SODO district of Seattle.
Dear Sirs, You can find very good pictures of some tribes all over the world but texts are very poor. As I mentioned there are some tribes but where are others? It was a disappointment for me because I couldn't find a lot of tribes from Africa and Asia which I hoped to find. Therefore I would recommend to find other books in tribes if you are looking for real book and information in it.
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