Michele Westmorland’s documentary revisits the long-forgotten career of artist Caroline Mytinger, who created an invaluable study of the peoples of the South Pacific through her paintings and writing. Mytinger and her longtime friend Margaret Warner left the United States in 1926 to explore the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The women returned in 1930 and Mytinger documented her time abroad with 24 oil paintings of the indigenous populations and two books that offered fascinating insights into the Melanesian cultures. While Mytinger’s attitudes and behavior toward the "primitives" of the region might make some cringe today—she compensated the subjects of her portraits with cigarettes and remarked how "one and all thought the paintings were miracles"—her work nonetheless provided important anthropological insights on cultures that were being encroached upon by destructive colonial authorities. Headhunt Revisited tracks down the descendants of several people painted by Mytinger, who share rich oral history memories of the American artist’s presence in their villages. Westmorland also appears on-camera to document her efforts to bring Mytinger’s paintings back before the public eye (they have not been widely seen since a flurry of museum exhibitions in the early 1930s). Actress Lauren Hutton reads from Mytinger’s writings on her South Pacific travels. Touching on a wide range of subjects—including art, anthropology, 20th-century women’s history, and Pacific Island culture—this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Headhunt Revisited: With Brush, Canvas & Camera
(2017) 76 min. DVD: $24.95: individuals; $90: high schools; $160: public libraries; $320: colleges & universities. DRA. Documentary Educational Resources. PPR. Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 6
Headhunt Revisited: With Brush, Canvas & Camera
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