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Joanna Ostapkowicz, PhDCurator, Americas Collections
Collections responsible for:North and South America, Caribbean On our site:World Cultures Gallery, Americas Specialist interests:My primary research interests are in the arts of the Pre-Hispanic Caribbean, with a focus on resource utilisation (specifically wood and cotton) and craft specialisation. Other areas of regional interest include the Pacific Northwest Coast – where I have previously worked on a number of archaeological projects. Key publicationsOstapkowicz, Joanna, 2005, A Port to the World: Native American Collections at the Liverpool Museum, American Indian Arts Magazine, Spring 2005, 30(2): 66-75; 96. Cooper, Martin, M. Solajic, G. Usher and J. Ostapkowicz, 2003, The application of laser technology to the conservation of a Haida totem pole, Journal of Cultural Heritage, 4(2003):165-173. Solajic, Maja, M. Cooper, T. Seddon, J. Rupell and J. Ostapkowicz, 2002, Colourful feathers: multidisciplinary investigation of the Amazonian featherwork from the ethnographic collection at the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (NMGM) - initial results. In The Conservation of Fur, Feather and Skin, Margot M. Wright, ed., pp. 69-78. Ostapkowicz, Joanna, D. Lepofsky, R. Schulting and A. McHalsie, 2001, The Use of Cattail (Typha latifolia L.) Down as a Sacred Substance by the Interior and Coast Salish, Journal of Ethnobiology, Vol 21(2). Ostapkowicz, Joanna, 1997 To be seated 'with great courtesy and veneration': Contextual aspects of the Taíno Duho. In Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean, pp. 55-67, Fatima Bercht, Estrellita Brodsky, John Alan Farmer and Dicey Taylor, eds., Monacelli Press and Museo del Barrio, New York. Current research projectsI am currently principal investigator in the ‘Pre-Hispanic Caribbean sculptural arts in wood’ project, supported by Getty Foundation and British Academy (2007-2009). The project brings together scholars in the diverse fields of art history, scientific archaeology, botany and conservation sciences with the aim of establishing a chronological framework for over 50 key wooden sculptures, alongside studies into their material components (e.g., the species of wood selected and resins used) and assessments of the techniques used to carve and finish them. The study of three Taíno cotton artefacts, supported by the Leverhulme Foundation (2003-2006), is nearing completion, with a publication in preparation. Email:Contact Joanna Ostapkowicz now Postal Address:World Museum Liverpool |
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