Art History (Selected Works)

Rebbelib Navigation Chart

A traditional map used for navigation across the ocean

Rebbelib Navigation Chart Locations

made in marshall islands

Rebbelib Navigation Chart Time Period

Around the late nineteenth century

Rebbelib Navigation Chart’s Instructions

Could not be understood outside of the family that created it

Marshall Islands Location

Micronesia

When Micronesia Settled

around 1300 BCE

pilot vessel

a canoe that led the way for other boats

master navigators rely on

the form and rhythm of ocean swells, behavior of fishing birds, the movement/colors of clouds, and the currents

rebbilib charts were made of

cowrie shells, dried midribs of coconut fronds, and natural fibers

mattang charts

a stick chart used for teaching young navigators how swell patterns interact with the islands

dunung

swell patters

meddo charts

a rebbilib chart used for local navigation (specific areas)

rebbelib chart

a navigational chart used for large areas

on a rebbelib chart, the backround chart

is a stable framework for the other sticks

on a rebbelib chart, the bent sticks represent

dunung (and wind/water currents)

on a rebbelib chart, small shells

denote specific islands NOTE - spacing and relative position of the islands does not relate to their “actual” location

why rebbelibs were developed

to support fishing and travel

why traveling between islands important to Micronesian navigators

trade, political relations, familial connections, and/or provisioning

charts _____ go on canoes

would not

brining a chart on the canoe was ____ luck

bad

two stick charts ___ the same

are not

the specific rebbelib chart in the Art reproductions booklet was collected in

1892

the specific rebbelib chart in the Art reproductions blooket was collected by

Edward Henry Meggs Davis

Edward Henry Meggs Davis’s boat

HMS Royalist

Edward Henry Meggs Davis’ profession

British naval captain

141/700< objects from Oceania

are in the British museum

rebbelib navigation cart

untitled #13 (trees and reflections)

untitled #13 (trees and reflections) dimensions

48 × 59 in. (121.9 × 149.9 cm)

untitled #13 (trees and reflections) artist

Dawoud Bey

when untitled #13 (trees and reflections) was made

2017

a line made by walking

when a line made by walking was made

1967