The return is particularly significant as it marks the first time that an American collecting institution has independently initiated the return of a secret/ sacred object to Australia.
Secret/sacred objects of the type being returned are typically used in religious ceremonies by central Australian Aboriginal men. They are considered to be physical manifestations of sacred ancestral beings and as such have great spiritual power.
The National Museum of Australia has been providing advice and assistance to the Seattle Art Museum and will store the object temporarily while consultations proceed regarding its final repatriation.
“The National Museum of Australia is honoured to have been able to assist in this way. The Seattle Art Museum has shown great responsibility, as well as compassion and respect for Aboriginal culture, in deciding to repatriate this object. It is to be commended for its initiative and leadership,” said Craddock Morton, Director of the National Museum of Australia.
According to custom, central Australian mens’ secret/sacred objects are not allowed to be viewed by uninitiated men, or women and children. Their public display is a cause of great distress to Aboriginal elders, who have been seeking their return for many years.
"We appreciate The National Museum of Australia's guidance through this return process," said Maryann Jordan, Seattle Art Museum's Interim Director. "The Seattle Art Museum is one of the few places in the U.S. for Australian Aboriginal art to be seen and discussed. We have a deep respect for Aboriginal heritage and understand the importance of this object to the culture that created it. We are proud to return it to its rightful home."
The Director of the National Museum of Australia’s Repatriation Program, Dr Michael Pickering, said that the object will be housed in a restricted store while the Museum consults with central Australian Elders and their representatives to determine the culturally appropriate management and return of the object.
The object was first collected in 1970, and has been in the Seattle Art Museum’s collections since 1971 but has never been publicly exhibited
"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", released in July 1979, is the debut single from Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album. Written by Jackson, the track was the first solo recording over which he had creative control, and his debut single released under Epic Records.
Jackson's first single to top the U.S. charts in seven years, the song was certified gold within a few months of release. The musical piece also won Jackson his first solo Grammy and American Music Awards. Garnering critical acclaim for its composition, the track is considered the first song to showcase Jackson's talents, both as a singer and songwriter
"Rock with You" was released on November 3, 1979, as the second single from Michael Jackson's fifth solo LP and breakthrough album,Off the Wall. Written by Heatwave group member and songwriter Rod Temperton, the song helped Jackson score one of the first Billboardnumber-one singles in the 1980s, as well as one of the last big hits of the disco era. It reached number one on both the pop and R&Bsingles chart and became one of Jackson's most-loved songs. A video for the song shows a smiling Jackson dancing in a sequined suit against a background laser.
One of the most satisfying things about words is their black-and-whiteness, the neat, austere simplicity of their process. Letters on a page are so direct, so literal. The connection between writer and reader is intimate, personal and immediate: a moment of thought held, suspended, in a few marks, then reinvigorated. It has remained the same since cuneiform was pressed into wet clay with a reed. Words on a page have no backstage, no sleight of hand, nowhere to hide the workings. Words are what they say they are. You read a sentence and you can see how it was made; you can trace the thought. You know how it’s done — just as long as it’s prose.
With poetry, however, the rules don’t apply. It’s a fish of a very different colour. On the face of it, it looks the same; the letters, the words, are familiar. But it isn’t what it appears. By some internal magic, poetry hovers above the page, over the words. It happens outside the black-and-white lines, as if the writing were clairvoyant, calling spirit meanings, voices from beyond.
from Poetry is the cornerstone of civilisation | AA Gill
Photo by Olivier Gilet
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