Monday, December 8, 2014


BILL CASKEY
February 20, 1947 – November 20, 2014

Bill Caskey, partner in the show promotions company Caskey Lees, passed away on Thursday, November 20, 2014, due to complications from Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease.  He was 67 years old.

Bill was born to Dorothy and Elmer Caskey in 1947.  He spent his early childhood in Ashland, KY and later attended high school in Dayton, OH.  Under his mother’s guidance, Bill frequented local antiques auctions and acquired several valuable pieces.  These early antiquing years fueled a lifelong love of antiques & art.

In 1969 Bill moved to Toronto where he met his first wife, Sandra.   Together they ran Red Lion Antiques, The Collectors Book Shelf and The Indian Gallery.  During this time, Bill also opened Horizon Enterprises, to produce antique shows across Canada.

In 1982, Bill returned to the US and settled in California with his second wife Elizabeth and stepson Brandon.  His daughter Netanya joined them in 1991.  Together Bill and Liz founded Caskey Lees, an antique fair production house, and also exhibited their own materials in antique shows across the country.  

In 1985, they created The Los Angeles Folk & Ethnographic Art Show, an art fair that more closely reflected the material they were drawn to and dealt in.  This endeavor became the first of the Tribal & Textile Arts Shows that eventually expanded from Los Angeles to San Francisco and New York.  It marked the beginning of a thirty-year career producing high-end specialized art fairs across the country.  In addition to Tribal Art Shows, Bill and Caskey Lees produced the Arts of Pacific Asia Shows (Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York), the Los Angeles Modernism Show and The New York Ceramics Fair, amongst others.  Bill Caskey and Liz Lees have been long time EAC members and supporters.  

In 2009 Bill began experiencing some lapses of memory and was eventually diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in May 2010.  Bill loved the antique business. He was so passionate about the shows that he developed, and very proud to see how well respected they had become.  He was devastated when he realized that he could not continue with the work that had, since the age of nineteen, been his passion. 

Bill is survived by his wife Elizabeth Lees, step-son Brandon, daughter Netanya, her husband Kris, his grandsons Maxx and Logan, his mother Dorothy Caskey, former wife Sandra, brothers Steve and Kevin and their families.  
  
Donations can be made in Bill’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, Southern California Chapter, http://www.alz.org, 4221 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90010, or with Jennifer at (323) 930-6246.  The Alzheimer’s Association not only funds much needed research, but also funds programs to support patients and their families as they deal with this devastating illness.   At his request, no funeral services are planned.

Monday, November 3, 2014

TRIBAL ART DISCUSSION

DAYAK TROPHY SKULL DISCUSSION BY MARK JOHNSON
Posted on the Pierre Nachbaur Art website/blog.  Intelligent comments welcome.
http://www.pierrenachbaurart.com/the-dayak-trophy-skull-discussion-by-mark-johnson/#more-284

ART SHOWS

SAMURAI: JAPANESE ARMOR
October 29, 2014 to February 1, 2015
LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.lacma.org/samurai#about-the-exhibition

ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE, AND ISLAMIC ART
October 29, 2014 to December 28, 2014
Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
www.laislamarts.org

KONGO ACROSS THE WATERS
October 26, 2014 to January 25, 2015
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ
http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/

WOVEN LANGUAGES:
Indonesian Ikat Textiles from the Peter ten Hoopen Collection
Museo do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.museudooriente.pt/2097/linguagens-tecidas.htm#.VFetbShibgS

CHINA'S LOST CIVILIZATION: THE MYSTERY OF SANXINGDUI
October 19, 2014 to March 15, 2015
Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA

TEXTILES OF TIMOR, ISLAND IN THE WOVEN SEA
September 7, 2014 to January 4, 2015
Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/textiles-timor-island-woven-sea

AFRICAN COSMOS: STELLAR ARTS
August 24, 2014 to November 30, 2014
LACMA, Hammer Bldg. Level 3, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/african-cosmos-stellar-arts

EAST OF THE WALLACE LINE:
MONUMENTAL ART FROM INDONESIA AND NEW GUINEA
August 15, 2104 to February 1, 2015
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.
http://artgallery.yale.edu/

NOTEWORTHY NEWS ARTICLES

*Note: LA Times articles can take a few extra seconds to appear after viewing generic browser page.

DISCOVERER OF LUCY SKELETON HOPES TO FIND WHAT MADE US HUMAN
40 years after Lucy find, what next?
By Deborah Netburn.  LA Times, November 1, 2014.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-lucy-qa-20141101-story.html

SYRIAN OFFICIAL HONORED FOR WORK PROTECTING ANTIQUITIES
By Graham Bowley.  NY Times.  October 25, 2014.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/syrian-official-honored-for-work-protecting-antiquities/

WHERE MUD IS ARCHAEOLOGICAL GOLD, RUSSIAN HISTORY GREW ON TREES
By David M. Herszenhorn.  NY Times, October 19, 2014.

IN INDONESIA, TOO, ART WAS BORN
Cave illustrations on Sulawesi Island are found to be about as old as Europe's earliest examples.
By Deborah Netburn.  LA Times, October 11, 2014.

ANTIQUITIES LOST, CASUALTIES OF WAR
In Syria and Iraq, trying to protect a heritage at risk.
By Graham Bowley.  NY Times, October 5, 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/arts/design/in-syria-and-iraq-trying-to-protect-a-heritage-at-risk.html?_r=0

TRACKING ART COLLECTION'S FUTURE
An American living in Kenya aims to protect his famous home and gallery from being razed by a rail line.
By Christopher Goffard.  LA Times, September 28, 2014.
http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-kenya-donovan-house-20140928--story.html

STATES EYE TOUGHER IVORY LAWS AMID POACHING SURGE
Environmental groups target California in an effort to stop illegal killing of elephants.
By Marianne LeVine.  LA Times, September 2, 2014.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ivory-bans-20140902-story.html

OLDEST OBJECT IN MIDDLE EAST DISCOVERED IN WOMAN'S GRAVE
By Charles Q. Choi.  Yahoo News, August 22, 2014
http://news.yahoo.com/oldest-metal-object-middle-east-discovered-womans-grave-153626759.html

Friday, August 1, 2014

GERMAN PUBLICATION INFO

"KUNST & KONTEXT": A GERMAN PUBLICATION ON ART AND CULTURE
Publishes a German translation of "A Lynching in Paris" in issue #7 (2014).
On line version to follow later this year.

For information on this publication, please go to:
www.kunst-und-kontext.de

SCIENCE NEWS ARTICLE

FIRST PANTS WORN BY HORSE RIDERS 3,000 YEARS AGO
Oldest known trousers found in Central Asia.

By Bruce Bower.  Science News.  May 30th, 2014

For direct link, please go to:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/first-pants-worn-horse-riders-3000-years-ago

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

TRIBAL ART BLOG RECOMMENDATION

BRUNO CLAESSENS TRIBAL ART BLOG
African Art- Research. Publications. Exhibitions. Auctions. Discoveries. Opinions. Objects.

Intelligent and timing commentary on the tribal art market.

For the direct link, please go to: http://brunoclaessens.com/

ART STORIES

FISHERMAN NETS 4,000 YEAR OLD PAGAN FIGURINE
Nikolay Tarasov pulls Bronze Age artifact, carved in bone and said to be worth more than its weight in gold, from Siberian river.

By Pete Thomas.  Grind TV.  May 27, 2014.

For the complete article, please go to:

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

ART RELATED ARTICLES

MUMMY MENAGERIE:
Bowers Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA

Review by Craig Nakano.  Los Angeles Times.  April 6, 2014.
For a direct linke to the article, please go to:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-ca-animal-mummies-20140406,0,4042581.story#axzz30JOy4Afl


MORE LAWS, LESS TREASURE:  Tight restrictions on export and ownership of artifacts is leaving the world a poorer place.

Op-Ed by Adam Wallwork.  Los Angeles Times.  April 7, 2014.
For a direct link to the article, please go to:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-wallwork-antiquities-law-downside-20140407,0,2487941.story#axzz30JOy4Afl


FLORAL JOURNEY:  The clues are in the beads.  Floral Journey offers an absorbing glimpse of Native Americans' struggle.
Autry National Center of the American West, Los Angeles

Review by Christopher Knight.  Los Angeles Times.  April 13, 2014.
For a direct link to the article, please go to:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-ca-knight-beadwork-floral-journey-review-20140413,0,7839199.story#axzz30JOy4Afl


GOLDEN RULE:  The gilded power of Byzantine art dazzles in both earthly and divine form in the sweeping exhibition "Heaven and Earth"  
Getty Villa, Los Angeles.

Review by Christopher Knight.  Los Angeles Times.  April 20, 2014.
For a direct link to the article, please go to:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-knight-byzantine-review-20140420,0,7776757.story#axzz30JOy4Afl

Thursday, March 6, 2014

RELATED ARTICLES

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER
A journey to the heart of New Guinea's Asmat tribal homeland sheds new light on the mystery of the heir's disappearance there in 1961.
By Carl Hoffmann.  Smithsonian Magazine, March 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/What-Really-Happened-to-Michael-Rockefeller-180949813/?no-ist


BOOK REVIEW: MODERN OBSESSION WITH PRIMITIVE ART
Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman
Reviewed by Philip Smucker.  Asian Times Online, March 7, 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-04-070314.html


CLOVIS GENOME SETTLES DEBATE ON INDIGENOUS AMERICAN LINEAGE
Past Horizons: Adventures in Archeology, February 14, 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2014/clovis-genome-settles-debate-on-indigenous-american-lineage


HARVARD GETS ITS CHINESE JADE ARTIFACT BACK
The artifact disappeared in 1979 and was recovered half-way across the world.
Boston Magazine, January 22, 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2014/01/22/harvard-art-museums-chinese-artifact/#.Uv4n4Tsy_UU.facebook


NEW DATES FOR ATAPUERCA CAVE SITE
Archeology Magazine, February 11, 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/1825-140211-spain-homo-antecessor


ISRAEL REVEALS EERIE COLLECTION OF NEOLITHIC 'SPIRIT' MASKS
Ahead of Purim, 12 relics of 9,000-year-old ancestor worship from Judean Desert, Hills to go on display at Israel Museum for first time.
By Ilan Ben Zion.  The Times of Israel, March 5, 2014

For the direct link to the online article, please go to:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/eerie-neolithic-masks-to-make-israel-museum-debut/

Friday, January 24, 2014

ACADEMIA.COM RESEARCH PAPER

INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS OF THE WORLD
By Robin M. Wright

For the direct link, please go to:
https://www.academia.edu/1972191/INDIGENOUS_RELIGIOUS_TRADITIONS_OF_THE_WORLD

Sunday, January 5, 2014

NEWS ARTICLES RELATED TO TRIBAL ART


ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH OLDEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT EVER FOUND
For the direct link, please go to:


THE TRIBAL ART MARKET: LESSONS FROM AFRICA
For the direct link, please go to:


POLYNESIAN PEOPLE WERE USING BINARY 600 YEARS AGO
For the direct link, please go to:


DENVER MUSEUM TO RETURN TOTEMS TO KENYAN MUSEUM
For the direct link, please go to:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH OLDEST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT EVER FOUND
For the direct link, please go to:
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/06/24/archaeologists_unearth_oldest_musical_intstruments_ever_found/


THE TRIBAL ART MARKET: LESSONS FROM AFRICA
For the direct link, please go to:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/371014-the-tribal-art-market-lessons-from-africa/


POLYNESIAN PEOPLE WERE USING BINARY 600 YEARS AGO
For the direct link, please go to:
http://gizmodo.com/polynesian-people-were-using-binary-600-years-ago-1484852181?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews