Manual/ Issue 18—Nature

In our [Chamoru] culture, inafa’maolek is our most important value. It roughly translates as “to make good for each other.” Inafa’maolek teaches us that all things are connected and related, including people, environments, and all species. Because all things are interwoven, we must always act with guinaiya and respetu, love and respect.

—Craig Santos Perez, introduction

Manual 18 explores human interactions with the natural world, from frank awe and deep appreciation of the immediate moment to eternal questions and ancient unfinished business. This issue of Manual complements the exhibition Being and Believing in the Natural World, co-curated by Gina Borromeo, Wai Yee Chiong, and Sháńdíín Brown, on view at the RISD Museum now through May 7, 2023.

From the Files

Brianna Turner protects the protector through conservation analysis of a carving of Vishnu

Double Takes

Josiah Luis Alderete and Stephen Parman stare right back at an Aztec spider monkey

Gina Borromeo and Wai Yee Chiong rattle a sistrum in honor of the bovine deity Hathor

Benedict Gagliardi and Paola Demattè sing the praises of a Chinese lei vessel embellished with cicadas

Object Lessons

Sháńdíín Brown reflects on how Diné innovation and self-reliance shine in a silver squash-blossom necklace

Jen Thum ponders the nature of authenticity as she uncovers the secrets of an ancient ibis mummy

Phillip E. Bloom explains how a vivid depiction of Buddha worked to assemble the spirits of water and land

Artists on Art

k. funmilayo aileru declares It Was Not a Fight, It Was a Massacre

Melanie Yazzie walks in beauty

Portfolio

A natural progression of works from the collection

How To

Carmen Arnold-Biucchi pays attention to the animal symbolism on ancient Greek coins

RISD Museum Interim Director
and Manual Editor-in-Chief: Sarah Ganz Blythe
Editor: Amy Pickworth
Co Editor: MJ Robinson
Art Director: Derek Schusterbauer
Graphic Designers: Brendan Campbell, Ella Lawless, and Mina Kim
Digital Designers: Brendan Campbell and Jack Tufts
Rights Manager: Sionan Guenther
Photographer: Erik Gould
Printer: GHP