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Steven C. Chiaramonte was born in San Jose, California and for the most recent thirteen years has lived in the Salt Lake valley. Early in 1992 Chiaramonte was among the first unofficial westerners to visit the Asmat area of Irian Jaya on the island of New Guinea. His visit followed closely the 1991 removal of a thirty year restriction on visitation by outsiders. Returning to the area of alluvial swamp and thick jungle in 1993, 1995 and twice in 1998, he has traveled extensively by canoe along jungle rivers and on foot where possible to visit with the people and understand their art. Having no formal training in either art or anthropology, Chiaramonte has developed a deep admiration for the indigenous people of Irian Jaya and their union with the natural world in which they live. He has made several important gifts of Asmat art to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts following his visits and as guest curator, established the first exhibit of Asmat works to be shown in Salt Lake City in 1994. A private businessman and corporate executive for more than twenty years, professional demands prevented expected visits to Asmat in 1996 and 1997. Chiaramonte and his S.O. Angela Keeney made two trips to Asmat in 1998, and returned in the fall of 1999 and again in spring 2000. They intend to return on a yearly basis each fall. |