Here to Stay, at the Neuberger

For those unfamiliar with that hidden gem called the Neuberger Museum, below is portion of an article by Benjamin Genocchio from the January, 2009 New York Times:


So much attention is focused on temporary exhibitions throughout the region that we often forget that many museums are constantly collecting wonderful things. Every now and then we get an opportunity to sample the best of these acquisitions through collection shows like the two currently at the Neuberger Museum.

The Neuberger received its first donation of African art when it opened back in 1974. Since then, further significant donations and occasional acquisitions have turned the museum into a major repository of African art. To reflect this, in 2007-8, the museum reinstalled 83 of the most beautiful works from its collection, along with 17 long-term loans, in a larger space with specially designed display cases, cabinets and columns. For those who have not yet seen the exhibition, here’s some encouragement: It looks spectacular.

The works are grouped according to geographical areas from northern to southern Africa, or the other way around depending on which end you enter the show. But within that arrangement the museum’s African art consultant-curator, Marie-Thérèse Brincard, has brought out certain subjects and themes, including masks and headdresses; symbols of political office; and the human figure. Lots of wall labels and text help you identify what you are looking at.

The virtue of thematic groupings is that they help illustrate connections between art and artists across the continent. For instance, several headdresses, masks, amulets and other ritualistic objects here represent animals believed to have symbolic powers in African cultures, among them the antelope, snake and the crocodile. Two undated headdresses from Mali — each of which represents an antelope and is made of wood and fiber — are especially evocative and beautiful.

But just as importantly, the thematic groupings remind us of something else: that in Africa, with almost 1 billion people speaking more than 1,000 languages spread across 57 countries, culture and art differ from place to place.

Compare, for instance, about two dozen tiny wooden figures, each carved by a different artist, representing ancestors, family members and gods from various regions of Africa. An extraordinary diversity of styles and facial features is evident among the figures, which are installed together in a pyramidlike display toward the end of the show.

Elsewhere in the exhibition is an unusual, beautifully carved wooden equestrian figure from Mali, dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. Horse-owning was a sign of privilege and power in West Africa, suggesting that this sculpture might represent a wealthy village priest, headman or possibly even a foreign invader, warrior or emissary. Either way, it is a visually striking work of art.

“African Art Reinstallation,” continuing, at the Neuberger Museum of Art, 735
Anderson Hill Road, Purchase.
Information: neuberger.org
or (914) 251-6100.

The museum is a short ride form New York City and I highly recommend a visit.

Daniel Rootenberg
Jacaranda Tribal