Reconfiguring an African Icon: Odes to the Mask by Modern and Contemporary Artists from Three Continents

A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines the influence of the African mask on modern and contemporary art.

Works featured in this installation are highly creative imaginings of the iconic form of the African mask. The installation is a collaboration between the Museum's departments of Nineteenth Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art and Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

In many world cultures masks allow performers to adopt a wide range of characters and emotions. They can take on an endless variety of forms: human or animal; sacred or profane; dramatic or comedic. They are not meant to be experienced in isolation but rather as an integral component of celebrations, from the epic cultures to Dogon elders in Mali to popular holidays such as Halloween or Day of the Dead and numerous Mardi Gras carnivals held throughout Europe and Latin America.

It is well known that African art forms, most notably the mask, were a source of inspiration for modern artists such as Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain, and Henri Matisse in the early 20th century. The aesthetic of the African mask thus contributed to a redefinition of the Western visual lexicon. Considered especially alluring were its accessible reimagining of the human face and its aura of inscrutability.

This selection of works from Africa, Europe and the United States attests to the enduring relevance of the African mask in modern and contemporary art. The five artists represented here - Lynda Benglis, Willie Cole, Calixte Dakpogan, Romuald Hazoume, and Man Ray - have all used the African mask as a catalyst for creative exploration. Their works reflect on a century of viewing the mask as a disembodied form - that is, as an object in a museum removed from its original performative context.

African masks are often thought of as carved wooden artifacts, but they are an inherently complex and dynamic art form: to fully appreciate them, one must view them in motion, animated by costumes, dance and music; the various media added to their surfaces are thought to imbue them with mystical powers; and the influence of foreign materials and techniques have led to a continuous redefinition of the genre.

Responding to the sheer physicality of the mask while alluding to its spiritual quality, each of the works in this exhibition pays tribute to the powerful legacy of the African mask and its infinite potential for reinvention.

The exhibition opened on March 8th and will be on display on the 1st floor gallery between the Michael C. Rockefeller and Lila Acheson Wallace wings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art website
Image: Portait Mask (Gba gba), Cote d'Ivoire, Baule peoples, before 1913. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Adrienne Minassian, 1997

Man Ray, "Noire et Blanche" 1926
Gelatin silver print, 8.75 x 10.75 inches
Private Collection, New York

Romald Hazoume, "Ibedji (Nos. 1 and 2) Twins" 1992
plastic can, raffia, cowries and acrylic, 16.5 x 11.75 x 3.875 inches
courtesy CAAC - The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva

"African Artistry in Iron and Clay" at The Birmingham Museum of Art

A new exhibition at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama features approximately fifty-five works of African ceramics and iron art, including vessels, musical instruments, currency objects, sculpted figures, staffs, tools and ritual objects. The objects come primarily from the countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 


Iron and clay are extremely important materials and media in West African culture. They are valued not only for their practical use in the fabrication of essential tools, weapons, currency, and vessels, but also for their spiritual potency. Objects made of iron and clay play important roles in rites of passage, healing rituals, divinations, governance, religious practice, and conflict mediation. Many myths and legends recount the importance of the blacksmith and the potter in African society. 


Throughout Africa, blacksmiths are generally born into their occupational specialty, and may only marry women from other blacksmith families. While the men smelt and forge iron, the women in their families specialize in ceramics, creating vessels for daily use and ritual objects. It is fire that transforms raw clay and iron ore into the secular and sacred objects that are essential to the well-being of African communities. This specialized occupational knowledge is jealously guarded by these men and women, who acknowledge that it was originally imparted by a divine source, usually as part of a sacred covenant. 


The ceramics in this exhibition are only loan to the Museum from The Dick Jemison Collection. Jemison, an artist who divides his time between Birmingham and the American Southwest, is interested in tribal arts around the world. The iron objects in the exhibition were given to the Museum in 2004 by Mort and Sue Fuller, of New York. 


The exhibition is on view through March 2011. 


Source: The Birmingham Museum of Art

Zemanek-Münster's 62nd Tribal Art Auction This Saturday

Zemanek-Münster's 62nd Tribal Art Auction takes place this Saturday, September 4, 2010.

The auction features a substantial amount of authentic old objects from Africa, America and Oceania. Over 500 objects are featured in the catalog, with highlights from Gabon, Nigeria, Mali, the Ivory Coast, Congo and Indonesia.

A special section is reserved for the region of East Africa, and in particular, Tanzania. Some 200 objects, all a part of the former exhibition "Tansania - Glaube, Kult und Geisterwelt" are included. The exhibit, shown in 2007 in the "Kultur-und Stadthistorische Museum" of the city of Duisburg and in 2009, in the "Haus der Volker," Schwaz (Austria), displays works from the private collection of Ralf Schulte-Bahrenberg.

Schulte-Bahrenberg (1934-2010) was responsible for organizing local jazz festivals in his native Germany. He was best known for his role as co-organizer of the German concerts of pop music sensations- The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

The tribal art auction house Zemanek-Münster, is located in Würzburg, Germany. Established in 1978, they are Europe's only auction house specializing exclusively in non-European, fine tribal art. Holding four auctions a year, Zemanek-Münster features a variety of works of the Luba, Baule, Lobi, Senufo, Songye, Fang and Punu tribes, as well as works from Oceania.

The auction takes place Saturday at 2 pm at their location in Würzburg.

Source: Zemanek-Münster

African Aesthetics Presented in Context at University of Memphis

A new permanent installation, "Africa: Visual Arts of a Continent," gives locals another reason to enjoy the Art Museum of the University of Memphis.

Coordinated with an academic program to debut this fall — Arts of Africa and the African Disapora — the gallery space will stage annual exhibits that look at said art through the combined disciplines of art history and anthropology.

The first show, "Art in the Land of Sundiata," presents several dozen pieces from the Martha and Robert Fogelman Collection of African Art, a gift of nearly 200 pieces given to the university in 2008. Its title refers to Sundiata Keita, the revered 13th century Malian leader dubbed the "Lion King." As such, displayed objects reflect the cultures, beliefs and aesthetics of people linked historically to the Mali Empire, specifically the Dogon, Bamana, Senufo and Marka.

The idea, according to AMUM assistant director Lisa Francisco Abitz, is to provide a more appropriate frame of appreciation and understanding, where African art can be "interpreted as a broader cultural thing and not so focused on art for art's sake."

Exhibit curator and UofM associate professor of art history Earnestine Jenkins agrees and says that a prevailing issue for contemporary curators is how to properly present African art. Many pieces, for example, are architectonic — they are works of art that also function architecturally, such as the Dogon house post on display.

"One of the problems with exhibiting African art is that in the past it was done out of context," says Jenkins. "Also, you cannot talk about African art without talking about the history — colonization, slavery, race — because museums' major collections today came after colonization. So you have to connect those things."

A related exhibit, "Sogo Bò: The Animals Come Forth," which runs through Sept. 11 in the museum's adjunct gallery space, looks at a single cultural event — puppet masquerades by youth societies in the south-central Ségou region of Mali. Nearly 20 objects and video footage of a festival are featured; they come from a more extensive exhibit curated by Mary Jo Arnoldi of the Smithsonian Institution.

A museum exhibitions class put together the show, an appropriate gesture given that Sogo Bò is a youthful form of expression. As class instructor and UofM Egyptian art curator Patricia Podzorski notes, the traditional event and its highly colorful, fantastic creations are at once entertainment and commentary, where the young can satirize society in a way that is not destructive to the culture.

"Because it is run by young persons, change is actually built into it," she says. "Questioning authority is built into it. Tweaking the nose of social convention is appropriate. It's an opportunity for youth to act out in a sanctioned format."

"Art in the Land of Sundiata" and "Sogo Bò: The Animals Come Forth"

"Sundiata" is on display for one year, and "Sogo Bò" shows through Sept. 11; Art Museum of the University of Memphis, 142 Communication Fine Arts Building. Call 678-2224, or go to amum.org.

Source: www.gomemphis.com

By: Bill Ellis

Bonhams in New York City During Tribal Week

A major highlight of NYC Tribal Week is the Bonhams auction on Thursday May 13th, 2010 at 1pm.. The preview of the auction as already began, but there is still time: on Tuesday, May 11th and Wednesday May 12th from 10am to 5pm the lots can be examined. There is even an extended viewing period after the auction on Thursday, May 13th from 10am-1pm.

Bonham's Fine African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art sales feature unique and traditional works from sub-Saharan Africa, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Indonesia and Australia that were created in the early 20th Century or earlier, and works from Central and South America that were created prior to European Contact in the 16th Century. Made by the artists for religious, ceremonial or secular use within their culture, objects in the sale include figurative sculpture, masks, reliquaries, shrines, architectural ornaments, clubs, shields, vessels, stools, neck rests, instruments, body adornment and many daily utilitarian objects.

Recognizing the strong interest in African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art on both the East and the West Coasts, Bonham's auctions are held twice annually in New York and San Francisco. Our New York sales feature a diverse selection of premier items while the San Francisco sales showcase more affordable works of art. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies each auction and is distributed worldwide to collectors, dealers and institutions. A public preview precedes each auction where guests are invited to view artwork first-hand and encouraged to ask questions.



A highlight from the sale (pictured above) is an important Bamana Ntomo Mask from Mail with an estimated value of $50,000 to $70,000.

For the full catalogue of lots on sale, click here.

Topeka Gets a Taste of African Art

“Africa Everyday,” the latest exhibit on display at the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery in Topeka, Kansas, showcases a rich collection of African Art representing eight tribes: Maasai from Kenya, Asante from Ghana, Baule and Dan from Ivory Coast, Loma from Liberia, Mende from Sierra Leone and Dogon and Bamana from Mali.

Running from January 15th through February 19th, the items on display have been used by generations of tribespeople. Art and artifacts used for special ceremonies and for everyday are presented.



For example, the exhibit features elder’s regalia worn by former Topeka Zoo Director Gary Clarke, when he was initiated as an honorary elder by the Maasai. Clarke, of Topeka, has taken more than 140 safaris to Africa.


Other works of art on display include a wedding necklace made by mothers in the Maasai tribe to give to their bride-to-be daughters and an ax used in tribal construction.

“It’s fun to marvel at the differences and similarities between our society and societies thousands of miles away,” according to Sabatini Gallery director Sherry Best.


The Sabatini Gallery, open during regular library hours, is the oldest public art collection in Topeka. The gallery has been developing an African-themed collection since 1957.