"Art of Central Africa" at Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore

Congo River: Arts of Central Africa is now on display at the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore. Known as the 'river that swallows all rivers," the Congo today links the nations of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Gabon. Drawing from the Musee du quai Branly and other European collections of African art, Congo River: Arts of Central Africa is the first exhibit of its kind to be held in Southeast Asia. 

Central Africa is home to various Bantu-speaking peoples with a shared past. The artistic heritage of this region has often been studied as the art of disparate groups of unrelated cultures. These cultures are nevertheless linked by themes that stretch across a region that is 5,000 times the size of Singapore. Themes include heart-shaped masks, reliquary figures for ancestor veneration and female representations. 

The exhibition links diverse cultures as well three modern nations, whose rich artistic traditions are explored. The show features beautifully crafted sculptures, masks and ancestor figures, and highlights their importance in ceremonies, rituals, and dances. The visual power of these objects have long impressed collectors and artists, and the exhibition also displays works by Pablo Picasso, who in the early 20th century was strongly influence by African art as he developed his modernist style. 

A full range of programs for families, adults and students will be held in conjunction with the exhibition. 

Source: Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore

"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