October Issue 2000
The North Carolina Museum of Art Presents Designing in Raffia: Kuba Embroideries from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
How do rough-fibered palm leaves become silky smooth overskirts, elegant hats and geometrically patterned textile panels? The Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) know how, and the artistry of these men and women is explored in the North Carolina Museum of Art's exhibition Designing In Raffia: Kuba Embroideries from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, on display Oct. 21, 2000Jan. 7, 2001.
The exhibition showcases the Museum's small collection of outstanding Kuba textiles, complemented by important pieces on loan from the Mint Museum in Charlotte and the Wake Forest University Museum of Anthropology in Winston-Salem. Approximately 24 objects are featured, including five cut-pile embroidery panels, men's and women's skirts, hats and hat pins, belts and belt ornaments, and two decorated bars of tukula powder.
"These objects will be displayed as a group so that the many variations in design and technique can be appreciated," said Rebecca Martin Nagy, the Museum's curator of African art and associate director of education. "For example, the Shoowa branch of the Kuba have a love for irregular and unexpected designs. They employ contrasting shapes, colors and textures-designs with syncopated rhythms-which will appeal not only to visitors interested in African art or in fabric art but also to viewers who admire modern art and jazz."
The objects on view in the exhibition are used for a variety of purposes. A small, domed raffia cap, known as a "laket", is used on an everyday basis as a symbol of cultural identity. Other headdresses and wrap skirts are worn as ceremonial attire for the installations of chiefs, during funeral and initiation rites, and for visits to the community by honored guests. Among the Bushong, the ruling ethnic group in the Kuba kingdom, women of the royal family make textiles for use at court. A Bushong woman's overskirt from the Wake Forest University Museum of Anthropology and an overskirt in the N.C. Museum of Art's own collection may have belonged to the wives of Kuba kings.
The exhibition incorporates photographs of men weaving and women embroidering textiles similar to those on view; other photographs demonstrate how these textiles were used. Additionally, a brochure accompanying the exhibition provides basic information about Kuba textiles: materials, techniques and production; typical designs and their meanings; and the manner in which the textiles were worn or used.
Various educational programs related to the exhibition are offered. Kuba textile authority Patricia Darish presents the lecture The Art of Making Kuba Textiles on Sunday, October 22, at 3pm in the Museum auditorium. An all-day teachers' seminar, focusing on the Kuba exhibition and the Museum's sub-Saharan collection, is offered on Saturday, Oct. 28. Other programs include children's classes related to the exhibition. Statewide Outreach programs include artist residencies and workshops at several schools throughout the state.
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Gallery listings or call 919/839-6262 or on the web at (www.ncartmuseum.org).
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