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April Issue 2003
Exhibition Highlights Museum's Recent Acquisitions of African Art at NC Nuseum of Art in Raleigh, NC
Artists from diverse corners of the African continent come together for an exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC, entitled, Accent on Africa: Recent Acquisitions of African Art. On view Apr. 6 through Aug. 10, 2003, the exhibition allows visitors to sample the dazzling cultures of Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa through the newest additions to the Museum's growing collection of African art.
"The Museum has made great strides in recent years to build a world-class gallery of African art," said Museum Director Lawrence J. Wheeler. "Accent on Africa showcases many of our most recent acquisitions in this area, and even introduces our visitors to some objects that have not yet been displayed in our galleries."
One set of objects newly on view will be two South African costumes for a divination priestess and her acolyte, who conduct ceremonies to communicate with ancestors and other spirits. Dominated by elaborate layers of beadwork signifying the "weight" or presence of those ancestors, these costumes also incorporate materials as diverse as seeds and shells, goatskin and goat bladder, and porcupine quills.
"While much of the Museum's African collection has focused on sculpture from the late 19th and early 20th century, our acquisition of costumes and textiles has allowed us to broaden our holdings in important ways," said Mary Ellen Soles, the Museum's curator of ancient art. "The beadwork on these costumes represents one of the chief vehicles for artistic expression among the Xhosa-speaking people of South Africa, and these textiles allow us to better understand the roles such rites play in the culture of this region."
Other works in the exhibition offer comparisons between older objects and more contemporary forms. For example, an Asante kente woven in 2000 in the workshop of Samuel Cophie replicates an important cloth this master weaver designed especially for Chief Osayem Tetteh Odorkor Tuumeh I. But the new cloth can be compared to another dating from the early 1900s to reveal how Cophie creates unusual and innovative variations to traditional kente designs.
In expanding the range of its African collection, the Museum has been committed to acquiring important works by internationally recognized contemporary artists. Three monumental Veranda Posts, depicting priests, priestesses and musicians in the service of Yoruba deities, represent key works by Nigerian sculptor Lamidi Fakeye, a sculptor who stands as a transitional figure between traditional Yoruba craftsmen and academically trained Nigerian artists. Drawing on several cultures, Ethiopian-born artist Skunder Boghossian's Night Flight of Dread and Delight was inspired by the novels of Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola, but it also reveals the influence of French surrealism on the artist, who painted this visionary fantasy while living in Paris.
Other highlights of Accent on Africa include a Dan feast ladle from Liberia, a Yoruba ceremonial robe and a Nupe cooking vessel from Nigeria, and a Zulu woman's hat and Ngwane wedding day cape from South Africa. Photographs of people wearing and using objects in the exhibition and the short video Kente Weaving in Bonwire, Ghana, provide context for these works and their creation. Additional works can be found in the Museum's African Gallery, which was completely redesigned in early 2000.
Accent on Africa is sponsored by RBC Centura and Liggett Group Inc. Other support from state funds and private donations is administered by the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation.
For more information
check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at
919/839-6262 or visit their website at (www.ncartmuseum.org).
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