In 2011, I had the opportunity to spend an evening with an enthusiastic group of docents at the Cleveland Museum of Art as we explored together works in the sub-Saharan Africa Gallery. For the docents, and for other visitors to this blog, I offer this small collection of resources from my presentation on the topic (plus a wonderful resource I encountered later that same day).
Information about the image can be found at the bottom of this list.
All the best,
Jeanne
“Let me explain to him the whispers of the teachings.”
–Lega saying (Source: University of Michigan Museum of Art)
African Art and Culture
Resources from the Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online: Department of African Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art
Thumbnails lead to larger images and information about objects in the sub-Saharan African collection. By adding a search filter, the results can be narrowed by ethnic group, type of work, etc.
Masks and Masquerade (Film on YouTube), Cleveland Museum of Art, from original footage by Amanda Carlson
This short film, also on the Cleveland Museum of Art web site (Online Tour section), shows a masquerade performance by women of the Ejagham people of Nigeria, one of whom is wearing a headdress very similar to the skin-covered headdress in the CMA collection.
South of the Sahara: Selected Works of African Art, Constantine Petridis (author), Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art (2003)
Illuminating catalog of select works that are on display in the sub-Saharan gallery. This book includes introduction to geographic areas and concepts; large color images and discussion of selected works, and many field photographs to provide cultural context.
~Note: A helpful review of South of the Sahara can be found online in African Studies Review 48.1 (2005) 202-204
A World of Great Art: African Art, Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art (2002)
This short book is a very useful introduction to African Art for educators.
Other Resources on African Art and Culture
African Mosaic, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
A resource encountered since my April 6 presentation, this exciting web site includes images and discussion of both historic and contemporary African art, with additional resources.
Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination, Metropolitan Museum of Art
A vast web site that augments the exhibition Art and Oracle (2000), this is a comprehensive and excellent resource for images and information about divination in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among the resources are 50 images with explanatory text; a map, glossary, and bibliography; and several dynamic essays.
Benin: Royal Art of Africa from the Museum Fur Volkerkunde, Vienna (African art), Armand Duchateau (Author). Houston: Museum of Fine Arts; Munich: Prestel, 1994
Informative and beautiful catalog of an exhibition of royal art from Benin that came to The Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1990s; includes information about the technology of lost-wax brasscasting as practiced by Benin artists.
“Divination in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Art and Oracle, pp. 10-21), John Pemberton III (author)
This essay illuminates divination practices of several sub-Saharan African peoples. Of special note, the complex system of Ifa divination, practiced by the Yoruba, is explained well.
“Power Figure (Nkisi) [Kongo peoples Democratic Republic of Congo] (1979.206.127).” Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Image and discussion of an nkisi power figure in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with interesting discussion of the form and function of these figures in their cultural context.
Iyare: Splendor and Tension in Benin’s Palace Theatre, Kathy Curnow (Curator). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
This online exhibition catalog contains dozens of object images and field photographs, as well as in-depth discussion of ancient and contemporary Benin art and culture; includes resources for educators.
“Likeness and Nearness: The Intentionality of the Head in Baule Art,” Philip Ravenhill (author)
African Arts Vol. 33, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 60-71+92. Available via JSTOR.
A fascinating and compelling argument that both concept and perception are involved in the exaggerated proportions of the head relative to the rest of the body in Baule art, and possibly in much other African figurative art as well.
“Prince Twins Seven Seven,” Porter Faculty Gallery, Porter College, University of California at Santa Cruz.
This online exhibition announcement includes concise information about the contemporary Nigerian artist Twins Seven Seven, along with two images of his work.
“Senufo Arts and Poro Initiation in Northern Cote d’Ivoire,” Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
Concise, illuminating discussion of Senufo arts and Poro associations of Northern Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Fasso, with images and links to related resources.
Sub-Saharan Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, Ken Kelsey and Gail Davitt (Preparers). Dallas Museum of Art, 2000.
This educator’s resource from the Dallas Museum’s Education staff includes a table of contents, numerous resources for teachers and tour leaders, and docent check lists. Several works of art are featured on single-page activity sheets with a sketch of the object, basic information, and questions for discussion.
Yoruba Art and Culture, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
An educator’s resource from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, this pdf file includes a table of contents and numerous resources on Yoruba art and culture.
Yoruba : Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, Henry John Drewal and John Pemberton, 3rd with Rowland Abiodun (authors); Allen Wardwell (editor). New York: Center for African Art in Association with H.N. Abrams, 1989.
This book, which accompanied a major exhibition of the art of the Yoruba people, provides important insight into the art and culture of a large ethnic group in Africa and a tradition that spread broadly in the Americas. The book is out of print, but available through booksellers and libraries.
Western Art and Culture
“African Art in the Collection of Jacques Lipchitz,” African Arts, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Summer 1970), pp. 48-51. Available through JSTOR.
This brief article discusses the relationship between the works of African art in Lipchitz’ personal collection and his own creative work. Includes illustrations from the collection, and relevant quotes from Lipchitz.
“African Influences in Modern Art.” Denice Murrell (Author). Metropolitan Museum of Art: Helibrunn Timeline of Art History
This article explores the emergence of African art as a powerful influence on European avant-garde artists in the development of modern art.
Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums, Carol Duncan (Author). London and New York: Routledge, 1995
An examination of the museum space; chapter 1: “The Art Museum of Ritual” is particularly relevant to a discussion of the art museum as a ritual context for works of art, including the ritual art of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Each in Their Own Voice: African-American Artists in Cleveland 1970-2005, Cleveland: Cleveland State University Art Gallery, 2009.
D. Anthony Mahone’s photograph Possession, which was included
in the 2009 exhibition, is reprinted in this catalog, along with
information about the artist. A small version of the image, along with an audio interview with the artist, is available through Cleveland
Memory online.
Web site for Cleveland’s annual community festival of art and technology, which encourges exploration and participation – performance – by artists and audience.
Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space, Brian O’Doherty (Author), Thomas McEvilley (Introduction). Berkeley: University of California, 1999
A fascinating examination of the gallery space as “a unique chamber of aesthetics,” and of the processes that take place in that chamber.
“Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973),” The Museum of Modern Art: The Collection
This online collection entry provides information about the 1907 painting by Picasso, including publication excerpts that discuss the African imagery in the painting and Picasso’s influences.
Robin Latkovich: Experimental Aesthetician
Web site for Cleveland installation artist discussed during April 6 presentation, whose work engages with concepts including: the ephemeral nature of art, human presence in place, and the sublime – concepts which we may also encounter in the art of Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Topsy Turvy Sculpture by Alison Saar,” Arizona State University Art Museum/ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Information about the artist and a 2002 exhibition of her work at the ASU Art Museum
War Against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin, Carlos M.N. Eire (Author). Cambridge, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
The author argues that 16th century reformers, particularly Calvin, saw traditional Christian practices in Europe as a form of idolatry. He suggests that by stressing scripture-based theology and a metaphysics that drew firm boundaries between spirit and matter, the Calvinist reformers began to emphasize an uncompromisingly spiritual form of worship (and a transcendent deity), and that this laid the foundations for social unrest.
An Analysis of Ritual in Various Geographic Areas
The Ritual Process, Victor Turner (Author). New York: Aldine, 1969.
One of the primary writers on the subject of ritual, Victor Turner, observed that liminality – a threshold state of experience that punctuates each human life and every culture – is one of the primary conditions “in which are frequently generated myths, symbols, rituals… and works of art.” This classic work explores ritual in communities around the world, including Africa and America.
About the image:
Male Figure, late 1800s-early 1900s. Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Cabinda, probably Kongo people. Wood, metalized glass, iron, organic material, ivory or plastic, and natural fiber; overall: 46 x 25.7 x 19.2 cm (18 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 7 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, René and Odette Delenne Collection, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.432.
The caption is courtesty of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The image is in the Public Domain.
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