Lacma hires new consulting curator of African art

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Brooklyn Museum: ‘African Innovations’ (continuing)

African Art William C. Siegman…

The museum is doing some reshuffling on its first floor, and the African galleries, which once claimed a privileged spot next to the lobby, have been relocated a distance away and reduced in size. But the new display, “African Innovations,” is effective.

See the video in the members section below…

Three-Headed Figure (Sakimatwemtwe). Unidentified Lega artist. South Kivu or Maniema province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century. Wood, fiber, kaolin, 5 1/2 x 2 x 1 1/8 in. (14 x 5.1 x 2.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.486

It eliminates the graphic overkill of the former installation; sets out work with an easily graspable logic; and over all shows the African holdings to decent advantage. It would be pretty hard not to.

In the members section below discover a surprising Malawi portrait mask from Elvis Presley & images from some of the exposed objects and a video and more articles about the event.

The collection is ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art: ‘Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures’

New exhibit unmasks the past, puts names to historic faces

Heroic Africans  Alisa LaGamma

(through Jan. 29 2012) If you still think that African art is not your thing, here’s a show that may change your mind.

It’s as beautiful to look at as a show can be and it’s a perception-changer in the way that it argues against ...

European treatment harms African works?

Questions are being raised about a protective coating applied to Ife sculptures

Don’t let it shine: Head with Crown, copper-alloy, 14th-15th century and right, Seated Figure, copper, early 14th century Photo: © Karin L. Willis/Fundacion Marcelino Botin/Museum for African Art/Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments

By Martin Bailey

| From The Art Newspaper – International Edition… issue 223, April 2010

Published online 7 Apr 11

LONDON. African art specialists are questioning the recent conservation of Ife sculptures in Madrid in preparation for an international touring exhibition. They are concerned that Spanish conservators applied an inappropriate coating intended to protect the sculptures during the tour and after they are returned to Nigeria, and might even have removed ancient surface patina.

John Picton, a professor at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and former deputy director of the National Museum in Lagos, says that the ancient brass heads have developed “a shiny surface”. Other specialists have also expressed concerns about the treatment by conservators at the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute).“Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria” includes some of the finest sculptures ever produced in Africa. It is the most important show ever mounted about Ife culture and is now at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (until 22 May). Last year it was at the Fundación Botín in Santander, the Museo de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, the British Museum and Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Catalogue of this exhibition:

Dynasty and Divinity

Henry John Drewal,..

Pre-conservation condition of the works

Before their conservation in Spain, the Ife sculptures had not been well cared for in Nigeria, where conservation and storage facilities are generally inadequate. One important aspect of the international tour is to generate funds and offer training opportunities for Nigerians—when the exhibition visited London in 2010, conservators from Lagos were involved in the installation of the show.

When the sculptures were first shown to the curators of the touring exhibition, some of the finest pieces were brought out and placed on an inappropriate piece of foam on the floor of the National Museum in Lagos.

Some sculptures had spatters of modern white paint—consistent with the type used on gallery walls. Most of the works in the exhibition catalogue were photographed before conservation, and a granite figure of a crocodile has traces of white paint visible around its front foot (cat 12). Some stone sculptures had been displayed out of doors in Ife, including a very tall stylised shield and a sword (cats 9-10). These had been buried in a courtyard of the museum, as they would have been traditionally. A finely carved figure of the gatekeeper deity Idena, possibly 12th century, had been cemented into a plant pot to provide a display stand. It was shipped in one piece to the British Museum, where the planter was safely removed (cat 8).

Dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, most of the 100 pieces had never left Nigeria before. In 2009 many of them were sent to Madrid for conservation. Although the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España’s conservators are highly respected, they have had relatively little experience of West African art.

Among the most important Ife loans are 20 heads and figures in copper alloy (brass), and these are the sculptures that have generated most concern. Surface wax, which had been applied as a moisture barrier at various times in the 20th century, was removed, which may have led to the loss of any original surface coverings from antiquity.

After cleaning, an anti-corrosion inhibitor, Benzotriazole (BTA), was applied, but this has the effect of making metal appear shiny, particularly under direct lighting. The BTA coating protects the brass from humidity. But, critics say, more consideration should have been given to environmental conditions during the tour and in the National Museum in Lagos (where the works have mostly been kept in recent years, follow­ing a spate of thefts at the Ife museum).

On top of the BTA, Spanish conservators added a layer of Incralac, an acrylic coating for copper alloys that dulls the surface. This coating tends to dissipate with handling, although it can be reapplied.

The Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España says the treatment is “easily reversible”. It also believes that the visual impact of the sculptures “stayed the same or was improved”.

All the conservation work was approved by Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, which owns the collection.

Mayo Adediran, Nigeria’s director of museums, stresses that BTA is a protective coating. It does not affect the metal, its effects are reversible, and he believes the “best options” have been taken to conserve the sculptures.

But he added: “If it turns out the objects have a ‘shiny surface’, it calls for a further investigation on the quantity and mode of application of Incralac on the BTA. We shall carefully look into all complaints and find solutions if they are necessary.”

Enid Schildkrout, the New York-based curator of “Dynasty and Divinity”, has looked again at the conservation process. She said: “I am quite certain there has been no damage. The appearance of the sculptures may have changed with the various treatments, including the former applications of waxes and the BTA coating, but it is important to protect them from humidity. Whether a shiny surface matches the intentions of the makers is an interesting, but probably unanswerable, question. It’s a matter of taste, and raises the question of whose taste: that of the maker, the owner or viewer.”

The show, “Dynasty and Divinity”, travels to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (8 July-15 January 2012) and to New York’s Museum for African Art in 2012

Comment about the catalogue of the exhibition:

This review is from: :Dynasty and Divinity Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria (Paperback)

By J. B. Gwin “African art lover” (Houston, TX)

Dynasty and Divinity Henry John Drewal,..

This book accompanies a show recently exhibited at the British Museum. The exhibition is coming to Houston, Texas, September 19, 2010, through January 9, 2011, and I can’t wait to see it. The works comprise what is regarded by many as the highest form of African art, and due to it’s materials, it, along with Benin and Owo, is certainly among the oldest, dating back to the 12th century. Only the Nok terra cottas are older, dating to circa 200 BC. I recommend acquiring this book and studying it in preparation to seeing the exhibit in Houston or elsewhere. The book is an identical re-titling of the “Kingdom of Ife” book which accompanied an exhibit at the British Museum earlier in 2010, only the title changed. I also recommend the dvd “Head of an Ife King” from the British Museum.

Related book about Bronze conservation:

Conserving Outdoor Sculpture

Brian Considine, J..

Patinas for Silicon Bronze

Patrick V. Kipper,.

Anthony Bane comments: Patrick Kipper’s book is the best source to learn contemporary hot patina techniques. For the artist, it is an exellent reference of patina color. For the professional, it contains valuable chemical combinations and application techniques.

Murray Frum’s African art collection

Curator and art historian Gus Casely-Hayford takes us into the AGO’s African art gallery, featuring the collection of Murray Frum

In the members section below you’ll find an article about his triple-faced Ekoi Helmet Mask, anf his encounter with William Fagg, and a link to his catalogue available for 10 pounds and a link to another article about the AGO museum and the Frum collection.

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With its African mask collection, the Dallas Museum of Art  organizes a big reveal

 African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers

official site: http://smafathers.org/museum

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Mayombe

Mayombe -photo (c) K.U.Leuven, foto Hugo Maertens

Exposition du 8 avril au 3 juillet 2011

Cette exposition présentera plusieurs oeuvres majeures tirées des collections exceptionnelles de sculptures africaines et d’objets traditionnels de l’ancien Congo belge, détenus par l’Université ...

Quai Branly: un fétiche volé restitué

Un fétiche à clous , qui avait mystérieusement disparu des collections publiques après la deuxième guerre mondiale, a été restitué aujourd’hui au musée du quai Branly par la fille d’un collectionneur d’art africain qui l’avait acquis de bonne foi.

Ce fétiche Nkondé avait été volé dans les réserves du musée de l’Homme entre 1944 et 1955. Il était entré par la suite chez un collectionneur parisien Armand Charles.

Le fétiche à clous refait surface en public en décembre 2009, lors de la vente de la collection Armand Charles organisée par Enchères Rive Gauche à l’Hôtel Drouot. (voir les photos sur Art Africain info)

En consultant un livre sur les fétiches à clous d’Afrique centrale, l’acheteur Didier Claes s’aperçoit apres la vente que cet objet appartient à l’origine au musée de l’Homme. La vente est annulée. La fille d’Armand Charles, Annie Salles, décide alors de restituer cet “objet magique” au musée du quai Branly, dédié aux arts et civilisations d’Afrique, d’Asie, d’Océanie et des Amériques.

La remise du fétiche a eu lieu lors d’une cérémonie officielle en présence du ministre de la Culture Frédéric Mitterrand. Celui-ci a remis à Annie Salles l’insigne de chevalier dans l’ordre national des Arts et des Lettres pour la remercier de son geste.

article trouvé dans le Figaro: lefigaro.fr

+ de details, photos et adresse de Didier Claes: ...

Edmond DARTEVELLE Carnets de Voyages

Un Valeureux Explorateur Africain
du 1er juin au 11 novembre 2010

Musée du président Jacques Chirac – 19800 Sarran
Tél. 05 55 21 77 77

Edmond Dartevelle collected more than 3,500 objects, in this exhibition you can see 130 of them . The Exhibition is in the Corrèze, 481 km below Paris  ( a 4h37 min drive) near Clermont-Ferrand.

See this french video with some in situ images

Figurine d’envoûtement maloango – Ethnie : VILI (région de Loango) Musée Royal d’Afrique centrale de Tervuren © Hughes Dubois

Ensemble nkisi – Musée Royal d’Afrique Centrale de Tervuren © Hughes Dubois

Edmond Dartevelle sur le “terrain” 1937 – Collection privée © Droits réservés

Edmond Dartevelle fut un vrai personnage de film ou de roman moderne.

Un Valeureux Explorateur Africain

read more about Edmond DARTEVELLE (in french), and see another video in the members section with some images from the exhibition ...

 ”Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present ”

Unlike previous exhibitions on this topic,  ”Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present ” will combine diverse representational forms from 16th century Benin bronzes to late 20th century satiric masks and figures, with related material to demonstrate the multiple relationships between Africans and Europeans and their profound impact on African visual arts. It provides an examination of 500 years of cultural and political interactions between African cultures and European outsiders. The exhibition will showcase approximately 130 of Africa’s finest three-dimensional artworks and utilitarian objects executed in wood, ivory, metal, and textiles from leading American and international museums and private collections.

Date: September 25, 2010 to January 9, 2011.

Venue:
The Nelson-Atkins Museum Of Art,
4525 Oak Street,
Kansas City, MO 64111.

Other venues: Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900; Detroit Experiences: Robert Frank Photographs, 1955; through July 3. Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present; through Aug. 8. Hours: Wed., Thu., 10 a.m.-4; Fri., 10 a.m.-10; Sat., Sun., 10 a.m.-5. (4/11/10 to 8/8/10).

The “Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present ” catalogue is a good reading, the 200-page exhibition catalogue include essays by recognized experts and numerous color and black-and-white illustrations that will expand on the ideas conveyed by the exhibition. :

More information, life press release and interview videos and more pictures :

“Through African Eyes” Press Conference at the Detroit Institute of Arts Part One

In this press release AmericaJR.com’s Jason Rzucidlo reports from the Detroit Institute of Arts for their press conference just before the unveiling of their new exhibit “Through African Eyes.” Watch for remarks by DIA Director Graham W.J. Beal and exhibit curator Dr. Nii Quarcoopome.
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This summer 2010, the musée du quai Branly will showcase 170 major works and eighty documents as part of an important exhibition devoted to the artistic traditions of Central Africa, namely Gabon, the People’s Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a catalogue of François Neyt

Fleuve Congo

François Neyt, Sté…

(author of Songye )

A real trip of initiation that will take the visitor from the forests in the north to the savannahs in the south, the exhibition brings out the links existing between the works produced in the areas lying on the banks of the majestic Congo River by various communities which speak the Bantu language…

Gala After Party at the Museum for African Art –Next Thursday May 13th 10:30 pm !

Reservation email RSVP at the email below. If in New York go …

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World Cultural Preservation: A Growing Imperative

A conversation with the Smithsonian Institution’s Richard Kurin

Richard Kurin, under secretary for history, art, and culture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, sat down with the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs for a discussion on protecting cultural heritage.

…I believe that when people lose their cultural heritage they lose their moral grounding, their connection to their own past…

…The cultural economy has grown extraordinarily in the last several decades, and I think nowadays it is actually the largest part of the international economy….

…it is very important to invest in culture, give it value, give it a place, and nurture it, not just for its intangible qualities – the aspects that give meaning to life – but also for its very tangible benefits, which are sometimes economic, sometimes political, sometimes even medical and scientific….

Tuesday, 16 March 2010,  in collaboration with America.gov

Read the interview..

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