An African mask is only a fragment of the art canvas. Masks are dramatic, musical costume events of which the headgear plays only a part.
The way we are used to seeing masks, as a lone sculptural statement, mounted on a stake or plastered against a wall, is an incomplete performance.
The Dallas Museum of Art is rectifying that indignity with an exhibition of masks paired with their full body costumes, often accompanied with photographs and videos of the dancing masquerade.
There is so much more to masks than face covering, and learning that they rarely covered the face is only the beginning of the education that is offered in “African Masks: The Art of Disguise,” which opens Sunday August30, 2010.
We like disguises. That is probably why we like to celebrate Halloween costumes during every month with 31 days (much to the chagrin of our neighbors). This exhibition sounds like it will be right up our alley. About 50 objects from the museum’s collection and local collectors will be on display, and observers will be able to see masks of many different styles and purposes. Full masquerade costumes will also be displayed, so viewers can get the full effect of the ensembles
Read details and see these 7 nice masks from the Dallas Museum in the members section:
African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers
official site: http://smafathers.org/museum
Ruby Washington/The New York Times
There’s the National Museum of African Art in Washington. And the Museum for African Art in New York, reopening in a new Fifth Avenue home next spring. And there’s a third you’ve probably never heard of, the African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers here.
This museum is small and unorthodox in its setting: a stained-glass-windowed hall attached to a Roman Catholic church. But it’s the real African deal, with a collection covering the continent, top to bottom, coast to coast, old to new.The Permanent Collection, Part I, remains on view for a year at the African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers, 23 Bliss
”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 :
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.
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 …
Upcoming USA exhibition opens on April 11, 2009, “Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present.” Those used to European images of Africans — often condescending or downright racist, depending on the era — will enjoy the sometimes ironic results when the mirror is turned from colonized to colonizers. The show closes Aug. 8 2009
Nkisi Power Figure- AMAM African Sculpture Exhibition
The dynamic sculptural works exhibited here ––from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and other African countries––were chosen from a private collection to supplement the AMAM’s permanent collection of African art, which has a strong emphasis on West African art of the Yoruba peoples.
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| Culture hero: This figure from Angola is said to represent a character called Chibinda Ilunga. (Courtesy Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — “Fetish” — an object embodying magical powers — is neither politically nor factually correct, says curator Constantine Petridis, but that’s what they were called in the West before.
Now, these looming, fantastical wooden sculptures in the de Young Museum’s “Art and Power in the Central African Savanna” are known as “power objects.”
by Larry Weinberg
June 11, 2009
Let’s start with the good news: “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: A Legacy 
of Collecting,” running through September 27 at the Met, is a show well worth seeing. The exhibition features 36 works—all masterpieces—from one of the world’s great private art collections. Begun by Josef Mueller (1887-1974) in the 1920’s, and continued by his son-in-law Jean-Paul Barbier-Mueller, the collection was placed on permanent display in 1977. The works on view range across a wide swath of Africa and the South Pacific, and they brilliantly demonstrate the virtuosity and formal inventiveness of individual creative talents.
Now for the not-so-good news: from the title to the installation to the catalog photography, the exhibition raises issues, or at least fails to resolve concerns, which make it difficult to absorb the magnitude of the works presented.
The collection at the National Museum of African Art embraces diverse artistic expressions found throughout Africa — some ancient and some from contemporary times.
Here are some outstanding examples of
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has originated an unusual exhibit — Art and Power in the Central African Savanna — that will be on display through May 31 before it goes on tour to other places in the country. See a slide show and read more about those 60 central African sculptures whose original purpose was to mediate between the human and spirit worlds.
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