Room to Grow Re-Installing the NCMA Permanent Collection
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exhibition preview Room to Grow Re-Installing the NCMA Permanent Collection Elizabeth Perrill, with Katherine Mpeshi McKee, Carlee Forbes, and Laurel Kilgore all photos courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Art, except where otherwise noted n ephemeral gesture: What better or more groups designed to engage community leaders are being orga- poetic way to open a permanent installation nized in conjunction with the Ekpuk installation. Simultaneously, of African art? e conceptual complexity of students from several historically black colleges and universities African art cries out for subtle contradictions (HBCUs) will be coming in to consider how histories of global that engage the public in a dialogue, a reection migration and slavery bring another perspective to the collec- upon what has been erased and what remains. tions and this poetic installation piece. In June , Washington, DC-based, Nigerian-born artist ese theoretical inquiries and connections emanate into VictorA Ekpuk will install a x foot site-specic wall drawing the other curatorial zones of the African reinstallation and are in the North Carolina Museum of Art’s new African art gallery. impacting the way the museum conceives of itself as it moves e installation will be documented during its creation and a towards the future. Films documenting ephemeral contemporary year later when it is wiped o with a sponge and water. No lasting masquerades will be shown just upstairs from the contempo- physical object will remain; rather a series of relationships and rary lm and new media exhibits. Introductory texts will direct connections will begin. Ekpuk’s work, positioned at a right angle visitors out to the NCMA’s Egyptian Gallery and Modern and to the x foot El Anatsui work Lines that Link Humanity, will Contemporary Galleries in the East Building. e Ann and Jim bring together two generations of contemporary African artists. Goodnight Museum Park featuring the work of Yinka Shonibare is commission has also been a catalyst for signicant outreach and Ledelle Moe, as well as upcoming temporary exhibits on and internal education at the NCMA. contemporary African artists, all point to the presence of African Both new and old North Carolinian communities of African art throughout the museum campus. heritage will be reecting on histories of global movement and memory in relation to this artwork and reinstallation. e North HISTORY OF THE COLLECTION Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) has been providing tours e NCMA collection of art began in earnest in with for individuals and families settling in the state through the US the donation of a Shona headrest (Fig. ), followed quickly in Committee for Refugees and Immigrants for several years. is the early s by the granting of several works to the museum connection is being built upon during the reinstallation. Focus by the Hanes Family and Foundation. e collection has gone through several phases that have increased holdings in either geographic or chronological foci. As one might imagine, acquisi- tions of the s were largely from Western and Central Africa. E P is the Consulting Curator of African Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) and an Associate Professor at e wooden masks and sculptural acquisitions from this period the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Additionally, she serves created a strong base from which future curators would build. as the North American Exhibition Review Editor for African Arts. Additionally, the acquisition of some metal objects opened the [email protected] door diversifying media represented in the collection (Fig. ). K M MK served as Assistant Consulting Curator of My work at the NCMA began in late , when Joyce Youmans, African Art at the NCMA 2015–2016. previously of the Nelson-Atkins, and I were asked to ll a gap in C F has been a Curatorial Intern at the NCMA and is cur- the NCMA’s curatorial team as Consulting Curators of African rently Curatorial Assistant to Elizabeth Perrill. art. We were fortunate to inherit the hard work of two accom- L K is generously loaning work to the NCMA reinstalla- plished curators in the eld of African art, Rebecca Nagy and tion and is an area expert on Malawian art. Kinsey Katchka. From –, Katchka ferried the African art collection through the reinstallation process in the new West african arts WINTER 2017 VOL. 50, NO. 4 Downloaded from| http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00374 by guest on 01 October 2021 1 Headrest (mutsago) Building at the NCMA in . e acquisitions she championed Central or Southern Shona artist, Zimbabwe, early 20th century placed the NCMA well ahead of the curve in the collection of Wood; 17.1 cm x 20.3 cm x 6.7 cm contemporary African art, including the monumental El Anatsui Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cedric Marks, 1968 that anchors the new gallery (Fig. ). Katchka’s legacy has been (G.68.24.6) maintained with yearly contemporary acquisitions, including Headrests support the neck of a sleeping person works by artists such as Marcia Kure, Elias Sime, Kay Hassan, and protect an elaborate hairstyle or headdress. Zanele Muholi, Viye Diba, and Graeme Williams (Fig. ). They are also markers of one’s allegiances. Terms like Zulu and Shona, associated with cultural tra- From to , Rebecca Nagy built the collection’s hold- ditions and kingdoms, are not static identities. Are ings from the Niger River Delta region, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, there identities or allegiances in your life that are static and some that change? Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to my An individual commissioning a headrest could delight, South Africa (Fig. ). Nagy also brought several ceramic show the patron’s or artist’s ties with a group works into the collection, a medium that is highlighted in four through style. The six-legged headrest in this case features a zig-zag pattern on the side of each leg. zones of the reinstallation plan (Fig. ). A highlight of her time This may reference royal jewelry and raised bump at the museum includes the acquisition of three veranda posts designs that became a hallmark of Zulu style. by Lamidi Ọlọnade Fakẹyẹ (Fig. ) purchased directly from the The Shona headrest features a base and platform separated with an elaborate, flat geometric design artist’s studio. ese posts are complimented by an outstanding composed of V’s and circles. There are many loan of a Ọlówè of Isè door from a local private collection (Fig. ). variations on Shona style that feature these basic Of course, there are always holes to ll in any collection and a components; the multiple allegiances and stories conveyed by this work are still debated by scholars. full acquisitions strategy was developed in to guide the col- —EP lection into the future. Youmans and I interviewed all museum departments, conducted an inventory, and I have subsequently Note: All image captions provided in this preview are advanced drafts of label copy written for a general participated in visitor survey research. Audience research audience. Didactic questions are emphasized based showed that visitors hope to see even more contemporary con- upon the results of visitor surveys seeking greater personal connections with artworks and collaboration tent. Nevertheless, holes in the historical collection also require with museum education staff. Initials indicate which attention, as the state museum hopes to show the breadth of coauthor wrote the caption. African traditions to the public. Objects from South Africa, VOL. 50, NO. 4 WINTER 2017 african arts Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_a_00374 by guest on 01 October 2021 | 2 Prestige vessel (kuduo) Tanzania, Nigeria, and Mali were added to the collection in the Asante artist, Ghana, 19th century past ve years (Fig. ). Brass; 26 cm x 18.1 cm Drawing upon strengths within the states has become a focus Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes, 1972 (72.19.17) of my collections outreach. In , Colleen Kriger introduced me to Nanny Battle Foster, a retired librarian who worked at our Asante leaders keep these vessels in shrines, and institution, UNC Greensboro. Foster was surprised to learn the they are brought out for ceremonial or religious rites. On the lid the artist draws our attention historical value of the two headrests and snu container cre- to an event whose outcome remains uncertain: ated during the late s that she had inherited from a family a leopard, stalked by a hunter, has caught an member who had participated in the South African gold rush. antelope in its jaws. At the hunter’s feet, a snake is coiled, ready to strike. This scene can be told Not merely phenomenal examples of Southern African carv- from different perspectives. How many proverbs ing, these objects bring to life a legacy of state ties to colonial might apply to this cautionary tale of hunter and prey? Do you know any proverbs, and if so, how history. Another signicant loan of Chewa masks and ceram- would you picture them? ics then came from Laurel Birch Kilgore, who moved to North Akan metalsmiths adapted the form from similar Carolina in (Figs. –). For me, these donations and containers used by Muslim traders for ritual cleansings. Cast in brass and repurposed to store loans cemented the fact that the NCMA has an integral role gold dust and precious beads, ornate vessels like as the state’s public art museum, one that draws strength from this—among the few Asante objects individually its people. is mission to build ties across the state through owned—belong to royalty, chiefs, and women of high status. Kuduo and their contents were often community outreach, local scholarly engagement, and the facil- buried with their owners.