Heroic Africans Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures
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exhibition preview Heroic Africans Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures Alisa LaGamma “Heroic AfricANS: LEGENDARY LEADERS, ICONIC examines the visual translation of specific subjects into sculptural SCULptures” wAS ORGANIZED BY THE METROPOLITAN forms from eight culturally distinct centers across western and MUSEUM OF ART, WHERE IT WAS PRESENTED FROM SEP- central Africa: the kingdoms of Ife and Benin, both in Nigeria; TEMBER 20, 2011 THROUGH JANUARY 29, 2012. AFTER ITS Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’s Akan chiefdoms; the Bangwa and Kom NEW YORK SHOWING IT MOVES TO ITS SECOND VENUE, chiefdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields; Angola and the Demo- THE MUSEUM RIETBERG IN ZURICH, FROM FEBRUARY 26 cratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Chokwe chiefdoms; and the THROUGH JUNE 3, 2012. DRC’s Luluwa, Kuba, and Hemba chiefdoms. Each of these is the THE EXHIBITION IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE focus of a section of the exhibition. ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION, THE CEIL & MICHAEL Since 1998, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has organized a E. PULITZER FOUNDATION, INC. AND THE NATIONAL series of special exhibitions that have examined the African art ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. corpus in relation to major themes important to its understand- ing and appreciation. In “Masterhand: Individuality and Creativ- ity Among Yoruba Sculptors” (1998), issues of authorship were addressed through a series of works attributed to different work- shops. The artistic process underlying various sculptural genres from their commissioning by a patron through various phases of execution was examined. Ultimately the array of distinctive tal- amiliarity with inspirational leaders from Africa is ents that have been responsible for shaping Yoruba sculpture over largely limited to those who came to international the last century was evoked through their creations as well as the prominence for their contemporary accomplish- praise poems that paid tribute to the achievements of individual ments, such as Nelson Mandela, or as heroic figures, authors and reflected their standing in Yoruba society. “Art and like Kwame Nkrumah, engaged in struggles against Oracle: Spirit Voices of Africa” (2000) explored the many com- European colonialism. Our inability to name and plex systems of divination developed to further quests for divine envision specific African leaders from earlier times is an accident insight into the human condition across sub-Saharan Africa and Fof history. Prior to colonialism, regional histories were transmit- the integral role played by works of art at various stages. Cre- ted orally from one generation to the next. Such traditions are by ations central to twenty-eight distinct systems included the definition continually evolving representations narrated by indi- instruments deployed by ritual specialists as well as those pre- viduals who provide accounts of the past as they are handed down scribed to their clients. “Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Cen- and modified in light of their contemporary perspective. Related tral African Reliquary” (2007/8) assembled works relating to sculptural genres developed within many of these contexts, giving reliquary ensembles from fourteen distinct cultural traditions concrete and enduring form to some of the protagonists of those concentrated in the equatorial region extending from southern accounts. “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures” Cameroon through Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of 50 | african arts SPRING 2012 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/afar.2012.45.1.50 by guest on 27 September 2021 af_50-65.indd 50 11/14/2011 11:09:05 AM 1 Head of an oba Edo peoples; Court of Benin, Nigeria; 16th century Brass; 23.5cm x 21.9cm x 22.9cm (9¼" x 8½" x 9") The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.86) PHOTO: © THE PHOTOGRAPH STUDIO, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Depictions of the ten obas who led the Kingdom of Benin from the early fifteenth to the mid-sixteenth century share an emphasis on the full, rounded volume of the face defined with precision, delicately framed with relatively simple beaded regalia that includes a rolled collar worn low on the neck and a latticework crown that covers the forehead and from which lateral strands are suspended around both ears. Although the head was conceived as the fount of individual character, given the degree to which each leader was idealized to emphasize his youthful vigor and underscore dynastic continuity, it is impos- sible to identify the subject on a purely formal basis once they were removed from their original altars without documentation. 2 The oba of Benin [Eweka II, r. 1914–1933] Nigeria; early 20th century Postcard; 8.9cm x 14 cm (3½" x 5½") Holly W. Ross Postcard Collection PHOTO: © THE PHOTOGRAPH STUDIO, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through a range of different aesthetic approaches the sculptural elements of each of these evoked the founders of an entire lineage as vital ancestral intermediaries. These in turn were the visual focal point of assemblages of sacred relics drawn from the corporeal being of the most important lineage members. “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures” (2011) expands upon the foundation of these earlier presentations to redress the popu- lar misconception that figurative representations by precolonial African artists were invariably concerned with generic subjects. In this exhibition that notion is dispelled through foregrounding a series of case studies in which notable individuals served as the point of departure for major artistic creations. “Heroic Africans” opens by noting that understanding of these traditions has been greatly circumscribed as a result of the political and social disruptions wrought by colonialism. In many communities, fragile oral traditions ceased to be transmit- ted generationally and were not documented in written form. Their sculptural corollaries were physically dislocated from the ephemeral narratives that conveyed the specifics of their subject matter and scattered to collections remote from their original contexts. In some instances traditions were gradually replaced over the course of the century with new modes of expression, such as photography, while in others their abandonment was SPRING 2012 african arts | 51 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/afar.2012.45.1.50 by guest on 27 September 2021 af_50-65.indd 51 11/14/2011 11:10:24 AM more abrupt. This disjunction is underscored at the entrance through the juxtaposition of a cast brass commemorative head created to be positioned on an altar dedicated to a ruler of the Kingdom of Benin during the sixteenth century and a selec- tion of early photographic portraits of named African leaders (Figs. 1–2). The first photographs of African leaders were taken by European visitors to the continent during the second half of the nineteenth century. These images, along with their written commentaries, reflect Western biases that have indelibly shaped popular perceptions of the region. Many of those African sub- jects recognized the potential of this new medium to extend their stature and harnessed it to define their own desired image. By the 1870s, African photographers launched careers operat- ing studios along the coast and their clientele included kings and chiefs. Beginning in 1898, the novel and exotic character of photographic portraits by European and African photographers led to their reproduction as postcards disseminated interna- tionally by European publishers. It is poignant to consider that the unprecedented changes which ushered in such new modes of representation also contributed to the general demise of the sculptural traditions examined in “Heroic Africans.” That artis- tic heritage paid tribute to precolonial African leaders through regional vernaculars. Conceived to enshrine the essence of those individuals in sculpture, in most instances they remain the only direct evidence of influential individual lives that are not other- wise recorded for posterity. 3 Portrait of Octavian Roman, late Augustan; 5–15 CE Marble ; 41.6cm x 22.8cm x 23.6cm (16¼" x 9" x 9¼") Private collection PHOTO: © THE PHOTOGRAPH STUDIO, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The Roman emperor Augustus defined himself through sponsorship of a new portrait type informed by Classical proportions and ageless beauty. This readily recognized official likeness of him as a vigor- ous leader, fresh-faced and youthful, with a sharply chiseled nose, prominent cheekbones, thin lips, and a signature hairstyle marked by a distinctive parted fringe, was disseminated across the empire through- out his lifetime. 4 Head of an oba Edo peoples; Court of Benin, Nigeria; 17th century Brass; 26cm x 18.3cm x 21.1cm (10¼" x 7" x 8¼") Laura and James J. Ross Collection, New York PHOTO: © THE PHOTOGRAPH STUDIO, THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The style of heads created to commemorate Benin’s rulers from the sixteenth through the early eighteenth century, a timeframe spanning eleven different reigns, reflect a sharpening of formal ele- ments, more elaborate regalia, and heavier castings. The face is confined to a rectangular aperture that is tightly circumscribed by boldly defined beaded rega- lia on all four sides. Within that panel, the planes of the slightly convex cheeks and other facial features are rendered schematically. From the lower lip to the base of the sculpture, the beaded collar defines the overarching form as a cylindrical structure composed of a series of individually defined rings. 52 | african arts SPRING 2012 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/afar.2012.45.1.50 by guest on 27 September 2021 af_50-65.indd 52 11/14/2011 11:11:27 AM 5 Head ENSHRINING GREATNESS: Yoruba peoples; ife, Nigeria; 12th–15th century THE KINGDOM OF BENIN AND BEYOND Terracotta, with residue of red pigment and traces of mica; 26.7cm x 14.6cm x 18.7cm (10½ x 5¾ x 7¼") Ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρή Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (AP 1994.04) Life is short, art endures PHOTO: © KIMBELL ART MUSEUM, FORT WORTH, TEXAS / —Hippocrates (460–400 bce) Aphorisms, Sect.