Sense, Style, Presence: African Arts of Personal Adornment.

The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art Gainesville, Florida November 9, 2004-June 2006

"Sense, Style, Presence: African Arts of Personal Adornment" showcases many new works of adornment to the Ham collection of African Art. The exhibition was curated by Susan Cooksey, associate curator of African Art, and comprises approximately 102 works, with seven works borrowed from the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History and one textile lent by Robin Poynor. The works mostly date to the twentieth century and incorporate a diversity of materials, techniques, and styles. Overall, it is a spectacular and interesting visual cornucopia.

There are three possible entrances into the exhibition, but the most logical one is by walking through Gallery A, which currently houses the museum's collection of pre-Columbian earthenware pottery situated in vitrines with white bases on dark gray carpet surrounded by white walls and a white ceiling. From this stark atmosphere one enters the SFI Gallery, a large square room with a similar white design, where the viewer is immediately struck by the African exhibit's vivid colors and variety of objects.

Eye-catching Yoruba beadwork is displayed before the first of three temporary walls in the center of the gallery. On this wall is the exhibition title, introductory text, and a Yoruba adire cloth by Nike Davies Okundaye, the work lent by Poynor. The text explains the exhibition's themes and scope through a definition of "adorn." According to Cooksey, "'Adorn' refers to two essential approaches to dressing the body. It includes both extending the dimensions, color, and textures of the body through garments, jewelry, and other accouterments, and modifying the shape and surface of the body itself with tattooing, piercing, scarification, and hairstyling." This is a rather ambitious scope for such a small gallery, yet Cooksey manages to display a large variety of works, loosely grouped by theme or ethnic group, that touches upon all of the areas in the stated scope. Didactic text accompanies most of the works on view and help to further the exhibition themes.

Visitors are drawn to the vivid Yoruba beadwork displayed in this introductory area: three beaded coronets depicting traditional African, European, and Islamic influences; a conical beaded crown with long turquoise-colored beaded fringe; a ceremonial sword and sheath borrowed from the Fowler Museum; a diviner's bag; and two sets of royal slippers. The text panel for the crown was situated on an opposite wall--possibly difficult for a visitor to find--with a small color picture of Ariwajoye I, ruler of Orangun-Ila from 1977, that illustrates well how the regalia is worn.

On the far left wall is a Yoruba woman's wrapper from 1978 with dominant, shiny; bright blue cotton and mylar threads. In a corner niche to the textile's left continuously plays the 45-minute video "Adire: Indigo Textiles amongst the Yoruba," a 1995 film by Thorolf Lipp, for the Bavarian film company TMT Germany. A visitor can comfortably sit in a bay window seat to watch this video demonstrate several types of adire and the methods used to create them and learn about the symbolism evident in several of the popular types of works.

The next area contains two Edo bracelets, one brass and the other ivory; four Kuba hats, two beaded with cowrie shells and two made of woven raffia; and, in a large center vitrine, four Kuba pieces, three belts with beadwork and cowrie shells, and a sash with a triangular pendant. Another vitrine displays a Kuba flywhisk and two Kuba cosmetic boxes. On the surrounding wall are a long Kuba man's skirt made from bark cloth and an elaborate Kuba woman's dance skirt made from raffia with natural dyes (Fig. 1). Hanging on the opposite, temporary wall are a Dida raffia skirt from the Cate d'Ivoire and a small Mbuti bark cloth textile from the Ituri Forest with a natural dyed design every bit as sophisticated as the Kuba designs seen opposite in the man's skirt.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The text for the woman's dance skirt is accompanied by two small pictures, that of a Northern Kete chief, Kakenge, from 1982 and the body of a Bushoong titleholder lying in state from Maliem in 1981. A viewer may be confused as to their relationship with this skirt. The text states that "the addition of this ornate skirt clearly shows the importance of textiles in displaying wealth and status in Kuba ceremonies." It is a general connection, and one is left wondering if a picture depicting how this type of skirt would be worn at such a ceremony might have illustrated the point better.

The next large vitrine houses a collection of jewelry with four showy pieces in gold, silver, ivory, and agate demonstrating the skill of Somalian artists. A silver gilt Ethiopian cross pendant in the vitrine was a recent acquisition Cooksey was much excited about (Fig. 2). According to the text, "this type of cross pendant was made for devotees of the Christian cult of Our Lady Mary, which was mandated by the Ethiopian emperor Za'ra Ya'qob, in the mid-fifteenth century." A small, exquisite Pende ivory mini-mask is included with these works, but seems set aside and lost in the excitement of the other pieces on display.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

A short video about kente cloth directs the viewer into the next section of predominantly Akan works. On the far wall is a commemorative cloth measuring 2.7m (8' 9"), which documents the June 22, 1939, earthquake in Accra (Fig. 3). The images of wind-bent palm trees and battered homes remind Florida viewers of the recent hurricanes. A large thunderbolt held by the hand of God bursts down the center of the design. Interestingly, the large government building at the base of the design remains untouched by the earthquake. One of the more outstanding visual elements in the exhibition, the cloth was made in Europe and purchased in Accra after 1942. It remained in the collector's box until it was gifted to the museum in 2002. It waited again until its debut in this exhibition. (1)

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

In the center of this area stands a stunning orange and red chiefly umbrella commissioned expressly for this exhibition in 2003 by Rebecca Martin Nagy, the director. A simple gold-leafed finial surmounts the top. This is the only work in the African collection considered a "prop" rather than a work of art by the staff. When asked about this distinction, Cooksey explained that it was a quality issue, as the final was not elaborately carved.

On the wall behind the umbrella are two stunning, horizontally woven textiles: a Ewe adanudo, a museum purchase in 2004, and an Akan kente borrowed from the Fowler Museum. Between these textiles is a large informative panel discussing types of kente cloth with several color illustrations. Several small vitrines dot the center and right side along the third temporary wall. They house a copper Nkundo anklet from Mbandaka, an Akan cosmetic box, two Asante disk pendants and an Ebrie, Cote d'Ivoire hair ornament (akrafokonmu), an Akan crown with gold cowrie shells attached on a black velvet cloth, a Kwaku Dabow female figure, an Akan finial, and an Akan staff with finial depicting a mourner at the bed of the deceased. The wall texts and small picture of Paramount Chief Nana Akyanfuo Akawuah Dateh II of Kumasi from 1970 wearing kente cloth educate the visitor in the importance of proverbs and royal regalia and symbolism in the Akan world. I thought the text panel arrangement on the vitrine for the akrafokonmu a bit confusing; it was difficult to ascertain which piece belonged to the Ebrie.

At the end of this section stands a large vitrine with an Akan hunter's shirt with amulets. The far wall refreshingly displays a Kholekile Maxulu South African wedding cape from c. 1960, a MaNala Dladla married woman's belt, and a complete Mfengu young matron's ensemble (Fig. 4) on an open, slightly raised podium. The cape and belt are placed on a tilted pedestal, and the ensemble is worn by an innocuous mannequin. (2) The curator expressed excitement over the late nineteenth-early twentieth century Mfengu ensemble purchased in 2003, which is complete and quite rare. (3) A small picture next to the text depicts a similar ensemble being worn.

A Zulu red-ochred hat and several Zulu earplugs fill a vitrine opposite. The Harn Museum owns a significant collection of eighty-two earplugs. Several on display utilize plastic and vinyl materials. A small picture of three married women illustrates the wearing of both the hats and earplugs.

A center area was created by the temporary walls. Vitrines house five combs--three Akan, one Karamojong and one Makonde; a Makonde helmet mask with human hair; an Ogoni wood face mask; a Baule female figure; a seventeenth-nineteenth century terracotta Akan memorial head; a terracotta Nok male head dated to 815-95 AD; a Karamojong headdress; a Mende sowei mask; and an Igbo maiden spirit helmet mask with an elaborate headdress. On the surrounding walls hang a Ghanaian enamel-painted barbershop sign from 1980; an Ethiopian imported women's silk shawl; and an Ethiopian woman's pair of colorful, wide-waisted, jodhpur-style trousers. The main focus of this area seemed to be hairstyles. There was an interesting juxtaposition between the traditional hairstyles found in the sculptures to those on the barbershop sign where, according to the label text, "... the barber promises a new look for an individual that will link him or her to a globalized identity." Viewers, however, are left to discover this contrast themselves.

Moving around the corner back to the beginning of the exhibition, the viewer encounters a vitrine with seven Ndebele beaded neck rings and leg rings. Materials again depict the modern sensibility utilizing glass beads, vinyl, and metal. On the walls are two spectacular garments. A Bamileke man's shirt with two waist panels features embroidered motifs with abstractions of frogs and spiders. A Nupe man's pair of trousers includes a text panel describing these wide-waisted drawstring pants with motifs that "mimic those found in Arabicized north Africa and the Middle East." A picture demonstrating how these pants are worn would have been instructive. A stunning Bamum man's prestige hat with added coins and cowrie shells was displayed in a vitrine in front of the trousers.

A 33-page color catalog, a soft cover published by the Harn Museum in 2004 ($5.95), provides a foreword by Nagy as well as acknowledgements and a section elaborating on the exhibition's focus by Cooksey. Four elegant essays contributed by Victoria L. Rovine, Doran H. Ross, Robin Poynor, and Patricia J. Darish follow. Color illustrations of some of the featured works in the exhibition and a checklist of all the works, except the Akan umbrella, are provided. The exhibition and accompanying catalog were funded by the Museum Loan Network, a program funded and initiated by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by MIT's Office of the Arts. Additional support was provided by the Harn Program Endowment.

The recent museum acquisitions, whether through purchases or gifts, strongly illustrate the new direction in the Ham Museum's collecting strategy. The fine woodcarving traditions of West and Central Africa are now being complemented by fine textiles, beadwork, jewelry, regalia items, garments, and prestige hats from various regions of the continent. This directive is clearly stated in the catalog's foreword, yet not in the introductory panel at the head of the exhibit.

A diverse educational program was designed to coincide with this exhibition. Highlights have included lectures by Doran H. Ross, Henry Drewal, Victoria Rovine, Patricia J. Darish, and Sonya Clark, as well as gallery talks by Cooksey and Poynor. Several workshops were held for educators and the public. Two interactive tours called "Tot Time" were designed especially for preschool children ages 2-5. Another interactive experience with a variety of programs and activities investigated how clothing and body adornment are used to express individual and cultural identity. The museum's Family Day incorporated elements inspired by the exhibition. In addition to these programs, the museum's education department displayed a number of Akan works in the Bishop Study Center, in a readily accessible room located off of the main museum lobby. These tourist pieces, including crowns, staffs, rings, and sandals, were acquired specifically for this exhibition for elementary school tours and the public to handle and wear. A few books were also displayed to provide additional information.

It has been thirty-four years since Roy Sieber published his book African Textiles and Decorative Arts (4) and inspired a revolution in the way art historians and curators view adornment as a work of art. Many exhibitions, large and small, have been designed to promote this concept. "Sense, Style, Presence" follows in these traditional footsteps and well educates the University of Florida campus and surrounding public through the addition of supporting didactic text, two videos, and an extensive educational program. Unique to this exhibit is the wealth and variety of objects displayed to exemplify as many aspects of adornment as possible in a relatively small space. Furthermore, it gives the museum an opportunity to showcase many of its newer acquisitions and its directive to continue collecting in this vein. A clearer organization of the works and perhaps more and larger photographs would have made it easier for viewers to recognize all the concepts present.

Overall, I enjoyed this exhibition. From the public's perspective, I noticed many viewers took the time to take a second look at their favorites and read a few of the labels, almost always including the "prop" Akan umbrella. It is to Cooksey's credit that she was able to compress such an expansive scope into this educational and visually stunning exhibition.

Notes

(1.) Susan Cooksey, personal communication.

(2.) A similar cape is pictured in Carol Boram-Hays, 2005, "Borders of Beads: Questions of Identity in the Beadwork of the Zulu-Speaking People," African Arts 38 (2): 39, Fig. 1a.

(3.) Susan Cooksey, personal communication.

(4.) Roy Sieber, 1972, African Textiles and Decorative Arts. NY: Museum of Modern Art.