Surfaces: Color, Substances, and Ritual Applications in African Sculpture.

Surfaces: Color, Substances, and Ritual Applications in African Sculpture The African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers Tenafly, NJ October 2, 2004-January 3, 2005

Many years in the making, this intriguing exhibition focused on a constantly observed but seldom studied matter of the exterior surfaces of African carvings. Curated by Donna Page and Leonard Kahan, this display of more than sixty works of art provided a wonderful range of surface treatments to investigate for their decorative and ritual meanings.

In the middle of the circular exhibition space was the heart of the matter: a large display tablecase where the raw materials for surface treatments of masks and sculptures were presented. There were examples of natural (animal, plant, and mineral) substances in their original states and later, processed forms with means of preparation explained in photographs and labels. Commercial pigments and dyes were also displayed. In addition to the whole presentation's novelty, adhesive materials were noted, providing a valuable addition to our knowledge of surfaces. Commentary was offered on the original meanings and values of materials and colors prior to their ritual activation on art works. Surrounding the display tablecase, an exceptional teaching device, were various masks and sculptures, many of exceptional quality, which demonstrated various surface treatments.

As one moved around the room, various subcategories could be viewed. A small reconstruction by Bolaji Campbell of a Yoruba shrine occupied one case. Other surface treatments such as incised designs (e.g., scarification), metal additions to wooden objects, "natural" patinas, and oiled and encrusted surfaces were presented, with several different art works illustrating each treatment. The addition of metal was illustrated with masks, including a Malinke n'tomo mask and Akan linguist staff finials, as well as examples of repaired objects using metal staples. Yoruba ibeji and several masks from the Democratic Republic of the Congo served to illustrate smooth and/or oiled surfaces, while a fine Bamana boli and a fascinating Poro Society mask provided examples of heavily encrusted surfaces. Label commentary was offered on the sources of such encrusted surfaces, resulting from extended ritual interaction. In fact, scattered among the cases were additional notes about different aspects of surface treatments and their meanings. Roughly the other half-circle of the show was devoted to masks and carvings with different color treatments. Objects of black coloring (grouped with brown and blue) were together. Next was a case with white-colored works, then red and, finally, several examples of combined colors. Again, there was an impressive range of examples, including a fine Dan mask, an excellent Gelede pair, and numerous Mende Sande Sowei masks. Central African examples include Ngbaka, Yaka, and Pende masks.

One category which might have received different treatment by the curators was that of "erosion." For many African peoples, a wooden ritual or status object that has eroded (e.g., from insect damage) may be worthless; yet for the collector, such a condition may be one of the central criteria for purchase. In fact, a number of surfaces illustrated by the exhibition needed to be considered from different perspectives. There are surfaces intended by the maker, others elaborated upon by users of objects, while others may be augmented for imagined patrons in marketplaces far away.

Yet others are created by final owners whose esthetic demands a smooth "clean" surface--an old stereotype of African carvings--whereas the original object might have been intended to have an encrusted or perhaps clothed surface. The clothing of shrine statues, a common practice in the Niger Delta, might also have been included. But then is not the object of any exhibition to get one thinking of other examples?

Although this project has been planned for a number of years, the accompanying book was not yet available for the exhibition; it is expected to be published later in 2005. This volume needs to be cited in this exhibition review because the two are part of a whole enterprise, each aspect complementing the other. With contributions by Patrick McNaughton, Leonard Kahan, Donna Page, Pascal James Imperato, Charles Bordogna, and Bolaji Campbell, it promises to be an excellent addition to our study of African arts.

Additional comment is also necessary concerning this museum. The "Surfaces" exhibition resided in the center of the African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers, with two "wings" displaying objects from the museum's permanent collection. This small museum has grown in importance in recent years due to the efforts of Director Robert J. Koenig, aided by his wife, Audrey, and an increasing number of dedicated collectors, scholars, and dealers in the northern New Jersey area. While certainly not seeking to compete with the collections of the major museums in the New York metropolitan area, this museum serves perhaps even better than its larger neighbors that critical function of local out-reach. Actively supported by the SMA Fathers, the museum's core collection of more than 250 works was largely formed between 1968 and 1978 and includes such important works as carvings from Father Kevin Carroll's Yoruba workshop. The Museum mounts three to four exhibitions a year and educates more than 3,000 visitors annually, mostly local school children. Would that every community had the luxury of a neighborhood museum of African art, especially one which mounts numerous yearly exhibitions of exceptional quality and general interest such as "Surfaces."