Resonance from the Past: African Art from the New Orleans Museum of Art

University of Wyoming Art Museum, 2007Educational Packet developed for grades K-12

Introduction

In this museum visit students will view a selection of the fin-est works of African sculpture from the New Orleans Museum of Art. Sculpture is and has been an important element in artistic ex-pression throughout history. Students will become aware of how sculptures are utilized as an art form by dif-ferent cultures.

New Orleans is of-ten called “the most African of American cities.” Its music and cuisine are recog-nized worldwide as unique contributions to the cultural fabric of the Americas; the most famous of those contributions—jazz, America’s quintessen-tial musical idiom—is intrinsically African in origin. It is, therefore, appropriate that the New Orleans Museum of Art was among the first American municipal museums to form an important collection of African art. Unlike most European national museums which began as repositories for the material culture of their colonies, the New Orleans Museum of Art focused on aesthetics. In 1966, the museum opened a permanent gallery for the arts of Africa and a major be-

quest in 1977 from Victor K. Kiam added over a hun-dred works to the collec-tion. While covering much of the African continent, the museum’s collection is not an encyclopedic presen-tation of the art of all Af-rican peoples; its strongest concentration is in Yoruba, Dogon, and Fang sculp-tures.

Resonance from the Past: Af-rican Art from the New Or-leans Museum of Art presents nearly 80 objects that may be considered the finest examples of ancestral figures, symbols of transformations, and symbols of authority. During the last four decades since the col-lection was formed many scholars have conducted re-search in Africa to discover the uses and meanings of these works. Sculpted art-works, including masks, pots, costumes, and musi-cal instruments, represent elements of divination and initiation ceremonies, be-stow power on their own-ers, and serve as altars to mediate between humans and the divine.

Resonance from the Past is a collaboration between the Mu-seum for African Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Frank Herreman is the guest curator. It comes to the University of Wyoming Art Museum from the Smithso-nian Institution, Washington D.C.

Gelede Masquerade Headdress: ImadoEarly 20th centuryYoruba peoples, Ketu region, Nigeria/ Republic of Benin borderWood, pigment Gift of H. Russell Albright, M. D., 90.391, Cat. 49

Gelede festivals are held in southwestern Yorubaland at the time of the early spring rains, and are performed in honor of “our mothers.”

The costumes of the Gelede masquerades consist of a carved headdress, this one with wild warthogs, and a cloth. A woman’s face is depicted as youthful, her hair skillfully plaited. She has physical beauty, but her real beauty is revealed in her composure.

Mali and Burkina Faso

The Dogon moved to their relatively inaccessible homeland along the Bandiagra escarpment in the fifteenth century to escape from religious and political conflicts in the Niger River Valley. In cliff-top villages, they developed a distinc-tive, austerely beautiful art and architecture and a religion

with a highly symbolic vision of the world. To this day, many of their art forms continue to be part of daily life. Sculptures are used as altars to honor ancestors, and many of them bear traces of animal blood and millet gruel used as sacrificial offerings.

The Bamana, mainly farmers like the Dogon, live in the

Geographical Background and Art History of African Sculpture

Niger River Valley and are the larg-est group in Mali. Some of their art, like the Ciwara antelope head-dress, is related to celebrating and ensuring a successful harvest. Their more fearsome masks are kept se-cret from women and are related to an elaborate system of male ini-tiation. Statues of females not only portray ideals of beauty but also are used in rituals to ensure fertility. Both Bamana and Dogon art share a tendency toward abstraction and simplification of forms.

The Tusyan, Lobi, and Mossi in Burkina Faso make masks and fig-ures that are used in a variety of contexts. Masks often represent animals. When they appear in mas-querades they are believed to bring with them the spirit of the un-tamed wilderness. Carved human figures protect Lobi communities and represent ancestors among the Mossi.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire

Mende and Sherbro figures represent spirits and serve as sources of power and healing for sacred societies. These figures share regional stylistic features, such as ridged hair-styles and diamond-shaped faces, yet also illustrate inven-tive approaches to the human form.

Dan masks are tools of communication between the world of the living and the realm of the ancestors. They are employed to resolve problems of all kinds. Face masks have idealized human features that are smoothly sculpted with a large domed forehead, a fine nose, and slightly modeled cheekbones. Masks appear frequently during initiation ceremonies and to welcome guests to the village.

Loma masks are used during men’s initiation rituals. Worn as part of an ensemble of raffia, cloth, shells and fibers, Loma masks are believed to bring individuals into contact with forces that proved spiritual protection.

Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire

The Asante and Fante people in Ghana, as well as the Baule in Cote D’Ivoire all speak Akan languages and share many art traditions. Natu-ralistic carvings of human beings are found in most Akan groups. Among the Baule these figures are carved to serve as the abode of spirits, whereas in Ghana sculptures are generally as-sociated with political power. Music, dance, textiles, and gold work are the visible expressions of the power of chiefs, especially in Ghana where traditional leaders continue to play a major role in civil life. Among the Fante, neighborhood associations known as “companies” reflect the former military organization of the society. The musical instruments dis-

played here were used in processions that celebrated the military power of these companies. The Baule, unlike Akan speakers in Ghana, share masking traditions with their neighbors—the Guro, to the west, and the Senufo, to the north. Among all Akan speakers, the imagery in-corporated in carvings, pottery, metal work, and textiles refers to proverbs that give moral instruction.

Western Nigeria and Benin

Some of the most elaborate court art in Africa comes from the country of Benin (once called Dahomey), home of the Fon kingdom, and from western Nigeria, home of the Yoruba and Edo kingdoms. Benin City, in Nigeria, is the capitol of the Edo-speaking people.

The Fon kingdom was established in the early 17th centu-ry. Artists working for the royal court created iron sculp-tures and staffs that were placed in the memorial temples of palace officials. Much Fon art incorporates animal im-agery, symbolically associated with royalty and with prov-erbs that reinforce moral laws and the power of rulers.

Male FigureDogon peoples, MaliWood, stones Museum purchase with funds from an anonymous donor, 99.179, Cat. 4

Since the seventeenth century, Yoruba-speaking peoples have been organized in a series of kingdoms. Carvings by well-known artists grace royal courtyards as architectural elements. Doors and verandah posts, like the bowls and trays used in ifa divination ceremonies, depict the exploits of particular rulers as well as the activities of ordinary peo-ple. Much Yoruba art is made in association with deities known as orisha, each associated with particular iconog-raphy. Eshu, the trickster; Shango, the god of thunder; and Ogun, the god of iron are among the best known orisha. Masks and headdresses are made to honor ances-tors, ward off evil, and honor important members of the community.

The kingdom of Benin in Nigeria is the source of some of the best known works of art from Africa. For more than five hundred years, metal workers have been making ob-jects that enhance the prestige of the king, or Oba. Brass plaques decorate palace walls, and terra-cotta, wood, and brass heads representing male and female royal ancestors are placed on memorial shrines.

Cameroon GrasslandsThe Grasslands of southwestern Cameroon are divided into many small kingdoms which share political struc-tures. The ruler is at the top of the hierarchy of royals, subchiefs and noblemen. Figurative sculpture from the region represents kings, queens, and other important members of the community. To enhance prestige and to demonstrate their ancestral right to rule, kings displayed their carved portraits at major ceremonies.

Masks appear in many masquerades in the Cameroon Grasslands. Beadwork masks belong to rulers of the Kom people and were worn at palace celebrations. The zoomor-phic mask, with its attachments of bones and powerful medicines, personifies an uncivilized being that comes to the village from the bush. This mask was used in ceremo-nies to combat witchcraft.

In the Cameroon Grasslands, expertise in pottery-making has been handed down through generations. Ornamented pots were used to serve the wine of the raffia palm at royal courts and at meetings of men’s associations. Once only chiefs, men of high rank, and members of men’s societies had the right to use the elaborate ceramic serving dishes produced in the region.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon

The Fang peoples, like their neighbors the Kota, the Lum-bo, and the Punu, keep reliquaries of important ancestors in shrines protected by ancestor guardian figures. These figures are placed on top of a basket containing bones. Sometimes bundled relics are attached directly to the fig-ures. Each of these peoples has a different way of repre-senting anthropomorphic guardian figures, ranging from idealized naturalism to abstraction.

Among the Tsogho, both women and men of the Bwiti society have sanctuaries. The side-columns at the entrance are decorated with male and female figures which derive from Tsogho mythology.

The Lumbo and Punu peoples use mourning masks to invoke female spirits. These masks express an ideal of fe-male beauty. They intervene in the villages on important occasions such as deaths and epidemics in order to bring harmony and well-being.Southern Nigeria

Among the Igbo, Ibibio, Ijo, and Ejagham peoples of

Ifá Divination Bowl: Agere Ifa, 19th centuryYoruba peoples, Southern Ekiti region, NigeriaWood, Victor K. Kiam Bequest, 77.256, Cat. 37

southeastern Nigeria, masks represent ancestor or nature spirits. These masks appear at funerals and public performanc-es and are responsible for the well-being of the community. Masks take many forms including a four-eyed face, a highly abstracted elephant, and a tableau of figures under an umbrella. The Ejagham people cover their masks with ante-lope skin, a technique that is unique to the Cross River region. The Ijo people live along the rivers and estuaries of the Niger delta and many of their masks represent water spirits.

Communities in eastern Nigeria were typically governed by councils of male elders. People who had attained wealth and prominence were initiated into associations organized in a series of grades; each grade allowed an initiate to gain deeper knowledge of local shrines and deities. Some of the art from this area is used on shrines and in the meeting rooms of the associations. Among the Kalabari Ijo, ancestors of prominent families are celebrated with memorial screens.

The Congo River Basin

The Kong peoples of today, including the Yombe, Mbo-ma, and Beembe, were part of the Kongo kingdom that existed when the Portugese first arrived at the end of the fifteenth century. Symbols of a chief ’s power, such as carved ivory scepters and finials for staffs, were, and still are, among the most important works of art in the Kongo region.

Among the Luba Chokwe peoples, figurative stools sym-bolize a chief ’s authority. While the stools function as

thrones, and are sat upon sometimes, they have a more important role as spiritual seats of authority and meta-phoric resting places.

Much of the art of the Lega people, who have no kings or tribal chiefs, is used in association with the Bwami society, a closed society that unites the members of Lega communities. Highly stylized figurative ivory carvings, the property of Bwami members who had attained the association’s highest rank, were used in Bwami rituals, sometimes arranged in configurations or held during dancing.

Areogun of Osi-Ilorin and Olowe of Ise

Many historical African artworks are solely attributed to culture groups and regions, without mention of artists and workshops. Art from the Yoruba people of Nige-ria poses a distinct exception as scholars and historians have documented in-depth studies of particular artists, or ateliers, over an extended period of time. These stud-ies help identify artistic character and styles that can be attributed to the hand of a specific artist or workshop.

Areogun of Osi-Ilorin (c.1880-1954) is considered one of the foremost Yoruba sculptors of the twentieth century. His technical skill and artistic imagination gained him an esteemed reputation. Areogun was a prolific carver, as his name implies: “Areogun-yamma” literally means “One who gets money with the tools of Ogun and spends it liberally.” (Ogun is the Yoruba orisa or god of iron)Areogun’s oeuvre demonstrates a harmonious relationship between aesthetics and a remarkable depiction of the Yo-ruba worldview.

Olowe of Ise (c. 1875-1938) was a Yorubab court art-ist whom Western art historians and connoisseurs count among the most innovative African artists of the twenti-eth century. Although descendants claim that Olowe was self-taught, he probably served an apprenticeship, learn-ing the Yoruba canon and honing his carving skills. By c. 1900 Olowe was master of an atelier that produced ar-chitectural sculptures, vessels, masks, drums, and other objects for the Yoruba aristocracy and priesthood located within a sixty-mile radius of Ise. His work became known in England when an elaborately decorated palace door he had carved was displayed at the 1924 British Empire Ex-

hibition in London.

Female FigureFang peoples, GabonWood, caningBequest of Victor K. Kiam, 77.112, Cat. 65

Lesson overview

Students will learn about a selection of the finest works of African Sculpture from the New Orleans Museum of Art. They will learn about some of the greatest African sculptors: Areogum of Osi Ilorin and Olowe of Ise, and others.

They will explore and discover African art sculpture from the following geographical and cultural regions in Africa: Cameroon Grasslands, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Southern Nigeria, The Congo River Ba-sin, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso, Western Nigeria and Benin, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Students will explore and learn about the rituals, rites, ceremonies and traditions associated with these masks, vessels, drums, architectural sculptures, pots, costumes and sculpted artworks. They will explore and learn about the materials and techniques in the making of these art objects.

In the Shelton Studio students will be given the op-portunity to create masks, vessels, and sculpted art-works out of various materials from the studio. The students will brainstorm what these masks, vessels and artworks might symbolize and for what kinds of ceremonies these artworks might be used in and for today in 2007.

Students and teachers may research and engage in conversations about the African sculptures before arriving at the art museum, using the study guides (available on-line) to explore information and ideas about them. While here they will spend time in the galleries closely observing the work, discussing it, reading and listening about it, writing about it, and even sketching the work. They will begin conver-sations about the theories behind the work which will lay the groundwork for future opportunities to pursue these ideas in their home classrooms and schools.

Female Figure: Wè peoples, Côte d’IvoireWood. 74.56, Cat. 23.Wooden statues, relatively rare in the mask culture of the Dan and the Wè, are counted among the valuable possessions of a village leader. Wè figures may represent individuals and perhaps would have been sculpted on commission.

Statements about Resonance from the Past: African Art from the New Orleans Museum of Art

. . . any comprehensive study of African art is, by necessity, multidisciplinary, with art historians and anthropologists heading a list that also includes musicolo-gists, folklorists, linguists, dance historians, architectural historians and scholars of religion, aesthetics, ethnology and philosophy. Visions of this fusion were dancing in my head as I traveled . . . to the Museum for African Art. So I wasn’t surprised that the word exciting repeatedly came to mind as I walked through a show for which I’d had only mild expectations.

Piece after piece, no matter how familiar the form, made me slow my pace. Every encounter was a contact high. I wasn’t seeing just objects. I was seeing a network of ideas. . .

The New Orleans museum’s African collection is a fine and representative one, as befits a city with a 70 percent African-American population. And, the curator, Frank Herreman, former deputy director of exhibitions at the Museum for African Art, has chosen well, from a Kota reliquary guardian figure (a modernist icon) and a Ciwara crest mask (its form now a logo for an African airline) to pieces notable for their rarity. . . . And until fairly recently, anonymity was assumed to be standard in African art. Not necessarily so. In many cultures, individual artists were and are revered; sometimes their fame was widespread.

. . . the material in this exhibition is choice, and the atmosphere bracing and expansive. So pay a visit. Browse a marvelous African collection. And start looking hard at what you don’t see.

-—Holland Cotter, The New York Times, April 29, 2005

Essential questions

Grades K-6Why are we interested in other people from other •lands?What do we want to know about the people, and •where they live?Why do people make art? Can you name several •reasons?Can you name what kinds of art people make?•What are myths?•Why do we make up myths?•What do these art objects make you think about?•What do these art objects make you feel?•What is a symbol?•How are symbols used to tell a story, to provide •information, or to convey an idea?

Grades 6-12How does art relate to mythology?•What is art in relationship to people and their •land and culture?What is African art and how is African art differ-•ent than any other kind of art?In what ways did the Africans use art?•

Art questions to consider

Grades K-6What do you see?•Can you name all the kinds of art •objects and their uses?Can you describe some of these •objects in detail? Shape, size, color, texture, lines and materials?Do you think the objects stand •for or symbolize something other than what you see? What could that be?How did they make these objects? •What kinds of materials did they •use? What kinds of tools did they use •to make the objects?

Grades 6-12What art techniques and skills were •used to create these sculptures?

Pre-visit activities

In order to prepare students for their museum visit and extend learning possibilities, we suggest that teachers and students consider the following activities;

Students will read and research exhibitions ma-•terials on these African sculptures and about the geographical regions where they were created.Students will read about the African cultures from •these regions.Students will research the known African sculp-•tors, like, Areogun of Ose-Ilorin, the Yoruban sculptor.Students will explore the materials used in the •making the masks, vessels, artworks, etc. Students will explore the various techniques the •sculptors used in creating their works.Students will explore the influences on the Afri-•can sculptors in the making of their works.

Prerequisite skills/knowledge

Museum staff will work with teachers to ensure that all projects are age level and skills appropriate. At the very minimum,

Students should have some familiarity with •sketching and drawing objects.Students should be able to identify shapes and •colors.Students should be familiar with some of the vo-•

cabulary words on the list below in the packet, such as; initiation rites, divination rites, ceremo-nies, gods and goddesses, spirit. (Teachers should select words that are most appropriate for their stu-dents’ age and understanding.)

Crest MaskCiwara Kum or Sogoni Kun, Ciwara association, Bamana peoples, Bougouni or Diola region, Mali, wood, 16-3/8 inches, bequest of Victor K Kiam, 77.241 New Orleans Museum of Art.

Students should understand •what a symbol and a meta-phor are and should be shown examples of symbols and met-aphors.

Aesthetics – the study of art

Altar – a raised ceremonial religious structure, where reli-gious ceremonies are performed

Ancestral - belonging to former generations of some-body’s family

Anthropomorphic – attributions of human characteristics to nonhumans

Canonical – relating or belonging to the biblical canon or a canon of artistic works established as genuine and complete

Celebration – show happiness over an accomplishment or event

Ceremony – ritual for formal occasion

Culture – shared beliefs and values, social behaviors of a particular group, nation or people

Deceased- dead, no longer living

Deity – god, a god or goddess or other divine being

Divine – having a godlike nature

Divination – seeking knowledge by supernatural means

Empower – give authority or power to somebody

Fecund – fertile, capable of producing much vegetation or many offspring

Funerary – relating or suitable for a burial or funeral

Hermaphrodite – organism having both sexes

Icon – image of holy person

Implement – a tool

Inauguration – induction into an office of authority

Initiation – ceremony only by which somebody is admit-ted to a group, organization, religion or society

Installation – appointment of somebody to a position

Mallet – tool similar to a hammer with a large wooden or metal head

Manifestation – an indication that something is present, real or exists

Masquerade – pretending to be somebody or something else by wearing a mask.

Maternity – the condition of being a mother

Myth – an ancient story

Mythology – a traditional story about heroes or super-natural beings, often explaining the origins of natural phenomena

Oath – a solemn promise

Ornament – a decorative object

Reliquary – a container or shrine where relics, like the remains of a saint, are kept

Represent – to symbolize or stand for something else

Resonance – the effect of an event or work of art beyond its immediate or surface meaning

Rite – a ceremonial act

Ritual – a formal and repeated behavior established, for example, in a religion in observance of something

Sacrifice – the giving up of something valued

Sacrificial – used in an offering or a sacrifice

Scarification – to make scars on the skin deliberately for beauty or for meaning in a society

Sculpture – creation of three-dimensional art

Shrine – holy place of worship

Spirit world – a world beyond the physical and known world

Superhuman – beyond human capability

Supernatural – not of this natural world

Symbol – something that represents something else

Transformation – a complete change, usually into some-thing with an improved appearance or usefulness

Vocabulary to know

Museum activities

Part 1 Time frame: 45 minutes

Students will closely observe the finest works of •African sculpture, Resonance from the Past: African Art from the New Orleans Museum of Art.They will identify objects, materials, shapes, forms, •colors, and uses they might have had.Students will discuss what they see with museum •educators. They will learn and explore the geographical re-•gions where the art was made and how the art was understood by the people of those regions.They will explore the symbols, myths, rites, rituals, •and ceremonies the art might have been used for.Using worksheets, students will respond in writ-•ing or drawing to the work they see by recording their observations and their own thoughts about the work.Students will answer questions on a museum •worksheet.Students will engage in discussions about their ob-•servations and their answers and sketches with one another and with the teachers.

Part 2 Time frame: 45 minutes (minimum)

The following projects may be considered individually, or combined, or museum staff will work with teachers to de-velop specific projects which support ongoing classroom work.

Students will explore the art sculpted objects and •their uses and meanings by creating an object from clay and various other materials in the Shelton Studio. This object can represent a modern myth in their culture today. It could be a supernatural figure, a superhero, or a modern hero in their cul-ture today.Students will create a mask, a vessel, sculpture, •headdress, instrument or figure out of clay or oth-er materials, such as paper, wood, or found materi-als.Students will paint their objects symbolic colors •or there might be an option to fire the objects in kilns, depending on availability.

Students will write about their objects and explain •how they might be used or interpreted.

Post-visit activities

We have found that students achieve maximum benefit from a museum visit when time is scheduled for post-visit activities. Here are some suggestions:

Students discuss or write about their museum ex-•periences, reviewing what they learned, what has special meaning for them, how they will use new information and skills.Students continue to research the African art sculp-•tures, the geographical regions and cultures.Students continue to create art objects represent-•ing modern myths about their culture. Students consider and discuss similarities be-•

tween Afri-can art and culture, and their own art and culture.

Headdress Mask c. mid 20th centuryOron Ibibio peoples, Cross River region, Nigeria Wood, pigment. Gift of Françoise Billion Richardson in honor of E. John Bullard’s twentieth anniversaryas director of the New Orleans Museum of Art. 93.78, Cat. 56.

This mask may have been used in a women’s masquerade, balanced on the performer’s head with the help of two scarves attached to the square holes in the earlike shapes. The three horn-like projections suggest the power associated with animal horns, or the ornate beauty of a woman’s elaborate coiffure. Women’s masquerades are sometimes performed at the funerals of important women. The headgear on the four figures suggests individuals of high status—one of the figures wears a tufted hairstyle similar to that seen on the corpse of an important woman during her burial.

Suggested use in the curriculum

The study of Resonance from the Past: African Art from the New Orleans Museum of Art plus the historical and cul-tural knowledge they will gain from studying the work and ideas behind the exhibition tie to multiple curricular areas, including; the study of the geography, art, history, sociol-ogy, anthropology, mythology, math, science, art, music, folklore, literature, language, writing, reading, speaking, listening, dance and philosophy. Museum staff will work with teachers to address specific Wyoming Teaching Stan-dards and to align museum projects and studies with on-going classroom curricular units.

Some recommended resources

From Amazon.com:

African Sculpture by Ladislas SegyAfrican Art Sculpture by Pierre MeanzeA Short History of African Art by Werner GillonResonance from the Past: African Art from the New Orleans Museum of Art by Frank HerremanMuseum exhibition literature provided by the UW Art Museum

Web sites:www.noma.com www.nmafa.si.edu, National Museum of African Artwww.africanart.org, The Museum for African Artwww.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices, Smith-sonian Natural History Museum

Materials to be supplied to each student

Materials for selected Shelton Studio projects are provided by the art museum.

Assessments and documentation of mu-seum tour and studio experiences

In order to ensure that our museum tour program is meet-ing the needs of teachers and students, we ask that partici-pants complete evaluation surveys. Surveys will be distrib-uted to teachers and students, but they are also available on-line as a pdf file to be downloaded, or they may be requested via email from Wendy Bredehoft, Curator of Education, at wbredeho@uwyo.edu.

Students will self-assess using a quick survey that 1. asks them to consider their response to the gallery discussions and research, and their studio experi-ence.Teachers will assess the overall visit by complet-2. ing a quick survey that asks for their observation and assessment of students’ experiences, as well as

assessment of the overall process of the museum visit.

CREST MASK: CIWARA KUN/ SOGONI KUN OR KUN/KONIKUNCiwara or Jo associations, Bamana peoples, Sikasso region, Mali Wood, animal hair, cloth, string, iron. Bequest of Victor K. Kiam. 77.251, Cat. 14.

This crest mask is a wonderful example of the complex iconography and artistic creativity exhibited in Bamana works. The mask has been identified as used by either the Ciwara or the Jo association and is illustrative of the abstraction most often seen in the southern Bamana region. A phallic horizontal element merges with the arched back of an anteater. Anteaters are linked with farming activities through their habits of rooting and burrowing. Mounted upon the anteater are curved horn- and knucklebone-like elements whose meaning is unclear. As on other crest masks, animal fur (evidence of the bush) and cloth (product of civilization) are lashed to the top.

3. Museum staff and artists/teachers will record their ob-servations and assessments.

4. When studio time permits, we will ask students to briefly discuss their art work com-pleted in the Shelton Studio visit.

5. Museum staff may take pho-tographs of students and teachers to document the learning taking place and the work produced during a mu-seum visit. These are avail-able upon written request to teachers who would like to use them to document the art of teaching and for stu-dent portfolios.