By SHEILA WICKOUSKI
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
A statue of Haitian leader Touissaint Louverture stands at the entrance of the National Museum of African Art’s “African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting.”
This iconic work by Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow is the starting point for viewing an exceptional exhibit.
Made of mud and straw, and meant to invoke the spirit of liberation and mercy, the towering Touissaint has his hand on the head of a crouching figure of a woman slave.
The visible face of the strong leader, and the hidden face of a powerless elderly slave, are united in one work that captures the spirit of the African diaspora.
Nothing speaks to identity like the human face. Focusing on a few key elements such as the composition of a work, its media and its intended purpose is useful in appreciating the art of a foreign culture.
The portrayal of the human face is what communicates emotion–from which a truer understanding might emerge.
Through the 100 works on display, the universal image of the human face appears in many ways–including on traditional carved wooden masks intended for rituals and dance.
Wooden statues abound, while finely defined figures in gold work are rarer, the artistry hiding the hardships of mining and trading behind such a precious material.
And the faces bring out different emotions and thoughts in the viewer. Encoded in meaning and suggesting several interpretations, for instance, is Farhi Hassan’s “Glance Toward the Unknown,” which shows two heads–one a photographic still, the other a silhouette.
A contemporary photograph of a Malian family shows cosmopolitan society after the colonial era.
Factory-printed cloth is the medium for a portrait of a prime minister in Ghana.
Factory-printed cloth is the medium for a portrait of a prime minister in Ghana.
As varied as the media and timelines are here, what emerges in these faces takes the exhibit beyond an assembly of objects.
Even an aluminum briefcase is covered with comic-strip pictures of faces. One can look in the faces and literally see the spirit of the culture underneath.
While the Touissaint Louverture statue serves as an icon of freedom, as well as a work of art, it coincidentally serves as a connection to another African-American exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Kinsey Collection focuses on documents of the grim reality of slavery.
Starting with rare books from the 1630s, the written trail of heartbreaking events of a race of people enslaved has been carefully assembled.
Slaveholder records of the 18th and 19th centuries are chilling. Artwork of modern African-Americans is part of the collection.
Both exhibits are well worth the time to explore the relationships of art, history and social culture.
Together they form a rich body of several hundred works that show connecting relationships of African and African-American experiences.
Sheila Wickouski, a former Fredericksburg resident, is a writer living in Washington.