The_Art_of_Africa_A_Resource_for_Educators.pdf

The Art of

AFRICA

A Resource for Educators

Christa Clarke

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

These educational materials are made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Schein.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Written by Christa Clarke

Lesson plans by Rebecca Arkenberg

Senior Managing Editor: Merantine Hens

Senior Publishing and Creative Manager: Masha Turchinsky

Production Manager: Alice Dow Walker

Design by Lisa S. Park Design

Color separations and printing by Galvanic Printing & Plate Co., Inc., Moonachie,

New Jersey

Photographs of works in the Museum’s collections are by the Photograph Studio

of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fig. 1 by Frederick Lamp, 1990; ﬁ g. 2 by Susan Vogel, 1997; ﬁ g. 3. by Herbert Cole,

1974; ﬁ g. 4 by Paul Gebauer, The Photograph Study Collection, Department of

the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Bequest of Paul Gebauer, 1977 (PSC 1977.1.60); ﬁ g. 5 photograph by Hans Gehne,

ca. 1913, published in Karl Zimmermann, Die Grenzgebiete Kameruns im Suden u dim

Osten (2 vol.), Nutteilungen aus den Deutschen Schutzgebieten , 9a and 9b, Berlin, 1914;

EEPA Study Collection (I 3 Fang); Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National

Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; ﬁ g. 6 photography by P. A.,

c. 1900, postcard, collotype, publisher unknown, c.1905; EEPA Postcard

Collection, CF 18-1; Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of

African Art, Smithsonian Institution; ﬁ g. 7 photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1951,

Image no. EEPA EECL 4373; Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National

Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution; ﬁ g. 8 by Patricia Darish,

1981; ﬁ g. 9 by Casimir d’Ostoja Zagourski (1880–1941), The Photograph Study

Collection, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The

Metropolitan Museum of Art (PSC 1990.3.55); ﬁ g. 10 by John B. Kramer, 1971,

courtesy of South African Museum, Capetown, South Africa; ﬁ g. 11 by Stephen

Brayne, courtesy of Marla Berns, 1995.

Map by Anandaroop Roy

Binder, front : image 5, Male and Female Antelope Headdresses ( Ci wara kun ).

Back : image 38, Textile Mantle (detail).

Box, front : image 21, Pendant Mask. Back : image 38, Textile Mantle (detail).

Spine : image 9, Lidded Saltcellar

ISBN 1-58839-190-6 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

ISBN 0-300-12312-4 (Yale University Press)

Cataloging-in-publication data is available from the Library of Congress.

Foreword

The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrates artistic creativity from across the

globe and from all times. Thus, our distinguished collection of African Art

has special signiﬁ cance both because of its aesthetic excellence and because

our strong collections in all artistic traditions complement one another so

profoundly. We therefore take the greatest pleasure in putting forward this

publication, The Art of Africa: A Resource for Educators . Christa Clark, Curator of Africa,

the Americas, and the Paciﬁ c at the Newark Museum, Alisa LaGamma, Curator

of African Art at the Metropolitan Museum, and the Museum’s Education staff

have worked together to select and shape the content to be especially useful to

teachers and students.

We also thank with special gratitude Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Schein for making

this effort possible. We know that the educational value of this material will be

realized in classrooms throughout New York and across the world for many years

to come.

Philippe de Montebello

Director

Kent Lydecker

Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose

Associate Director for Education

Julie Jones

Curator in Charge

Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Acknowledgments

Many colleagues participated in the development of this publication. We were

fortunate to work with Christa Clarke, Curator of Africa, the Americas, and the

Paciﬁ c at the Newark Museum, who we commend for writing such a clear and

informative text. Heartfelt gratitude and thanks go to the staff of the Metropolitan

Museum’s Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas under the

guidance of Julie Jones, Curator in Charge. Alisa LaGamma, Curator of African Art,

provided invaluable expertise and advice in the development of this project for

which we are truly grateful. Virgina Lee-Webb and Ross Day were generous with

their assistance. Timely, indispensable help also came from Yaelle Biro, Justin

Marquis, Laura Melnyczenko, and Hillit Zwick.

Invaluable support and insight came from Metropolitan Museum educators

and colleagues who helped shape this publication to meet the particular needs

of teachers: William Crow, Deborah Howes, Catherine Fukushima, Kent Lydecker,

Nicholas Ruocco, Edith Watts, Randolph Williams, and Barbara Woods. Karen

Ohland and John Welch offered support and guidance. Christina Park researched

comparative images. Rebecca Arkenberg wrote the lesson plans with help from

Edith Watts. Emily Roth, Naomi Niles, and Vivian Wick compiled the list of

selected resources. Catherine Fukushima shepherded the project in the early

stages together with Merantine Hens, who coordinated the many steps of editing

throughout. Masha Turchinsky directed the design and managed production

overall. Alice Dow Walker coordinated the various culminating aspects of

production. Many thanks to Paul Caro and Jackie Neale-Chadwick for their

imaging expertise and to Kevin Park for printing supervision. Thanks to Teresa

Russo for her help on the CD-ROM and to Jessica Glass and Marla Mitchnick for

their assistance in preparing the DVD. Educational Media interns Emily Nemens

and Scott Niichel provided welcome help.

As always, we greatly appreciate the continued support of Christine Scornavacca

Coulson and the Development staff. We also extend our thanks to Barbara Bridgers,

Einar Brendalen, Thomas Ling, and Karin Willis of the Museum’s Photograph

Studio. Philomena Mariani edited the manuscript with care and speed. Special

thanks to Lisa S. Park for the handsome design of this publication.

Overview of the Collection

The African art collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrated as

one of the most important housed in an art museum. Its history begins in the

1940s when Nelson Rockefeller undertook the project of amassing an extensive

collection of African, Oceanic, and Precolumbian art. At the time, Rockefeller was

president of the Museum of Modern Art and his interest in these ﬁ elds derived

from their historic inﬂ uence on the Western avant-garde. MoMA’s sponsorship

of a series of landmark exhibitions of non-Western art beginning in 1935 and

Rockefeller’s close friendship with its director, René d’Harnoncourt, ultimately

led to Rockefeller’s founding in 1954 of the Museum of Primitive Art, a pioneering

private institution located across the street from MoMA. Art historian Robert

Goldwater served as the MPA’s director, advising Rockefeller on acquisitions

and developing an inﬂ uential exhibition program. In 1969 Rockefeller signed an

agreement transferring the MPA to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to be housed

within a new wing. Included in this gift were 3,300 works of art, a specialized

library, and a photographic archive. Named for Nelson Rockefeller’s son, who

collected many of the Asmat works from Irian Jaya, western New Guinea, The

Michael C. Rockefeller Wing was opened to the public in 1978. This addition

made an essential contribution to the encyclopedic nature of the Metropolitan’s

collections. Since that time, the collection has continued to grow through

acquisitions and gifts to include more than 11,000 works from Africa, the Paciﬁ c

Islands, and North, Central, and South America. Two major additions to the

African component of the Metropolitan’s collection, each comprising more than

100 works, are a series of Dogon objects from Mali given by Lester Wunderman

between 1978 and 1987 and a collection of artworks from the court of Benin in

Nigeria given by Klaus Perls in 1991. From its beginnings, the Metropolitan’s

African collection was conceived as a ﬁ ne arts collection focused on artistic

traditions from Africa south of the Sahara. While it originally emphasized

sculptural traditions from western and central Africa, over the last several

decades the collection has come to embrace expressive traditions in other media

such as textiles as well as those of eastern and southern Africa.

Alisa LaGamma

Curator

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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