A Conversation about "Conversations"

Where: Museum of African Art

When: through January 24, 2016

I'd been debating with myself for a long time over whether to go to the Cosby exhibit at African Art.  On the one hand, I love going to exhibits, and I wanted to see the art works.  On the other hand, Mr. Cosby is at best, a huge sleazeball and at worst, a rapist.  Of course, it's not the art's fault that their owner is such a dreadful person.  But, he did use his persona as a "nice guy" to make a fortune, that enabled him to purchase all of this art, and have his collection shown at the Smithsonian.

I went back and forth for (literally) months.  I go to see shows based on when they're closing, and every time this show was the "next" one I would go to see, something else would open with an earlier closing date, and I could put off making a final decision. Finally, however, my luck ran out, and I decided to go see the show.  I'm not sure if I'm happy I saw it, but I am happy that I can stop thinking about going to see it.

Setting aside the controversy about the show for a moment, I want to focus on the show itself.  It's an interesting idea - juxtaposing works by African artists with works by African-American artists.  There are similar themes present, and they do seem to "go together" - nothing looks jarring or out of place.  Is this because the artists share a common cultural heritage, even if they've been separated from one another for hundreds of years?  I was reminded of a show on baskets I saw here several years ago, and how the items made by Africans are very similar to those made by African-Americans.  The topic is intriguing, and it's a shame that the scandal hanging over the show overshadows that.

One of the pairings I saw that I liked very much is the one represented here.  The painting "Benin Head" is by African-American artist David C. Driskill, and it is displayed alongside an actual Benin head sculpture.  I very much like seeing representations of things along with the actual thing itself.  It happens rarely, but I'm always delighted when it does.  I was also introduced to sculptor Elizabeth Catlett, whose works "Maternity" and "The Family" I impressed me very much.  I'll have my eye out for more of her work in future.

But now, back to the controversy.  As you walk into the exhibit, there is a notice containing a message to visitors about the exhibit.  The Smithsonian is taking the view (which I suppose is the one I ended up taking) that they decry Cosby's behavior, but they think the art is worthy of being shown on its own merits.  Just because a bad person likes a piece of art doesn't make the art itself bad.  They've also set up a comment book, which I didn't read, so if visitors want to vent their spleen, they may feel free to do so.

What struck me as I went through the show is how much of the Cosby pieces show families and spirituality.  In fact, the wall notes for the "Spiritualities" section indicates that these pieces are meant to be a guideline to pursue a moral life.  I would say that's the most ironic bit about this show, except that, in the display of quilts (which are lovely), one quilt has a square that reads, "What part of NO Didn't you Understand?"  Yes, indeed, that is the question.

Of course, Cosby's behavior is not the only controversy surrounding this exhibit.  There's the fact of the Smithsonian putting it on in the first place.  Apparently, it's considered bad form to display works from a private collector that have not been given or promised to the museum displaying them.  I gather that having your works shown at an institution with the reputation of the Museum of African Art increases the value of the works, so the museum is, in essence, giving the collector a gift.  When you add in that the director of the museum is a personal friend of the Cosbys, well, that starts to look bad.

Verdict: The show is very large, and I only had time to skim much of it.  You could easily spend two lunch hours looking at everything.  I didn't feel great walking around, I must confess.  The scandal hangs heavy in the atmosphere.  Whether you'd feel the same way is something only you can decide.

Lalla Essaydi: Revisions

Where: National Museum of African Art

When: through February 24, 2013

For this exhibit, we leave behind the world of sub-Saharan Africa and journey to North Africa, specifically to the world of Lalla Essaydi, a Moroccan-born woman who lived in Saudi Arabia before moving to France and eventually to the United States.  The world in which she lived prior to her time in the West was the world of the harem, where opportunities for women were, and continue to be, non-existent.  Her art depicts the limits placed on women - how they are treated as objects and made to "blend in" with the surroundings.  She has said that her art would not be possible without considerable distance from her homeland, and one cannot doubt that this is the case.

Essaydi has achieved considerable international acclaim as a photographer, but is also an accomplished painter and creator of multi-media installations.  All of these are on display here in her first solo exhibition.  Yet again, the Smithsonian has provided me, and all who visit its museums, with the opportunity to see things not on public display before.

In her "Harem" series of photographs (one of which is pictured above), we see one or more women wearing garments that exactly match the painting on the walls.  They are barely distinguishable from their background.  Obviously, this is meant to show how marginalized the women in these situations are, but I was also reminded of a chameleon, a creature who can blend in to escape its predators.  Do the women hide their true natures from their masters, to preserve some sense of themselves as human beings?

Another series of photographs is the "Three Silences of Molinos."  Based on a poem by Longfellow, which extols the virtue of the silence of thought, the silence of speech and the silence of desire, Essaydi compares this idea to the way in which women are treated in her homeland.  I was reminded of sitting in yoga class, being told to quiet my mind.  In this context, there's nothing wrong with not thinking about the day-to-day worries of life in order to focus on the breath, but when you're never allowed to have your own thoughts or opinions on any matter, you can see how stifling this would become.  Women are treated as property and their ideas, their wants, are accorded no value.

In many of Essaydi's photographs, the women have writing on their skin and on their garments.  This is an act of defiance, as women are not allowed to learn calligraphy.  This is a way to demonstrate that women can and will learn and use their intellects to create art and to speak out.

Essaydi not only depicts the suffering of women in her homeland, she also shows the views of Europeans towards the Middle East, not unlike the work of Jananne al-Ani.  Essaydi takes well-known European paintings and reworks them into photographs, featuring "exotic" North African women.  One of her works, a photograph showing another side of "La Grande Odalisque" by Ingres, hangs in the Louvre.

The multi-media installation is called "Embodiment."   It consists of hanging fabrics with her photographs silk-screened on them, and a video showing several small children playing.  This piece is Essaydi's way of dealing with her childhood memories of life in the Middle East.  For all of us, adulthood takes us to another country than that we inhabited as as child, but for her this is more true than for most of us.

The final room of the show focuses on her paintings.  They are reworkings of Orientalist paintings - similar to the earlier set of photographs.  She overturns the idea of the exotic and desirable North African woman who exists only to please men.  Like al-Ani, she makes you consider your assumptions about the Middle East and those who live there.

Verdict:  It's actually hard to look at Essaydi's photographs, knowing that the lives she depicts are real, but the exhibit is excellent and well worth a look.  

Artists in Dialogue 2: Sandile Zulu and Henrique Oliveira

Where: National Museum of African Art

When:  through January 8, 2012

This is the second in a series of exhibits in which two artists (one of whom is African) are invited to exchange ideas with one another.  Zulu is from South Africa and Oliveira is from Brazil.

Zulu uses fire to create his works, patterns on canvas, and they are very interesting.  Most of his pieces are similar to the one displayed here, and they are quite large.

Oliveira's works are abstracts - paintings of color that are psychedelic.  I liked his work; you could look at it for hours and not see every element contained in it.

I also liked the videos that were playing, showing the artists creating their work.  It's something you usually don't see in an exhibit.  You have the sense of being "behind the scenes."

Zulu's influence on Oliveira was to encourage him to use fire in his work.  He created two enormous wood sculptures: one, which is slightly charred, appears to be bulging out of the wall, and the other is a gigantic sculpture of wood entangled and attached to the walls.  I could not help but wonder: how did they get this in and how will they uninstall it?

Verdict: Go see this exhibit.  It's not terribly large, in terms of number of pieces, so it's manageable in a lunch hour.  It does, however, feature some wild, large art.

Brave New World II

Where: National Museum of African Art

When: through October 2, 2011

When I first learned about this exhibit, it was scheduled to end in April 2011, which is why I went to see it now. They've changed the dates and it is presently scheduled to end in October, so there's plenty of time to see it before it leaves.

It's a video installation by Theo Eshetu, who is an English artist of Ethiopian and Dutch extraction. He is interested in globalization, which is not surprising, given his international background. It's a kaleidoscope effect with many different images, flowing from one into another. They seem random, although I'm sure they're not. I'm assuming they are meant to convey a sense of global interconnectedness. It does hold your attention, as you wait for the next image to appear, which can be anything from the terribly familiar to the amazingly exotic. It's set in a mirrored frame, which I'm guessing is what creates the kaleidoscope - not like anything I've seen before.

Also in the room are a variety of other art works, including some large banners depicting support for Nasser and used when he came to power. Considering current events in Egypt, it's quite timely.

The exhibit itself is quite hard to find, which is unfortunate if one has limited time to spend. It's quite close to the museum shop, so head in that direction.

Verdict: Go see this - it's not like anything else you'll see this year (I'm guessing), and it's an entertaining way to spend some time.