A curious preference

Hi Andrew

First, many thanks for the essay. I've read it several times, and find something new to think about every time I do so.

I'd like to introduce an observation. In addition to my affection for African tribal arts, I am a long time collector of textiles. Most are central and western Asian, but some are from other places as well, including Africa. It's not unusual for textile collectors to also be African art collectors.

In textile arts, color may not be everything, but without it, there's nothing. The ruggie's focus on color and dyes is nearly obsessive. Many African textiles are judged largely by their palettes ("Kente", and beadwork from various areas come to mind easily).

It's only when we get to masks and sculpture that the African art collector is horrified by anything that isn't black, brown, white, or some combination of those.

I have one or two painted pieces that I like a lot, especially a Baga (Nalu?) mask. I will try to remember to post images in a day or two.

Thanks again,

Steve Price

I find the subject quite fascinating, and I feel there is a ground-swell supporting the logic and ideals of "dynamic" authenticity in tribal art. However I also believe, that until recently, the logic has been drowned by commercial individuals and organisations shouting about criteria and value ($).

There was an interesting interview with Simon Njami, the curator of the African art exhibition called Africa Remix that is showing in Japan at the Mori Art Museum on May 27. It has been shown in Germany, Paris and most recently at the Hayward Gallery in London.

He said

"There is a lot of talk about authenticity. People are longing, with a lot of romanticism, for the times when people were authentic. This is crazy. There was never some previous "authenticity." As far as Africa is concerned, long before the Europeans came Africa was already moving a great deal. The Sahara was said to be a highway. Islam, for example, was not an authentic African culture but an import. And then Europe came, and today people are speaking Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique, they are speaking English in Nigeria and South Africa, they are speaking French in Mali and Senegal. This is what I call the "Remix." The artists in this show are the product of all those different movements. Ultimately, it seems to me that authenticity can be nothing but a fixation, and Africa can be nothing but a remix of tradition and modernity. You take all the stuff you have, and make something new"

I don't mind what the colour is - I love it - from the earth tones of patina to the bright enamels.

I noticed that Craig Lewis recently posted on African Antiques saying that painted pieces..."mixed in with non painted pieces they can really "lift" a display". I agree, but I'd prefer to consider collections as displays in their own right and not better or worse for painted pieces.

Steve, on a separate note if you are interested in Asian textiles you should have a chat to Anne Porteous here in Australia (ann@sidewalkgallery.com.au) who travels through Africa and Asia regularly and is currently showing an exhibition of textile art from the Hmong, Dao, Co-tu and other minorities of North Vietnam - all hand loomed with vibrant colours and traditional design!

Hi again Steve

I’ve been thinking today about your first post in this thread around rugs, colours and dyes and it made me think of other artistic forms. Do you (or anyone else for that matter) have an opinion about masks with bead work and other forms of colour (apart from paint) being put in the same collective category as European oil-based paints or non painted masks? Are beaded masks considered valid in collections of African tribal art assuming that the criteria for “authentic” is met?

Regards
Andrew

Hi Andrew

There's lots of African beadwork that is interesting to collectors (at least, to some of us). Some places and peoples that produce wonderful beadwork include the Ndebele, Kuba, Yoruba, and Cameroon grassfields. Of course, native Americans have a long tradition of excellent beadwork.

Vis-a-vis textiles of mainland SE Asia, I have long held the opinion that this region produces what may be the best (from aesthetic, technical and ethnographic viewpoints) in the world. My textile site, Turkotek, has a number of discussions and essays on recent and antique textiles from this part of the world. Here are links to a couple of starting points for anyone who is interested:

http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00113/salon.html

http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00059/salon.html

Regards

Steve Price

Hi Steve

Although I have seen beadwork on Kuba, Lele, Grassland pieces (Bamileke etc) I haven't seen much of it prioritised in collections. Do you think it is the possible association of beads with a more modern age? Does this put it lower down the collecting hierachy?

Obviously beadwork has been around for some time - below is an image from Cameroon funeral celebrations in 1913 - but it has never really found prominence in any discussions that I've been a part of.



I have a fairly recent piece (1980's) in my own collection.



I find that beadwork is like polychromy - it can, probably quicker than it deserves, give a piece its own unique life or it can relegate it to the "tourist art" pile.

regards