An Undergraduate Course, University of Virginia
Spring Semester 2004
|
African Art and the Web Museum
An Undergraduate Course, University of Virginia Spring Semester 2004 |
Last updated January, 2004. Copyright © 2004 Benjamin C. Ray All rights reserved.
Each student will design an exhibition catalogue of African art, incorporating the results of the student's study of African art. The exhibition catalogue will contain 12 selected works organized around a general exhibition theme. All exhibitions will contain an introductory text that explains the exhibit's theme, a map of Africa locating the societies whose objects are represented, images of selected African art objects, relevant field-context images, descriptive labels, and other explanatory textual materials. The images will be taken from collections at the Bayly Museum of the University of Virginia, the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, the Hampton University Museum (used with copyright permission), and other online sources.
The course includes the following curricular components: a brief history of African art studies; African ritual and cosmology; analysis of African art exhibition catalogues; library research on selected art objects (on Reserve at Fiske Kimball Library); the exhibition of African art in museum contexts; training in placing images in Word documents (also in saving images to Home Directory, and converting Word pages to Webpages). The aim of this course is to create exhibition catalogues of African art that convey the meaning and significance of traditional African art to a Western audience.
Image Collections:
Students enrolled in the course also have access to collections of images shown in class. These images are intended for study and review, and will not be incorporated into the student exhibitions.
Examples from previous class, 1996.
Jones, Atalaya
Matricardi, Jayne
Examples from previous class, 2000.
Littlepage, Eric
South, Gail
Examples from 2003.
Bailey,
Alice
Branch,
Lori
Cornachio,
Laura
Davis,
Blair
Dominique,
Valerie
Einik,
Nurit
Gunter,
La'Tasha
Hamrick, Mary
Hilyard,
Gretchen
Jordan,
Whitney
Leonard, Suellen
McCullough,
Erika
O'Neill,
Maeve
O'Rourke,
Audyn
Stuart, Kim
Swanson, Amber
Wildy,
DeLisa
Exhibition Catalogue Guidelines
Mid-Term Exhibition Catalogues:
Mid-term catalogues should consist of six images with descriptive labels.
The images may be left-justified or placed in any position on the Web page
in relation to the label. The images should be imported in both small gif
form and the larger jpeg format, so that the viewer can study the object
in greater detail. The exhibit should open with a title, followed by an
opening statement that explains the exhibit's theme. It should be informative
and succinct, two or three short paragraphs in length. A key image might
follow immediately below the exhibition title (or stand next to it) as
a way of visually conveying the theme of the exhibition. The six images
should be taken from at least four different societies. A map locating
the societies represented in the exhibit is not necessary for the mid-term.
The well-written label:
The label should appear next to the image; it should be clear, engaging, and concise, and contain no more than 75 words. The point of the label is to explain the object's artistic features and purpose. Since objects of traditional African art are generally made for use in specific contexts, which are often ritual or ceremonial, the label should inform the viewer both about the object and its context and purpose of use. The best way to do this is by referring to certain prominent features of the object, its particular shape, formal properties, and artistic detail, and to explain these features in terms of particular social, moral, and religious ideas and actions. This helps the viewer to "see" the object within its own cultural setting. The label thus educates the viewer's eye by explaining how the object expresses important African moral and religious ideas. If possible, the label should quote a relevant statement (proverb, poetic verse, myth text) taken from the society itself concerning the object or context. The label must do this with a minimum of words (no more than 75) for an audience that possesses little or no knowledge of African art. Since the label represents the curator's own knowledge and personal point of view, it is necessarily interpretive; it should also present the viewer with an opportunity to think about the object and make some connections between it and the African cultural features that it expresses.
Guidelines for the final exhibition catalogue:
Your final exhibitions at the end of the semester should be expanded and revised versions of your mid-term exhibitions. They should double the size of the mid-term exhibit, from six objects to twelve objects. And they should be more complex and contain more descriptive information,
1. Exhibition theme
Consider whether your general exhibition theme should be slightly revised to accommodate six additional objects. You may also choose to add another section or "gallery" to your exhibit, expanding your three sections to four. The final exhibition should present images from at least three different societies. Your final exhibit catalogue should also draw some comparisons between certain aspects of African societies with Western culture and human life in general. Here is where your exhibition can express a distinctive point of view in addition to conveying of artistic and cultural information. Re-read Warren Robbin's article, "Making the Galleries Sing: Displaying African Art," as well as the articles by Susan Vogel and Ivan Karp.
2. Design, structure, & organization
The catalogue should have its own title/entry page, presenting the title of the exhibit (with perhaps a subtitle), your name, and an image that conveys the general theme of the exhibit. Below or next to this image, there should explain be a brief statement that introduces and explains the theme of the exhibit. This should not be a personal statement, but a descriptive one that tells the viewer what the exhibit is about and indicates its different parts and how they relate to each other. The statement should be short enough so that it appears on the title page, without scrolling too much down the page. At the bottom of the title page (or somewhere else) there should be three or four links to the various parts (pages) of your exhibition, each part having its own title. These same links should appear at the end of each section of the exhibit so the viewer can navigate from one to section to an other and return to the title page.
As a general rule you should place your labels next to the images so that the viewer can read the label and look at the image without having to scroll up or down the page while reading the label and looking at the image. If possible, each thumbnail (gif) image should be linked to a more detailed jpeg version of the image. This can be done by wrapping the jpeg image anchor around the gif or by mapping the gif image so that it links to the jpeg. The general point is to make the layout of your Web page simple and uncluttered. Your the main effort should go into the library research and writing components of your exhibit. Your exhibit should contain a map of Africa locating the societies whose objects are represented.
3. Textual content: making the label more complex, with links to pages containing additional library research.
Each major section of the exhibition catalogue should begin with a brief statement to explain how it fits into the overall theme. Each label should begin with the name of the object, the society or culture it comes from, and the modern nation to which the society belongs. For example, "Chi Wara, Bamana peoples, Mali." You should also include an image source or museum credit line, for example, "Fowler Museum of Cultural History." The labels should contain links to bibliographical references, either at the end of the label or within the body of the text. There should also be links to further information concerning some major point (or points) that appears in the label. Be sure that there is a link at the end of this additional page which returns the reader to the original object label. Using Photo Shop, you might find it useful in some cases to crop the jpeg image and/or enlarge one of more parts of it so that the viewer can focus on a specific feature (or features). You should put a link within the text of the label to this part of the image, and add a few more lines of text describing this feature next to the jpeg; then create a link that returns the viewer to the original label.
4. Context photos:
Since there are very few context photos in the Fowler Collection
of images, it will be necessary to find some context photos in the
digitized collection of "images shown in class" or scan them from
published sources. One of the most extensive is The Art, Ritual, and
Drama of Africa by Michael Huet. Most of the recent books on African
art also contain excellent field photos showing the objects in
context. The journal African Arts is also full of field photographs,
just consult the index to the journal in your packet. But this is a
time consuming process and should be low on your list of priorities.
5. Check list for the final exhibition catalogues:
Artistic form: Pay attention to the aesthetics of each object, describe its basic artistic features, comment on its artistic quality -- also, perhaps, say what you think about it. Be sure to mention features of the object that transcend its culture and as well as those features that are a direct expression of the culture that produced it, especially the object's symbolic aspects.
Cultural content: Describe and explain the object's cultural meanings and use, its significance in general and in detail. Place the right amount of artistic and cultural explanation in the label next to the image, so that the reader will want to click on a link in your label and read further to find out more.
Curator's Statement: Your entry page should contain a link to your "Curator's Statement." This is where you explain why you chose the theme that you did, what you want to "say" through your exhibit and African traditional art, and why it's important.
Audience assumptions: Think about some of the key assumptions in your audience's mind which you want to address in your theme and in your object labels and text. Address some of these assumptions explicitly, by way of pointing out some similarities and differences between African societies and ours.
Maps: For each object, your should create a link to a map that shows the location of each society whose objects are represented in your exhibit. Excellent maps may be found at the "African Life and Art" website, under the section called "peoples resources." Next to this map you should cite some important cultural and historical facts about the society in question.
Museum source: Place information about the source of your object image somewhere next to the image, e.g., courtesy of the Fowler Museum."
Name of object, peoples, and nation: Somewhere next to the image, place the name of the object and the name of the society and nation which it represents.
Bibliography: Each object label and additional information in the pages linked to the label should be footnoted to the list items in your bibliography -- which should be a separate Web page.
Web page design: This is your "museum" gallery, make its space work for you so that the viewer is attracted to your objects and can appreciate their design and beauty. The layout of the pages should enable the viewer to read the text easily while looking at the images and to navigate around your exhibition. Keep it simple. Spend most of the time on your research and writing of the introductions to the exhibit, introductions to the separate sections of your exhibit, object labels, and addtional descriptive and explanatory information in the linked web pages, and curator's statement.
Student E-mail Correspondence:
Follow this link for information on subscribing and posting to the class mailing list.
FISKE KIMBALL LIBRARY RESERVE
The study of African art, Exhibiting African art
I. Karp & Levine, S., EXHIBITING CULTURES
General Books & Videos on African art in all regions of Africa
Gabai Baar*, Ilisa & Others, IN AND OUT OF AFRICA, VIDEO .VHS6845 at CLEMONS
Cole, H., I AM NOT MYSELF
-----, IDEALS & POWER IN AFRICAN ART
Nooter, N., SECRECY: AFRICAN ART THAT CONCEALS & REVEALS
Ray, B., RELA 410: YORUBA RELIGION (PHOTOCOPY PACKET)
Roberts, A., ANIMALS IN AFRICAN ART BIBLIOGRAPHY
Roy, Christopher, ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA CD-ROM - disk
______, ART AND DEATH IN AFRICA, VIDEO .VHS6848 (CL-MEDIA) at CLEMONS
R. Thompson, AFRICAN ART IN MOTION
S. Vogel, FOR SPIRITS AND KINGS
------, PERSPECTIVES: ANGLES ON AFRICAN ART
------, ART/ARTIFACT
------, CLOSE UP: LESSONS IN THE ART OF SEEING AFRICAN ART
------, AFRICAN AESTHETICS
West Africa: General
Peter Adler and Nicholas Barnard, AFRICAN MAJESTY: THE TEXTILE ART OF THE ASHANTI & EVE
Barbier-Mueller Museum, ART OF COTE D'IVOIRE
Boone, S., RADIANCE FROM THE WATERS: IDEAS OF FEMININE BEAUTY IN MENDE ART
Duchateau, BENIN: ROYAL ART OF AFRICA
Ezra, K., ROYAL ART OF BENIN
LaGamma, A., THE ART OF THE PUNU "MUKUDJ"
Perrois, ANCESTRAL ART OF GABON
Phillips, R., REPRESENTING WOMAN: SANDE MASQUERADES OF THE MENDE
Roy, C., ART OF THE UPPER VOLTA RIVERS
--------, ART & LIFE IN AFRICA (book)
--------, ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA CD-ROM disk
Yoruba
Abiodun, R., H. Drewal, J. Pemberton, YORUBA ART & AESTHETICS
Drewal, H., Abiodun, R., Pemberton, J.,THE YORUBA ARTIST
Drewal, H., & Drewal, M., GELEDE: ART AND FEMALE POWER
Fagg, W., & Pemberton, J., YORUBA: SCULPTURE OF WEST AFRICA
Drewal, H., Pemberton, J., Abiodun, R., YORUBA: NINE CENTURIES OF AFRICAN ART & THOUGHT
Lawal, B., GELEDE: ART & SOCIAL HARMONY IN AN AFRICAN SOCIETY
Thompson, R. F., BLACK GODS AND KINGS
------, FACE OF THE GODS, AFRICAN ART & ALTARS OF AFRICA & AFRICAN AMERICAS
Ray, B., RELA 410: YORUBA RELIGION (Photocopy packet: Selected articles & extracts)
Asante
Appiah, P., "Akan Symbolism," AFRICAN ARTS 13, 1(1979)
Garrard, T., "Akan Metal Arts," AFRICAN ARTS 13, 1 (1979)
McLeod, THE ASANTE H. Cole and Ross, D., THE ARTS OF GHANA
Kyerematen, A. A. Y., PANOPLY OF GHANA
Patton, S., The Stool and Asante Chieftaincy," AFRICAN ARTS 13, 1(1979)
Rattray, r. RELIGION AND ART IN ASHANTI
Ross, D., "The Iconography of Asante Sword Ornaments," AFRICAN ARTS 11, 1 (1977-78)
-----, "The Verbal Art of Akan Linguists Staff," AFRICAN ARTS 16, 1 (1982): 56-67
Sarpong, Peter, THE STOOLS OF THE AKAN
Kongo Area (Luba, Kuba, Chockwe, Songye, Pende, Hemba, Kongo)
Herreman. F. & Petridis, C., FACE OF THE SPIRITS: MASKS FROM THE ZAIRE BASIN
Verswijuer, G.et al., MASTERPIECES FROM CENTRAL AFRICA
McGaffey, W. & Harris, M ., ASTONISHMENT & POWER: KONGO MINKISI
Roberts, M. N., & R. F. Roberts, LUBA ART & THE MAKING OF HISTORY