West African, "Necklaces,” Twentieth Century, glass beads and cotton thread; collection of Ambassador Kenneth L. and Bonnie Brown. —Franko Khoury photo
:The Smith College Museum of Art will present the exhibition "African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment" February 1—June 15.
This major loan exhibition of more than 100 African beaded objects, including sculpture, textiles and items of personal adornment, will be drawn from museum and private collections across the country.
The show focuses on the beaded artistry of the Yoruba, Bamum and Bamileke peoples of West Africa, the Kuba of Central Africa and the Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele of southern Africa. The project is the first of its kind to address African beaded art as a cross-cultural study, rather than focusing on the artistic production of one or two regions.
John Pemberton III, a scholar of African art, will serve as the guest curator of the exhibition and author of its accompanying catalog. The Smith College Museum of Art will be the only venue for this exhibition.
Archaeological excavations on the African continent have revealed the use of a variety of materials to create personal adornment as emblems of identity and status, with some materials dating as early as the Neolithic period.
From the Sixteenth through the Twentieth Centuries, when sub-Saharan Africa was caught up in the struggle of world economic and political powers, however, glass beads arrived from Europe and India and became incorporated as a new medium in African art.
The story of this imported medium is one inextricably linked with colonialism and with the arrival of traders, missionaries, explorers and military personnel. The exhibition and its catalog will address the creative response of Africa's peoples to these materials in terms of their social and political lifestyles as well as their aesthetic discourse.
The museum is on Elm Street at Bedford Terrace. For information, 413-585-2760 or
www.smith.edu/artmuseum
.
