Into Africa

Capturing the art of a culture is a difficult undertaking in any circumstance. However, the current exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has taken on an entire subcontinent with vast geography, rich and diverse traditions, languages and histories, and made it all work.

"African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back" features representations of art and artifact from Sub-Saharan Africa spanning two-plus centuries. A unique cadre of "advisers" has tape-recorded extraordinary commentaries that bring the more than 200 works to life.

This major exhibition originated at the Seattle Art Museum and was expanded here in Philadelphia with some 40 works by contemporary artists. The show runs through Jan. 2.

The original curator of the show, Pamela McClusky, wrote the show catalogue and the book and, along with the experts on tape, allows for the work to be seen in the cultural context, an enormous benefit for the audience who might not be familiar with African culture. McClusky rightly points out the mistakes often made when art is interpreted outside the cultural milieu in which it was produced. As she phrases it, she wants to erase the line between "cultures that curate and cultures that are curated."

This approach of allowing the culture to determine its own meanings is rarer than one would expect. Those who can "curate" others often do so with a superior attitude. Who can know all there is to know of any culture, and particularly when the art is beaded jewelry from Kenya, gold weights from Ghana and costumes of the Dan, the Mende and the Yoruba?

In the West, delineation is often made between primitive or folk art and the art that stems from the academy. The idea is that real artists are academy-trained and then either abide by the artistic strictures or run counter to them.

One advantage of untrained artists is that their work seldom seems dated. It has a fresh look to it regardless of having been made yesterday or in past millennia. That is the case here, with the objects seemingly able to relate directly to the viewer without the screen of convention.

The show also includes Asante and Kom objects, Mande hunting shirts, masks, Dasinjom costumes, Ivwri figures, Kongo fetishes, Maasai adornment and Bamako photographs. Within the exhibition space, there are guides to what otherwise could be a jumble of attractive but isolated objects. Vistors can view videos of various African ceremonies, including one of the funeral of an Asante king and the procession of his successor. Other videos document masquerade performances from Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The organizers also have enlisted a number of academic scholars to provide documentation, advice and insight. Possibly the most innovative approach was to engage about a dozen African artists, performers, historians and folklore experts to tape commentaries about their specialties.

John Zarobell, who coordinated the exhibition for Philadelphia, explained the concept: "It is exciting to seize upon the vitality of these works in a museum and, at the same time, embrace the voices and perspectives of African experts who can augment the rich dialogue between art and viewer in striking ways."

The audio tour is provided free to visitors and includes topics such as Egungun masquerade costumes, Kongo medicines, Gelede masks and a throne room from the Kom Kingdom of Cameroon.

Museum director Anne d’Harnoncourt noted that the innovative approach "will give our visitors the opportunity to admire these impressive works not only as objects of compelling aesthetic contemplation but also in contexts that evoke their original functions and meaning in powerful and provocative ways."

In presenting this look into African art and culture, the museum has expended a great deal of energy. The museum is calling the stretch of time from now to the end of the show a celebration of African culture.

The restaurant is creating a number of dishes featuring African tastes and recipes, and there is a full schedule of public programs. These include the music of Mali and the Manding Empire, which features a kora — a 12-string harp — played by Mamadou Diabate, a member of the Mandinka West African jeli (musician caste) family. His musical lineage goes back seven centuries. Also included will be storytelling, dance programs, a fashion show, stilt walker, a film series, the premiere of the highly regarded movie Moolaade, drummers and acrobats.

African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back
through Jan. 2
Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
215-684-7500
www.philamuseum.org
Adults, $10; seniors (62+), students with valid ID, ages 13-18, $7; 12 and under, free; Sundays, pay what you wish