Olowe of Ise
“It is insufficiently understood that a museums power lies not in the possession of objects and collections, but in the acceptance of its authority to name them by both label and context. This is the most jealously guarded divine right of the museum as the curator of soi-disant public collections” – Duncan F. Cameron. Duncan F. Cameron served as a museum curator and director in the Brooklyn Museum in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn, the second largest museum in New York City and one of the largest in the United States. Duncan served in the museum from 1971-1974. An artist once told me, “Art is in the eyes of the beholder” – anonymous. It’s a statement with a broad perspective of thought and meditation. First I would like to give an example of what the quote by Duncan meant can be seen by the work of Constantine Petridis, a museum curator of African art gallery in the Cleveland Museum of art.
He explains objects from the same culture are displayed together and differentiated with those of their neighbors. This concept shows the formal and stylistic relationships between neighboring and familiar artistic customs or traditions that ex-plains the distinctiveness of the arts of distinct people. An addition to the regional framework, thematic connections are highlighted through the use of gallery cards which explain topics of artists, leadership, masks and masquerades, styles and the supernatural. Gallery cards provide photo, descriptions and narrative text linking objects in various regional sections and schematics of their location in the gallery. Petridis uses labels which most curators use, throughout offer context images as illustrations and allow for information or stories that aren’t possible within the constraints of a straight label format However, the emphasis on the object rather than the text. Labels are very much informative to the public. Most museums have an interactive station where curators are usually found, and provide an important educational tool to student, teachers who bring student groups and to visitors. Nowadays, museums have hidden screen with integrated programming so that students are exposed to educational materials gallery with the assistance of educators. Petridis is a vital example of what a museum curator or I do in museums to help communicate with people.
The art I would emphasize on is the wood carvings done by Olowe of Ise of Nigeria. Olowe was born about 1875 in Efon-Alaiyee, a town in eastern yorubaland that was once a kingdom and important center of Yoruba art. The details of his early life and training in sculpture are not globally known but are known to the people of Efon-Alaiye. His descendants claim he was self-taught. Eventually he became a master artist at the Arinjale’s (Kings) palace, and so his fame grew, other king’s and wealthy families commissioned him to carve sculptures, masks, drums and other objects for their palaces and homes. Olowe was an innovative and virtuosic, even daring, artistries demonstrated in his sculptures. I will be explaining on three of his artwork, “The Olumeye Bowl”, “Veranda Post with mounted Hunter”, “Veranda Post of Enthroned King”. These three artworks have similarities with symbolic emphasis that would be explained as we go through all three of them.
“The Olumeye Bowl” Is in the National Museum of African art, Washington D.C. Olowe explores the innovativeness and ingenuity in the work of this art. This exhibition features a kneeling female figure with bowl, called an “Olumeye”. The Olumeye are known to be used to hold kolanuts as offerings of hospitality which were offered to visitors as a sign of welcome and fellowship or friendship. The lady kneeling symbolizes respect, devotion and submission. The Bird in the sculpture symbolizes prosperity and honor during a sacrifice. This artwork is one that usually portrays a woman offering the olumeye during a burial or as a welcoming ceremony to visitors. The image of four dancing girls on lid is a main representation of Yoruba art. He also depicted nude males, of who are kneeling, on this bowl. Such rendering were exceptional and also raised challenges to the Yoruba canon. The head can be moved within the “cage” formed by the male and female figures, it cannot be removed. The cage is formed by the males and females holding the bowl below.
The second artwork is the, “Veranda Post with Mounted hunter”. This was done before 1938. In Yoruba art, figures on horseback usually or most times represent kings, warriors and hunters. In this artwork, a mounted warriors head is emphasized with prominent eyes and beard. Features such as the warriors vest, the saddle and the muzzle of the diminutive horse are articulated through a deeply carved and textured surface of linear motifs. While the top portion of the composition is compressed, the bottom half creates a greater feeling of openness. The lower tier features- a female and male who are portrayed as the wife and son respectively. This juxtaposing of levels is further accentuated by the manner in which they are aligned. In this artwork he followed conventions of symmetry and front laity; when the sculpture is viewed from the back, the woman and the horse figures are aligned. This emphasis on asymmetry contributes to creating a sense or idea of dynamic movement, especially when viewed in the round. This sculpture was once owned by a king and it believed to have been a metaphorical self-portrait of the artist.
The third artwork is the “Veranda post of enthroned King”. This was an artwork done between 1860 and 1938, just the same period of the previous artwork we just explored on. This sculpture attracted visitors and it also faced guests in the inner courtyard of chief Ele-foshan in the town of ikere, in the south western region of Nigeria. This was one of the sculpted works for the palace veranda. In this artwork there’s an application of hierarchical proportion, in which the least important members of the royal group are the smallest and the most important are the largest, in this artwork he presents an enthroned King seated in front of a towering female-figure – his senior wife. Several figures seen on the sculpture kneel at king’s feet. The size and strength of the senior wife implies or suggests the importance of women in Yoruba society. Women support the community, the senior wife’s solid body; strong shoulders, columnar neck and elaborate hairstyle form the support for the posts. The wife gazes down toward the king while her arms rest protectively on his throne. This echoes or symbolizes coronation ceremony at which the senior’s wife stands behind the king and places the crown upon his head, thus conveying that men cannot rule without the support of women. The King retains the most important status. He sits on the throne with authority. The true focus of the composition is not the King but his conical crown topped by a bird. Among the Yoruba, the projections from the top of the head convey divine presence. The Beaded crown symbolizes a vital link to past rulers, whom we believe to have exercise power in the spiritual realm. The Birds beak symbolizes the supernatural watchfulness that enables him to protect his people. The bird also represents powerful older women, female ancestors and deities who support the King and collectively known to the yuroba as “Our Mother”
The first two artworks posses properties that all relate to the third artwork. Firstly, they portray symbolic emphasis that just don’t only relate to the artist but also the tribe and cultural or custom practices done in their regional area of living. Secondly, they portray respect and reverence to their beliefs and customs. In all the artworks discussed, we could see that most figures one way or the other had some symbol of respect. Thirdly, the possess conventions of symmetry. When we view the enthroned king from the back, the senior wife and king are aligned. In other words, you would only be able to see the back of the senior wife but not the back of the King. African artist’s pieces are identified simply by the related art style or the name of the regional or ethnic group to which they belonged.
African Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has ever known. Its uniqueness and innovation has attracted admirations of people all around the world. It has been an inspiration for many artists, especially one whom we discussed on, Olowe of ise. To him, in his art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire. To the prominent members of the board of the museum, I give you the wonderful artwork Olowe of Ise of Nigeria.
Bibliography:
Getlein, Mark. Living with Art. 9th edition. 2010. 268.
Zemanek, David. "Brooklyn museum." (2004): n. pag. Web. 3 Dec 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Museum>. Zemanek, David. "Yoruba Carvers - Past and Present." (2004): n. pag. Web. 3 Dec 2010.
<http://www.randafricanart.com/Yoruba_Olowe_of_Ise.
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