INTRODUCTION
The Frank H. McClung Museum at the University
of Tennessee is pleased to announce an exhibition entitled "The
World Moves - We Follow: Celebrating African Art."
It is slated to run from January 11, 2003 until May 18, 2003. The
exhibition is a centerpiece in the semester-long celebration of
the culture, history and the visual and performing arts of Africa
at the University of Tennessee, "Africa Semester, Spring 2003".
Approximately 100 objects, from premier museums
across the nation -The Art Institute of Chicago, The Chicago Field
Museum; The New Orleans Museum of Art; The Indianapolis Museum of
Art; UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History; the Smithsonian National
Museum of African Art; the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History, and four private collectors will be included in this important
exhibition. The exhibition, curated by William Dewey, University
of Tennessee, School of Art, Assistant Professor, will use objects
to focus on the artistic and cultural richness of the African heritage.
Dr. Jefferson Chapman, Director of McClung states: "We are
most pleased to offer this excellent exhibit. Dr. Dewey has managed
to collect extremely important pieces from top museums and put them
together in a meaningful, educational and beautiful manner."
The title, "The World Moves - We Follow," taken from a
Yoruba proverb, speaks to the inevitability of change, in this instance
regarding African art.
A catalogue by curator William Dewey is being
published by the Museum with many of the objects illustrated in
full color. Rosalind Hackett, University of Tennessee Professor
of African Religion, contributed a chapter on art and religion,
and dele jegede, Professor of African Art History at Indiana State
University, contributed one on the relationships between "traditional"
and "contemporary" African art forms.
A number of events, musical and dance performances,
lectures, a play, a conference, film series, are planned to coincide
with the exhibition to make a community and campus-wide event -
"Africa Semester,
Spring 2003".
For further information contact: http://pr.tennessee.edu/africa.
THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition will be organized
into the following themes:
Leadership and Status, which will show
artifacts used to declare status and leadership positions through
visual means.
Utility and the Art of Living which
will show the subtle visual beauty of African utilitarian objects
such as pottery, furniture, containers, combs, ceremonial weapons
and currency tokens.
Transitions, showing items such as
masks and figures that are used to guide and educate.
Death and the Ancestors which will
feature masks, figures, burial shrouds and memorial posts.
Connecting with the World which will
feature the work of contemporary African artists.
Objects to be included cover a variety of forms
(masks, figures, textiles, paintings, weapons, furniture); time
periods (ranging from a bronze head and plaque from the ancient
kingdom of Benin up to contemporary times with factory-printed cloth
and art about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in
South Africa); and geographic areas (ranging from Madagascar to
eastern and southern Africa, through central and western Africa,
to northern and northeastern Africa).
CURATOR AND SPONSORS
-
CURATOR:
Dr. William Dewey, Curator - The World
Moves- We Follow: Celebrating African Art
The curator of this exhibition, Dr.
William Dewey, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University
of Tennessee is an accomplished African Art Scholar. His most
recent curated exhibition was in 1998, Legacies of Stone, Zimbabwe:
Past and Present, at the Musee Royal de L"Afrique Centrale
in Tervuren, Belgium. He has received recognition from the Ford
Foundation and the International Partnerships among Museum.
Dr. Dewey served as President and Past President of the Arts
Council of the African Studies Association of American and was
Co-Director of The Project for Advanced Study of Art and Life
in Africa, The University of Iowa.
His publications include The Power of Form; In the Presence
of Spirits: African Art from the National Museum of Ethnology,
Lisbon; Legacies of Stone, Zimbabwe: Past and Present; and Sleeping
Beauties: The Jerome L. Joss Collection of Headrests.
- SPONSORS:
EXHIBITION-RELATED LECTURE
For more complete information on lectures
and related events, see http://pr.tennessee.edu/africa/
EXHIBITION ARCHIVES
The Website versions of other McClung Museum
special exhibits are available at our Exhibition Archive.
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