African art

The visual art of Africa is primitive, fetishistic, abstract and diverse. Its designs run the gamut from gaudy to minimalist, and seeing it on display at a gallery or museum can excite, inspire and occasionally alarm viewers.

For the next few months, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is offering "Africa: Arts of a Continent," an insightful exhibit of African art culled from the museum's own collection, in storage for the past few years, along with several new acquisitions never before seen by the public.

The tastefully installed exhibition focuses on four cultures in sub-Saharan Africa: the Dogon (doh'-gahn) of Mali, the Baule (ba ou le' or BOW-lay) of the Ivory Coast, the Yoruba (your'-a-bah or yoh-roo'-bah) of Nigeria and the Kuba Kingdom of the Congo. There are also several ancient Egyptian burial objects from various dynasties.

Exhibition curator Bernadette Brown has selected diverse and noteworthy pieces of immense interest, some of which cannot help but remind viewers of the African art influence on early modern-art movements in Europe and America. (According to art historian Lori Verderame, Picasso incorporated the ceremonial masks of the Dogon tribe into his groundbreaking cubist work, "Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon," 1907-09.)

Art has been created in sub-Saharan Africa for hundreds of years, said Brown, but because artists do not sign or date their pieces, and because they are made of wood, which decays rapidly due to the environment, precise dates for the works aren't available. (Be sure to read Brown's exhibition essay when visiting the show, a concise and absorbing history of the cultures' religious, political and social workings.)

Wood sculpture is generally considered Africa's greatest visual-art achievement, but objects are also made in metal, stone, terra cotta, ivory, mud and beadwork. Some pieces from these media can be seen in the exhibit.

Created as a visual language, the art reflected social and religious beliefs. "Art objects served to give shape, form and content to the invisible and abstract concepts of African philosophy and religion," said Brown.

Traditional art forms consist of masks, figures, decorative objects used for personal adornment and objects made to show a person's rank or status.

From the Dogon tribe, museum visitors will encounter several engaging works, such as "Togu Na Houseposts" (wood). A "Togu Na" or "House of Word" stands in every Dogon village and serves as shelter for the men as they discuss village affairs. An exhibit label informs viewers that the symbolic images carved on the "Togu Na" express themes of fertility and procreation. Many of the carvings are of women's breasts, for, as the Dogon proverb says, "The breast is second only to God."