Written by Ashleigh Cox
I went to the Krannert Art Museum’s first-ever Art Talk and learned a lot about African Art and it’s movement throughout the Western world. The curator talked about several pieces from different regions as well as their significance to the cultures they originally came from.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Art Talk initially because I haven’t been to any art museums aside from KAM. The first Art Talk was originally supposed to be about European and American art, however, that curator was sick the day of the event. The curator for the African Art exhibit was happy to step in, though, and talked about many of the statues, paintings, and other creations.
The piece in the picture above was painted by an artist who particularly enjoyed playing with letters of the alphabet. I can’t remember which language was used, but he distorted the letters to a point where they were almost unrecognizable but still familiar. The separations in his work are visible in certain areas.
Another artifact of interest was the ax-shaped object below. It is a symbol of the deity of god and thunder from the Lucumi religion and is used in ceremonial dances.
The most fascinating part of the Art Talk was the discussion of movement within art. The curator talked about how most of the time we associate the movement of African art and culture as a result of enslavement and oppression. She also brought up the trading of artifacts and how a lot of the pieces they have were likely bartered or given as gifts. I’m looking forward to the next event on November 14th!
