African Vision
By kenya on Mar 21, 2009 in Art | comments(0)
Mask
Nuna peoples, Burkina Faso
Mid-20th century
Wood, pigment, metal
This mask depicts a butterfly, one of a cast of masquerade characters, and a representation of a bush spirit. Butterflies signal the coming of rain and the start of the farming season.
One of the things that I like about the Washington, DC, area is the abundance of cool museums that are predominately free. I admit, however, that like most I usually take them for granted. I had not gone to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art in more than 10 years but stopped by to see the current exhibition African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. This collection is known for its unique and rare works of traditional African art from countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa and has been instrumental in defining the field of African art history in the United States and abroad.
The exhibition, which runs until March 30, is worth taking a look. There’s almost no one in the museum at lunch time during the week so that’s the perfect time to go.
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