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Show gives 'First Look' at unique African art collection

September 21, 2006 12:50 am

By SHEILA WICKOUSKI

For THE FREE LANCE-STAR

The National Museum of African Art is exploding with the possibilities of what is precious.

There can be no exact dollar amount put on the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, a recent gift to the NMAA of more than 500 objects that both expand and complement the NMAA's own inventory.

Considering the difficulty of assembling any such collection today (especially with the proliferation of fake works), and taking into consideration hard-pressed museum funding, Disney-Tishman truly represents a gift to the nation.

"First Look: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection," on view through Dec. 3, serves as a preview and features 23 objects.

When Paul and Ruth Tishman started their acquisition of African works in the late 1950s, they shared with other collectors an interest in masks and figures. Their original purchases were two Benin Kingdom pieces--an ivory figure and a bronze mask.

The extraordinary quality of those first pieces started them on what would be a 20-year search for the works that have evolved into this unique collection, now available to the public.

The Tishmans, however, went much further in their range of acquisitions than most traditional collectors of African pieces. Their appreciation for a variety of media and for colorful and powerful works would mark their collection as more diverse. Their eye for the beautiful and their keen interest in the aesthetics of African artists would lead to this collection being labeled one of the rarest of its kind.

The Walt Disney Co. acquired this collection in 1984 and made the works accessible to a wider audience.

In the years between the Tishmans' and Disney's ownership, there evolved a growing interest in African art as an academic discipline distinct from anthropological studies. Indeed, many students might recognize some of the pieces from their appearance in textbooks.

Also during that time, the NMAA would be created as a separate part of the Smithsonian, where African art would be displayed for its intrinsic value as art, rather than as cultural relics.

In 2005, Disney donated the 525 objects to the NMAA, which plans to exhibit this rare and unique collection in three phases.

An inaugural exhibition, which includes 80 masterpieces, is slated to open in February 2007. The following year, the collection will have a permanent home in the museum.

Because the Disney-Tishman collection complements the NMAA's permanent collection, pieces will be selected to accompany ongoing exhibits.

"African Gold: Selections from the Glassell Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," on view through Nov. 26, explores the significance of authority and power as expressed through the precious metal of gold. The west coast of Africa, once called the "Gold Coast," is the origin of these treasures. The exhibit includes figurative sculptures, golden crowns and ceremonial objects, as well as superb necklaces, bracelets and rings.

Drawn from the museum's permanent collection, "Body of Evidence" is an exhibit of the work of contemporary African artists who challenge and inspire the most precious thing of all--the human spirit.

The selections range from a 15-minute meditative film by environmental installationist Georgia Papageorge to a colorful collage from "First Time Voters" by Kay Hassan.

Papageorge incorporates the sounds of flowing water and sand blowing in the wind into her ethereal film, while Hassan uses paper from real highway billboards to create a billboard-size collage.

Traditional themes are displayed in a series of wooden figures by sculptor El Anatsui from Ghana that are arranged as a wall piece and entitled "The Ancestors Converged Again." Africa's political upheaval, along with the pain of apartheid and its aftermath, is visualized in South African prints of paper passports.

Because some art is sensitive to light, these works will be rotated to limit exposure.

There are, of course, interconnections among the three exhibits, just as there are different interpretations of what is valuable. Whether it is rarity, fine craftsmanship or keen intuition that makes a piece precious, a visit to the NMAA is priceless.