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IN THIS ISSUE Beyond Books Designer's Challenge Improving Mother Nature Bach to the Future Chancellor's
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COVER STORY Life of Mystery How a trip to Africa led to a lifelong love affair with the enigmatic art of that continent. In 1964, Barbara Blackmun enjoyed the opportunity of a lifetime - helping a new country get off the ground. That turn of events evolved into an area of expertise for Blackmun, the founder and curator of the two-decades-old Mesa College African art collection. "I never
expected African art to become my passion," Blackmun said. "Circumstances
made that possible, and I'm forever grateful."
CURATOR: Barbara Blackmun assembles an exhibit of items from the African art collection that were donated to Mesa College through her contacts and tenure there as an expert in the field. In 1964, the small African country Malawi was founded, and the U.S, government asked the new Malawi government what it could provide as a gift. The country asked for a technical school, and Blackmun's husband, a vocational department chairman at Riverside City College, was asked to help. Blackmun, a teacher with an art degree from UCLA, also lent her expertise. "We stayed for five years, and I quickly became aware of how special African art was to the people and the history of Africa," Blackmun said. "I ordered several books on the subject, and read that there wasn't supposed to be any meaningful art in the part of the continent where we were. But I knew about the headmasks in the area and understood how rich in tradition they were. I kept reading about headmasks, and lo and behold soon found myself an expert on the subject." Blackmun returned to the U.S., and earned her master's degree in art from Arizona State University, and her doctorate in art from UCLA. She went on to chair the art department at Mesa College from 1976-78 and 1983-85, teaching art at the college for 30 years before retiring in June 2000. Blackmun continues to teach one class every year at Mesa. The respected collection that Blackmun cultivated was another unexpected development. "We had a good friend, a high school counselor, who had a beautiful collection, and from time to time would come through my African art classes and show his pieces," Blackmun said. "He eventually decided to donate his collection to the college, about 27 objects. "Then shortly after, we had a visit from a man named Charles Robertson, and he gave us another collection. That launched a need for good storage space. We set up a foundation for special tax status, as a way of making it possible for us to accept gifts." Robertson was born in Zaire, the son of a missionary, and grew up collecting and appreciating African art. His donation was followed by the Jack J. Kimbrough donation, made by his family on behalf of the late collector and philanthropist, and was another prize. In 1974 came a donation of Kenyan art from Edgar and Marcellina Gross of Los Angeles. Involved were simple carved stools and vigango, plank memorial posts with geometric carving, often used to commemorate the deceased.Then and now, the collection is more substantial than any known African art collection at any community college, and is well respected by the major African art musems in Cleveland, Chicago and elsewhere. These museums often consult with and seek advice from Blackmun. The collection includes not only sculptures and paintings, but as explained at www.mesacollegeafricanart.org, "African arts also embracing every aspect of costume, choreography, architecture and practical design. The classification of these objects within limited categories such as crafts, furniture or weapons is not accurate, because of the spirituality often associated with materials, symbolism and function." Seen in the collection are carved wooden masks and headdresses, figures in wood and stone, memorial posts, containers, metalwork, ornaments, whistles, wooden staffs and textiles. "We've
tried to keep high standards," Blackmun said. "We need work
made in Africa for African use, not replicas." "This show attempts to illustrate that to understand African art, you must realize it's not just décor," Blackmun said. "Each mask is kind of its own universe. The designs are not just interesting, they are very often coded messages. The purpose of a mask may be comic or something designed to teach age-old values." The pieces in the show come from all over Africa, and a map helps viewers find the locations involved. The students in Blackmun's current African art class are now preparing for a fall show in the same location, and eventually some of the pieces will be displayed in the humanities building. Blackmun, meanwhile, continues to study, publishing articles on African art, particularly concerning her interest in the tradition of ivory carvings. "My own interest is in the significance of the motifs of these ivory carvings," Blackmun said. "At the moment one of my other major concerns in this field is sorting out what is real and what is fake. This is a high-end market, and many replicas are sold as antiquities. "At the other end of the spectrum, I'm interested in helping modern artists in Africa earn respect, appreciation and value for their work that deals with culture and religion, without having to wait for it to become an antiquity. These artists are designing pieces that are history in the making." As is, it appears, the Mesa College African art collection.
ON DISPLAY: Donor-funded museum-grade display cses in the Mesa College Learning Resource Center house rotating mini-exhibits from the college's African art collection.
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BEADED MASK. Called Mwashamboy or Mukyeem, this mask is from the Bushoong people, Kuba Kingdom, Republic of the Congo. It represents the Kuba king in a triad of royal masks that are perofrmed theatrically to enhance the ruler's prestige and authority. (Gift from the collection of Lee and Rada Bronson)
NIGHT VISION. This wooden mask called Kitungu -- the owl--protects against hostile forces. From the Luba people, Prepublic of the Congo, the mask symbolizes how the owl silently attacks evil, with uncanny eyes that see through the darkness. (Gift from the collection of Lee and Rada Bronson) |
