Americans have a distinct idea of what art should look like. Based on classical ideals of the Greeks, portraits are generally as realistic as possible, whether through sculpture or painting. We perceive artists such as Velasquez, Rembrandt, and John Singer Sargent among some of the most accomplished portraitists of art history. The relatively new medium of photography also claims artists like Annie Liebovitz, Dorothea Lange, and Cindy Sherman among famous portraitists. Yet how often do our minds turn to African art when contemplating the contributions of portrait artists?
Currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures attempts to address this and other topics. Organized by African Arts curator Alisa LaGamma and designed by Michael Lapthorn, the exhibition asks its viewers to take a step back from their traditional ideas about art, and to step into another culture. Heroic Africans introduces its audience – both American and international – to various community leaders as depicted in the arts of eight different cultures: Akan of Ghana, Benin of Nigeria, Bangwa and Kom of the Cameroon Grassfields, Chokwe of Angola and Sambia, and the Luluwa, Hemba, and Kuba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a culture that resists keeping written records, the sculptures (and accompanying photographs) on display are some of the only references that scholars have today of these arresting African leaders.
Heroic Africans begins with an entrance from the Greek and Roman galleries – appropriate for the first group of works, which alerts viewers to the Greek and Roman ideal of portraiture that many artists – even African artists – are grounded in. The next four distinct gallery spaces house works from the eight cultures highlighted in the exhibit.
About a dozen works are connected to each culture, all equally spaced throughout the galleries. The works on display are all of varying sizes, and situated so that a visitor has the opportunity to take in as much as possible within his visit. Photographs also line some of the walls, in an attempt to put a real face to some of the leaders memorialized in the artworks. The works attributed to any one specific group are all similar-looking – whether it’s the oversized wooden thrones of the kings from the Grassfield chiefdom traditions, small terracotta masks of the Oyo or Ife communities, or the squatting yet powerful-looking wood figures from the Hemba culture, LaGamma makes it clear that there are separations in leader depictions. A video placed in the third gallery space, which effectively breaks up the exhibit, gives viewers the ability to see the works in their ceremonial context. The final group of works, from the Hemba culture, is displayed in a circle; with the largest, identified sculpture placed in the center of this circle (ancestral leader Kalala Lea), curator LaGamma reinforces the theme of leadership. From the very beginning to the end of the exhibition, display has been a priority and an aid in educating the public.
Visitors learn about different African cultures throughout the exhibition, such as the Akan whose spirituality pervades every work of art; their belief in the afterlife is also made clear through the tilting head of the leader as he gazes heavenward in the artwork. In the entryway Edo “Queen mother pendant mask”, visitors can learn about the actual person behind the mask – Idia, mother and advisor of a reigning king – as well as what the work was used for (ceremonial pectoral) and the symbolism of various aspects of the work. One of the few pieces that has a determined leader of the community attributed to it, this pendant mask is a fascinating work of art on its own. Like the rest of the objects, this one serves as a further indication of how Africans represent favored members of the community. In Heroic Africans, the idea that African art can tell the story of its important leaders is demonstrated through each of the wooden objects on display.
Africa is a continent. It is made up of over 50 countries and many more communities. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heroic Africans exhibit proves that these communities each have their own artistic tradition. The leaders of these communities are memorialized with portraits in sculpture, and the Met presents eight traditions that honor these important and powerful people. And yet, we learn that through these separate cultures, although representations are different, there is a similar idea that does run through the creation of these works. The visitor is able to discover the culture of African communities, and the underlying spirituality that runs through these works. Made in part for veneration of a popular individual, curator LaGamma writes, “these works were crucial both to keeping alive a people’s past and to maintaining a connection with revered and especially influential ancestors.” This is something that even Westerners are accustomed to – taking photographs, painting portraits in an effort to be remembered and to remember. Heroic Africans proves that perhaps these African communities are not as far away as we think they are – there are some underlying connections to the art the Met’s regular audience is familiar with. Despite the fact that scholars have been unable to determine some of the exact individuals represented through these sculptures, the visitor is made aware that these works are still meaningful today – the knowledge that a great and powerful person is memorialized here is evident. African art is given its own place in history along with the powerful figures who lead their communities.
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