Since it opened in October of 2012, the Encounters: The Arts of Africa exhibit at the Krannert Art Museum has undergone a bit of a transformation. Instead of just displaying masks in glass cases, the KAM has created a multi-media display in order to make what’s behind glass come alive. Throughout the gallery, iPads are set up along the walls, and with a simple click you can watch footage of what you’re seeing in context.
Considering that one of the videos featured a mask that weighs 70 lbs. on someone’s head, it definitely made me look twice at what I was seeing … and then my jaw dropped. The addition of these videos to the exhibit helps to convey the message the curator, Allyson Purpura, outlines in the brochure. A majority of the art on display is meant to tell many stories, often illuminating the multiple uses for what you’re seeing. For example, some of the masks were used in traditional ceremonies from the regions in which they were created. They can also illustrate things like the ideal form of a man or woman. The KAM isn’t just showing art from Africa; it’s showing you art that helps you to understand the African culture.
However, Encounters isn’t the only exhibit of African art currently on display at the Krannert Art Museum. Counterpoints / Moshekwa Langa: Mogalakwena, In and Out of Africa is also currently on exhibit from now until July 28. While Encounters displays more traditional African art and modern interpretations of the traditional, Counterpoints is all about the contemporary. Moshekwa Langa creates paints using (according to what I read on the wall of the exhibit) organic materials, including tea, coffee, and wine — which, when woven together, create canvases of incredible beauty. The images are abstract, but each is unique and moving.
The main focus of Counterpoints is the topical instillation laid out on the floor of the gallery. Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not an artist, and the words “topical instillation” meant nothing to me when I first walked in. Honestly, it looked like a bunch of yarn and books thrown on the floor. But once I read what Langa intended by the instillation (a fancy word for 3D work of art), I was captivated. Langa has created, out of random materials, his own map of the world in which he’s lived: Red yarn becomes the boundaries of countries; blue yarn becomes rivers; books are mountains and dolls are the people (each doll unique to the region in which it’s placed). Do I know with certainty what the different objects stand for? Of course not. I encourage you, Dear Reader, to go see if for yourself and see what you find in the piece.
These are two very different exhibits — traditional and experimental. And yet, both tell the story of a continent often overlooked and the artistic achievements, both past and present, that have the power to shape the world. Encounters: The Arts of Africa is an ongoing exhibit at the Krannert Art Museum, while Counterpoints / Moshekwa Langa: Mogalakwena only runs until July 28. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m.–9 p.m., and Sunday from 2 p.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free, but a $3 donation is suggested.