It is truly disappointing that visitors to this VMFA exhibit will not learn this at the museum. It was these people, and this struggle, that shaped the art of the Congo during the colonial period.

Or did they take it… like they took everything else?” This exact conversation about who owns art — especially art collected during colonialism — is one that is happening more often, and rightfully so.
Yet as soon as you open this book, you see the 11 contributing authors on the cover flaps: Nine white men and two white women. These masks are made to represent an abstract subject, which explains stylization. The masterpieces in this exhibition—more than 130 striking Congolese masks—form an innovative and visually compelling display of artistry and cultures.

, some of the Congo masks at the VMFA are likely worth 8-9 million dollars each. And it is the context of these people and this struggle that is missing from the exhibit at the VMFA.In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium founded a private holding company called the International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo; it was formed specifically for the purpose of collecting African wealth. Visitors pay to see the exhibit that includes at least some masks that originated or were collected as early as the 1880s under Leopold’s reign. Some masks are believed to have the power of transforming one into a spirit. She is a biological anthropologist who studies human evolution, digs up fossils in Ethiopia, talks about being a woman in science, and thinks everything is #AnthropologyAF. The exhibition is curated by Marc Leo Felix, director of the Congo Basin Art History Research Center in Brussels, Belgium.The Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Exhibition EndowmentOngoing support for VMFA’s exhibition program is provided by the Dr. Donald S. and Beejay Brown Endowment, the Council Exhibition Fund, and the Fabergé Ball Endowment.Enjoy a series of three special evenings that provide members with the opportunity to view Explore the geography of the Congo River, investigate the relationship between communities and religious objects, and examine the impact of African art on Picasso and other ground-breaking European artists of the early 1900s.

Transplanted Richmonder Vince Kane misses the days when people had never heard of his hometown, Kenosha. The Congolese died from violence, disease, and starvation. The invention of the rubber tire and discovery of latex in the Congo fueled Leopold’s savage greed: It is that the human cost in terms of lives lost in the quest for rubber was as high as 10 million under Belgian colonial influence.

Typical characteristics of these masks are the geometrical patterns on the forehead in this instance, colorful beads and the cowry shells. Even a Congolese art collector, Sindika Dokolo, insists that the responsibility of art museums to decolonize their collections is a need urgent and equivalent to that of repatriating collections looted from Jews during WWII.
Thurs, Dec 13, 4:30-7 pm Pauley Center $20 (VMFA members $18) Explore the geography of the Congo River, investigate the relationship between communities and religious objects, and examine the impact of African art on Picasso and other ground-breaking European artists of the early 1900s.

When touring the exhibit, an occasional “Community” sign describes the influence of colonialism, but only just: mentions that knowledge of specific artists was lost, or that an entity called the Leopard Cult developed as a form of resistance to colonial power, were the only acknowledgments describing the actual Congolese experience as the context of this art. While these are hints about the real background and context of these masks, it is a quote from the Belgian owner of the collection in the exhibit catalogue that speaks much louder: “After 1885, the start of Belgium’s colonial enterprise in the Congo, the government encouraged resident Europeans to investigate traditional Congolese life, art, and ritual ceremonies.

It is a dangerous precedent to set, when here in our city — and across this country and others — we struggle to reconcile brutal histories of oppression with truth, reconciliation, and justice.


The Innocent Movie, Are Meerkats Marsupials, Emily Rose Net Worth, What Happened In June 2019, 1000 Most Common French Words Pdf, Wake Up Niggers, Before The Rain Summary, Qbe Spp Offer 2020, Mispronouncing Niger, Roland Berger Salary, Sample Class C Written Test 3, Texas Permit Test Quizlet, Zimbabwe News, Franco Luambo, Slip Past, Interesting Boy Names, Chile Facts For Kids, Maria Sharapova Wedding, Portuguese Urban Legends, Uscis Processing Times 2020, Weezer Drummer Dead, Three Identical Strangers Trailer, Acquainted Lyrics, Alright Etymology, Yesterday Is History, Tomorrow Is A Mystery Song,