AFRICAN COSMOS STELLAR ARTS
january 31– june 21, 2015
EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY
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rom January 31–June 21, 2015, the Michael C. Carlos Museum presents African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, the first major exhibition exploring the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with traditional and contemporary African arts. Featuring more than seventy outstanding works of art from across the African continent, African Cosmos considers how the sun, moon, stars, and celestial phenomena such as lightning and rainbows have served as sources of inspiration in the creation of African art from ancient times to the present. African Cosmos demonstrates that observations of the heavens are part of the knowledge that informs origin stories, artistic expression, and ritual practice in African cultures, from ancient Egypt to contemporary South Africa. Standing at the core of creation myths and the foundation of moral values, celestial bodies are often accorded sacred capacities and are part of the “cosmological map” that allows humans to chart their course through life. S P E C I A L M E M B E R S O N LY E V E N T S
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Thursday, January 29 7–9 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three
Tuesday, February 3 7:30 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three Lecture
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts Member Preview
Carlos Museum members are cordially invited to preview the exhibition African Cosmos at a special reception. Your membership includes two adults to member opening events. If you would like to bring additional guests, the fee is $20 per guest. rsvp and/or purchase guest passes online at carlos.emory.edu/preview or by phone 404-727-2635 by January 22. Saturday, February 7, 10 am–12:30 pm, Reception Hall,
Level Three Council and Partner Level Brunch and Tour
Council and Partner Level members are invited to a light champagne brunch and curator-led tour of African Cosmos with Dr. Amanda Hellman, curator of African art. rsvp by email carlosmembership@emory.edu or phone 404-727-2623.
In this richly illustrated lecture, Dr. Christine Mullen Kreamer, deputy director and chief curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art and curator of African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, presents the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with both traditional and contemporary African arts. Drawing on a stunning array of arts and artists, Kreamer considers how the celestial bodies— the sun, moon, and stars—and phenomena such as lightning and rainbows,serve as sources of inspiration in the creation of art in Africa from ancient times to the present. Thursday, February 5 4 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three AntiquiTEA *
Enjoy afternoon tea and scones as Annie Shanley, PhD candidate in the Art History Department, discusses Sopdet, an Egyptian goddess representing Sirius, the dog star, whose appearance on the horizon in late summer signaled the coming of the annual inundation of the Nile.
Friday, February 6 5 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three Evening for Educators
k-12 teachers and administrators are invited to a special teacher preview of African Cosmos. Enjoy light hors d’oeuvres, a 10% discount in the Museum Bookshop, and an introduction to the themes and objects in the exhibition at 5:30 with Dr. Amanda Hellman, curator of African art. This is a free event. Registration is required by emailing jgree09@emory.edu. Saturday, February 7 10 pm, Exhibition Galleries, Level Three Artful Stories: The Star-Bearer
Children will hear The Star-Bearer: A Creation Myth from Ancient Egypt before looking at the beautifully painted image of the separation of earth and sky on the coffin of Tahat. Children will create their own piece of “sky” on cloth before engaging in imaginative play to “lift up” the sky from the earth, just like in the story. For ages 3 to 5 and accompanying adults. This program is free, but space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Sunday, February 8 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Ptah and Egyptian Creation
Ptah, an Egyptian god of creation revered by craftspeople, created humans on his potter’s wheel. After exploring the distinctive figure of Ptah and other Egyptian works in the exhibition, children will build clay figures of the god and try their hand at the potter’s wheel with ceramic artist Ana Vizurraga. For ages 8 to 12. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Tuesday, February 10 7:30 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three Creation Stories Lecture
For the ancient Egyptians, nothing existed before creation except a dark and watery void. With creation came light—and color. Gay Robins, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Art History at Emory, explores the ways in which the ancient Egyptians used color to represent the concept of a new creation that came with each new dawn. Saturday, February 14 7:30 pm, Serenbe Farmhouse 10950 Hutchesons Ferry Rd, Palmetto, GA 30268 Dinner and Stargazing at Serenbe
Do something out of this world for Valentine’s Day this year. Enjoy a casual but elegant dinner at The Farmhouse at Serenbe, prepared with the finest seasonal local ingredients by Chef Thaddeus Barton. After dinner, with hot drinks in hand, explore the night sky with astrophysicist Erin Bonning, director of the Emory Planetarium, with telescopes provided by the Atlanta Astronomy Club. Located just south of Atlanta, the field at Serenbe provides a view of the night sky not obscured by city lights.
Cost for three-course dinner, hot drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), and program: $50 per person for Carlos Museum members; $65 for non-members. Drinks or wine with dinner may be purchased separately. Call 770-463-2610 to reserve your spot for this special evening under the stars. Space is limited. A special discounted rate for rooms at Serenbe will be available for the evening for participants. Sunday, February 15 2 pm, Starts at the Emory Planetarium, Math and Science Center, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322 Family Tour and Planetarium Show
Dr. Erin Bonning, director of the Emory Planetarium, presents The Skies of Africa, a special program developed in conjunction with the exhibition. After looking at the stars and planets that have inspired artists for centuries, participants will take a family tour of the exhibition with museum docents. For ages 6 to 12 and accompanying adults. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Monday, February 16 7:30 pm, Board Room, Level Two Carlos Reads Book Club
African creation stories are as rich and diverse as the continent itself. Some have themes that will be familiar to those steeped in Genesis, such as the Wapangwa concept that the Word was the motivating force behind creation, or the Malozi story reminiscent of the Tower of Babel. Others will be new and startling, like the Kono story in which Death is the original force in the world, existing before God. Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, assistant professor of English at Emory, discusses The Origin of Life and Death: African Creation Myths, focusing on a selection of memorable West African stories, the book’s singular editor Ulli Beier, and a reworking of one of the stories by Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Fee: $20 for Carlos Museum members; $25 non-members, and includes the cost of the text. Registration is required by calling 404-727-6118. Thursday, February 19 4 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three AntiquiTEA
Enjoy afternoon tea and scones as Rachel P. Kreiter, PhD candidate in the Art History Department, discusses the ancient Egyptian conceptualization of the coffin as a representation of the cosmos with the deceased at the center. Thursday, February 19 5 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Workshop for Teachers: African Cosmos: Stellar Arts *
Amanda Hellman, curator of African art at the Carlos Museum, will introduce teachers to the ways in which observations of the heavens inform origin stories, artistic expression, and ritual practice in African cultures. This evening includes a special program on the African skies in the Emory Planetarium with Dr. Erin Bonning. Fee: $7 for Museum members: $12 for non-members. Registration is required by contacting Julie Green at jgree09@emory.edu.
Sunday, February 22 2 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three From the Moon to the Milky Way Lectures
Sunday, March 1 2-4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: The Power of the Sun
The Carlos Museum welcomes two distinguished scholars from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures — Alan F. Roberts and Mary (Polly) Nooter Roberts — for two presentations related to the exhibition. In a lecture titled Performing Tabwa Cosmology: The Moon, The Milky Way, and an Occasional Kick in the Head, Dr. Alan Roberts Headrest. Luba peoples, will discuss the ways in Democratic Republic of the Congo Mid- to late 19th which Tabwa people of century. Wood, oil. National southeastern Democratic Museum of African Art, Republic of the Congo Smithsonian Institution, understand their social and museum purchase, 86-12-14. physical lives as harmonies Photograph by Franko Khoury. of heavens, geographies, and physical being. The regularities of the lunar cycle are complemented by the temporal sweep of the Milky Way realized in ritual and danced in earlier times. The moon is a complex metaphor in Luba culture because it appears and disappears, offers clarity and delivers obscurity. Yet the rising of the new moon is a time of rejuvenation and rebirth as the tiny sliver of newly emergent light appears every lunar cycle. In a richly illustrated lecture titled Embodied Enlightenment: Receptacles of Moonlight in Luba Art and Culture, Dr. Polly Roberts will discuss how moonlight is integral to understanding art forms associated with Luba royal culture, divination practices, and the transmission of sacred knowledge. The moon sheds light on life’s most elusive secrets while offering hope and insight in times of challenge and life-changing transformation. Refreshments will be served between the two talks.
After exploring Garth Erasmus’ painting The Power of the Sun in the exhibition, children will create sgraffitto (scratch) paintings using the same technique as the Khoisan-descended artist. For ages 6 to 8. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu.
Saturday, February 28 10 am–5 pm, Loading Dock & African Cosmos Exhibition, Level Three Dogon Cloud Catchers with Blacksmith Jason Smith
Saturday, March 7 10 am, Exhibition Galleries, Level Three Artful Stories: The Coming of Night
According to Dogon mythology, the blacksmith stole fire from the sun to heat his forge. He then created iron “cloud-catchers” to bring the rain. The Carlos welcomes Atlanta blacksmith Jason Smith of Smithworks Iron and Design, who will work with people of all ages to create “cloud-catchers” on his portable forge. Docent-guided tours of African Cosmos will also be offered on the hour beginning at 10 am. Free to Carlos Museum members; $10 for non-members. Register for your time at the forge by calling 404-727-0519. In recognition of Member Appreciation Day, Carlos Museum members are invited to register for this event at no charge and to enjoy hot chocolate and sweets in the Tate Room throughout the day.
Monday, March 2 7:30 pm, Board Room, Level Two Carlos Reads Book Club
Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, assistant professor of English at Emory, leads readers though Wole Soyinka’s extraordinary tragic play Death and the King’s Horseman, which explores Yoruba worldviews in the context of British colonialism and the role of rituals in maintaining cosmic order. Fee: $25 for Carlos Museum members; $35 non-members, and includes the cost of the book. Registration is required by calling 404-727-6118. Wednesday, March 4 7:30 pm, Emory Planetarium Lecture and Planetarium Program
In a lecture titled Moonwatching in Africa and the Americas, Anthony F. Aveni, Russell B. Colgate Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology at Colgate University, contrasts how diverse cultures from two continents conceive of and manage time based on watching cosmic events, especially the motion and phases of the moon. Due to space limitations, registration is required by calling 404-727-6118. This lecture is made possible by Lyn Kirkland, in memory of Grace Welch Blanton.
Thursday, March 5 4 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three AntiquiTEA *
Laura Somenzi, graduate student in Emory’s Art History Department, discusses William Kentridge’s film Journey to the Moon, its construction and imagery, and its relationship to Georges Méliès: 1902 silent classic Le voyage dans la lune.
The Coming of Night is a Yoruba creation myth from West Africa that explains how the cool darkness of the night came to be. After hearing the story and looking at the art of the Yoruba, children will make “creatures of the night” rubbings using conté crayons. For ages 3 to 5 and accompanying adults. This program is free, but space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Sunday, March 8 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Balamwezi: The Rising of the Full Moon
Made with glass beads, fur, monkey hair, cloth, and feathers, the beaded mask from the Tabwa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the exhibition features the balamwezi triangle pattern, representing the rising of the full moon. In this workshop, children will work with textile artist Marie DeGeorge to create their
own moon masks with beads, feathers, and other found materials. For ages 9 to 12. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Monday, March 16–Sunday, March 22 Artist-in-Residence
Marcus Neustetter. Chasing Light (performance still) 2009. Digital print. Using the amplified sounds of the northern lights, water, and a laser, the artist has created “performances” of the northern lights that he has not yet been able to see. Photograph courtesy of the artist.
Johannesburg based artist Marcus Neustetter, whose work Chasing Light is featured in the exhibition, will be in residence giving talks about his work and working with Emory students and the public on collaborative artmaking activities that use light as a medium, and are at once provocative, playful, and process-driven. Visit carlos.emory.edu/neustetter for details about public events for all ages.
Tuesday, March 31 7:30 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three Lecture
For many past and present San communities of South Africa and Botswana, the celestial realm exists as both an extension of the terrestrial landscape and as a conceptual place of supernatural potency and shamanic transformation. Heavenly bodies populate San myth and art as emanations of the Spirit World, the place where shamans, liberated from this world and time, journey to transform and maintain the cosmos. In a lecture titled Heaven’s Things in San Art and Folklore, Jessica Stephenson, assistant professor of art history at Kennesaw State University, brings together the expressive forms of myth and art to explore San beliefs about the moon, stars, sun, and astral events.
Tuesday, March 17 7:30 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three Creation Stories Conversation
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Housekeeping, Gilead, and Absence of Mind, Marilynne Robinson, and Emory astrophysicist Dr. Erin Bonning discuss the enduring power of creation stories and the ways in which science and religion both seek to illuminate our understanding of the place of human beings in the cosmos. This program is made possible by the Emory College David Goldwasser Series in Religion and the Arts and co-sponsored by the Candler School of Theology.
Thursday, March 19 4 pm, Emory Planetarium AntiquiTEA
Enjoy afternoon tea and scones as visiting artist Marcus Neustetter discusses his work Chasing Light, which will be projected on the dome of the planetarium for this event. Thursday, March 19 5 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Teacher Workshop: Beyond the Known Environment
Join artist Marcus Neustetter for an exploration of African Cosmos and his installation piece based on the northern lights. Neustetter, known for designing large scale public art projects, also creates delicate drawings based on human beings’ connection to nature. His fascination with the illusive qualities of light have led to technology-based installations, photography, and pen and ink drawings. Teachers will experiment with several art making activities that may be used in the classroom to spark the imagination. Fee: $7 for Carlos Museum members; $12 for non-members. Registration is required by contacting Julie Green at jgree@emory.edu.
Shrine Screen (Baltu). Nigeria or Cameroon, Mambila. Late 19th–early 20th centuries. Pigment, raffia palm pith. Ex coll. William S. Arnett.
Monday, April 6–Friday, April 10 9 am–3 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Spring Break Art Camp: Bridging Earth and Sky: The Dogon of Mali
Every twelve years, the Dogon use tall plank masks called sirige that seem to reach towards the heavens as part of the dama ceremony to honor the ancestors and mark the end of mourning for those who died during the last cycle. Sandra Hughes and Michael Hickey of The Mask Center in Atlanta will lead investigations about these cosmic connectors and work with children to design and build individual interpretations of masks that can bridge earth and sky. For ages 8 to 12. Camp sessions are $185 per week for Carlos Museum members; $225 per week for non-members. Camp Carlos offers a 10% discount to families registering siblings. Aftercare is available Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm for an additional $60 per week. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Thursday, April 9 4 pm, Reception Hall, Level Three AntiquiTEA
Artists in Yoruba-speaking communities in and beyond present-day Nigeria have illustrated the cosmos as a calabash or wooden bowl with two halves. The top half refers to the sky and otherworld, presided over by the
deity Olódùmarè. The bottom half relates to water and this world. Joining of the two sections indicates the interconnectedness of this world inhabited by the living and the otherworld occupied by ancestors and other entities. Enjoy afternoon tea and scones as Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi, assistant professor in the Art History Department, discusses Yoruba conceptions of the universe through a wooden example in the exhibition. Sunday, April 19 2 pm, Emory Planetarium Planetarium Show and Gallery Tour
Thursday, April 30 4 pm, Reception Hall AntiquiTEA *
The stories of the Dogon, who live along the cliffs of Mali, have long been a part of the Western imagination. Beginning with the Carlos Museum’s recently conserved Kanaga mask, exhibited in African Cosmos, Amanda Hellman, curator of African art at the Carlos Museum, will explore Dogon myths, their understanding of Sirius, the brightest star, and the controversy surrounding their history.
Emory Astrophysicist Erin Bonning, has developed a special planetarium program in conjunction with the exhibition that focuses on the stars, the movement of the sun, and the phases of the moon— the objects and movements of the cosmos that have inspired artists from ancient Egypt to contemporary South Africa. View the planetarium show and then tour the exhibition with Amanda Hellman, curator of African art at the Carlos Museum, and Rachel Krieter, PhD candidate in Emory’s Art History Department. Sunday, April 19 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Baltu Painted Screens
Nigerian Mambila painted screens, called baltu, decorated small shrine houses that held sacred objects used in rituals. Artist Ande Cook will work with children to make painted screens using natural fibers and pigments like those used in the baltu featured in the exhibition. For ages 6 to 8. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Please register by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Saturday, April 25 10 am, Exhibition Galleries, Level Three Artful Stories: Creation Stories from African Cosmos: Stellar Arts
Travel across Africa, stopping along the way to discover creation stories from the Tabwa, Khoi San, Yoruba, and ancient Egypt, with Ghanaian storyteller, Griselda Lartey, before creating images with Adinkra stamps from the Asante of Ghana. For ages 3 to 5 with accompanying adult. This program is free, but space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Sunday, April 26 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Calabash of Existence
Create calabash sculptures representing the earthly plane below and the celestial above, like those made by the Yoruba, with artist Ana Vizurraga. For ages 9 to 12. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu.
Pendant (akrafokonmu). Asante peoples, Ghana Late 19th to early 20th century Gold alloy. National Museum of African Art, gift of the Roy and Brigitta Mitchell Collection, 2010-10-1. Photograph by Franko Khoury.
Sunday, May 3 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Soul Washer Disks
Akan gold soul washer disks, akrafokonmu, are the mark of the royal officials who maintain the spiritual health of the king and thereby, his kingdom. Goldsmith Alan Bremer will work with children to make their own soul washer disks. For ages 9 to 12 years. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Saturday, May 9 10 am, Exhibition Galleries, Level Three Artful Stories: Why the Sky is Far Away
The Bini of Nigeria have been telling this story to their children for more than 500 years to teach them the importance of respecting the earth and sky. Like the people in the story who now must grow their own food, children will plant seedlings to take home and care for. For ages 3 to 5 years and accompanying adults. This program is free, but space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu. Sunday, May 10 2–4 pm, Tate Room, Plaza Level Children’s Workshop: Akan Crowns with Celestial Messages
Create Akan crowns of black velvet with gold symbols that convey celestial messages with goldsmith Alan Bremer. For ages 6 to 8 years. Fee: $15 for Carlos Museum members; $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration is required by contacting Alyson Vuley at 404-727-0519 or avuley@emory.edu.
571 South Kilgo Circle Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-4282 carlos.emory.edu
The Michael C. Carlos Museum is situated on the historic quadrangle of the Emory University campus. Join Us Call 404-727-2623; email carlosmembership@emory.edu;
visit carlos.emory.edu/join Hours Tuesday through Friday: 10 am–4 pm; Saturday: 10 am–5 pm; Sunday: noon–5 pm; Closed Mondays
and University holidays. Admission Adults: $8. Emory students, faculty, and staff: Free. Students, seniors, and children ages 6–17:
$6 (Children ages 5 and under free). Public Transportation marta bus line 6 Emory from Inman Park/ Reynoldstown and Lindbergh stations or
36 North Decatur from Avondale and Midtown stations. Parking Paid visitor parking in the visitor sections of the Fishburne and Peavine Parking Decks and in the
new Oxford Road Parking Deck, located behind the new Barnes and Noble @ Emory, 1390 Oxford Road. Handicapped Parking Drop off for handicap visitors at Plaza level entrance on South Kilgo Circle.
Handicap-accessible parking is available in the Oxford Road and Peavine Decks. A handicap-accessible shuttle runs from the Peavine Deck, weekdays every 10 minutes. Tours Advanced booking required for weekday or weekend groups
of 10 or more. For reservations, please call 404-727-0519 at least two weeks before your group would like to visit. Public Tours Depart from the rotunda on Sundays at 2 pm. Audio Tour of Permanent Collection $2. Free for Museum members. Museum Information 404-727-4282 World Wide Web Access carlos.emory.edu Stay Connected
* Free admission and extended hours on select Thursdays. On February 5, March 5, April 30, May 7, and June 11, the Museum will offer free admission beginning at 1 pm.
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Major sponsorship for African Cosmos: Stellar Arts at the Smithsonian Institution provided by Government of the Republic of South Africa South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology
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The Carlos Museum is located just minutes from Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown hotels.
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Additional support from BET Networks Stuart Bohart and family Brand South Africa Credit Suisse South African Airways South African Airways Cargo The Embassy of South Africa, Washington, DC Smithsonian Institution, Consortia for Valuing World Cultures and for Understanding the American Experience In Atlanta, African Cosmos: Stellar Arts is part of the Creation Stories Project, which has been made possible by generous grants from the Thalia N. and Chris M. Carlos Foundation, Inc.; the Thalia and Michael C. Carlos Foundation, Inc.; the Massey Charitable Trust; and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
cover Gavin Jantjes. Untitled (detail), 1989–90. Acrylic.
1380 OXFORD ROAD, NE ATLANTA, GA 30322 INFORMATION 404-727-6123
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisitions Program, 96-23-1. Photograph by Franko Khoury.