BGuthrie Photos: IN -- Indianapolis -- Indianapolis Museum of Art -- African Art

IN -- Indianapolis -- Indianapolis Museum of Art -- African Art:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] IMAAFR_120810_002.JPG	[2] IMAAFR_120810_004.JPG	[3] IMAAFR_120810_008.JPG
[4] IMAAFR_120810_011.JPG	[5] IMAAFR_120810_015.JPG	[6] IMAAFR_120810_019.JPG
[7] IMAAFR_120810_023.JPG	[8] IMAAFR_120810_027.JPG	[9] IMAAFR_120810_032.JPG
[10] IMAAFR_120810_035.JPG	[11] IMAAFR_120810_042.JPG	[12] IMAAFR_120810_045.JPG
[13] IMAAFR_120810_048.JPG	[14] IMAAFR_120810_056.JPG	[15] IMAAFR_120810_062.JPG
[16] IMAAFR_120810_064.JPG	[17] IMAAFR_120810_068.JPG	[18] IMAAFR_120810_082.JPG
[19] IMAAFR_120810_089.JPG	[20] IMAAFR_120810_093.JPG	[21] IMAAFR_120810_099.JPG
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[31] IMAAFR_120810_147.JPG	[32] IMAAFR_120810_149.JPG	[33] IMAAFR_120810_154.JPG
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[85] IMAAFR_120810_354.JPG	[86] IMAAFR_120810_360.JPG	[87] IMAAFR_120810_368.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. IMAAFR_120810_011.JPG: POWER Human beings have always tried to understand unseen forces in the world. In most of Africa, no event, whether good or bad, is ever seen as happening due to chance. Most traditional African religions stress the importance of the relationship between the living and powerful deceased ancestors, who are in turn the link to a creator god. In some cultures these ancestors were deified, and over time a polytheistic system developed. Likewise, the caprices of a fickle natural world were embodied in a variety of spiritual forces. Many African objects, including those in this gallery, were created with the intent to control or respond to these many unseen powers.
2. IMAAFR_120810_035.JPG: ANCESTORS The most important traditional religious belief in much of sub-Saharan Africa is that ancestors are crucial to the health and well-being of the living community. Ancestors -- who may include primordial beings, first humans, lineage founders, and the important deceased -- connect people to a supreme being or creator god, with the most recently departed forming the critical bridge between the living and the dead. Images of ancestors, reliquaries, memorials, offerings, and ritual objects are among the works included in this gallery.
3. IMAAFR_120810_121.JPG: LIFE TRANSITIONS All people experience moments that mark important passages from one stage of life to the next -- from childhood to adulthood; through marriage, parenthood, and old age; and to death and the unknown afterlife. Many of these transitions require stressful changes and risks. Much of traditional African art is concerned with the communal desire for all members of society to proceed safely through life transitions. These objects can be symbolic as well as imbued with powers to assist in life's passages. Two of the most culturally significant transitions are from childhood to adulthood and from death to the afterlife. At these times, an individual's successful passage is seen to have a profound impact on the religious, political, physical, and social well-being of the entire community. As a result, the most serious and dangerous rituals in African cultures are often related to initiations into adult status and to funerals. Conducting successful ceremonies during these periods is the primary function of most African masks, many examples of which are shown here. This gallery also includes human figures, distinctive garments, and other objects that relate to rituals, ceremonies, and signs of transitions.
4. IMAAFR_120810_185.JPG: COLLECTING AFRICAN ART Private collectors of art often play a crucial role in the development of museum collections. The vast majority of the works in these galleries were given to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1989 by the Indiana businessman Harrison Eiteljorg (1903–1997). Well known for his pivotal collection of American art of the West, Eiteljorg first became interested in African art in 1965. During the several decades he spent assembling this eminent collection, Eiteljorg was guided by Dr. Roy Sieber, a professor at Indiana University who was America's first African art historian and greatly influential in the field. Eiteljong enjoyed the process of collecting, and many works reflect his personal values and interests. Among Eiteljorg's notable contributions to the field of African art was the purchase of works from important early modern African artists.
5. IMAAFR_120810_214.JPG: DESIGN FOR LIVING Like body adornment, how people decorate their personal belongings and the spaces they occupy expresses much about their culture, social roles, and individual tastes. In Africa, where the majority of rural people have traditionally owned only a few items, such as basic utensils, vessels, and small furniture items, their possessions are often designed and decorated with great care. Symbols and patterns on everyday objects are frequently related to religious or social beliefs.
6. IMAAFR_120810_299.JPG: ROYAL ARTS Africa has a number of important kingdoms. As in Europe, Africa's royal courts have been places of extraordinary displays of ritual, ceremony, wealth, and highly developed art forms. However, most African royalty is distinct from that of Europe in that African rulers have often been believed to be divine, and this belief is reinforced through myth and visual symbols. Because of the economic, social, religious, and political power of African monarchs, the most valued human and material resources in any kingdom are controlled by kings or queens. As a result, objects created for royalty are some of the most visually and technically spectacular examples of African art that can be seen in this collection. Precious materials such as gold, bronze, silk, imported beads, and elephant ivory are common in the royal arts of the Asante, Benin, Cameroon Grasslands, Congo, and Yoruba kingdoms.
7. IMAAFR_120810_354.JPG: Ritual skull Probably a monkey
8. IMAAFR_120810_360.JPG: Male figure (nkisi) This figure once held over four hundred iron inserts, most of which have since eroded away, fallen out, or been removed. Each of these metal blades was ritually inserted or removed to activate the figure for a particular spiritual service to its owner.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Indianapolis Museum of Art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (known colloquially as the IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a 152-acre (0.62 km2) campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is the ninth oldest[note 1] and eighth largest encyclopedic art museum in the United States.[note 2] The permanent collection comprises over 54,000 works, including African, American, Asian, and European pieces. Significant areas of the collection include: Neo-Impressionist paintings; Japanese paintings of the Edo period; Chinese ceramics and bronzes; paintings, sculptures, and prints by Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School; a large number of works by J. M. W. Turner; and a growing contemporary art collection. Other areas of emphasis include textiles and fashion arts as well as a recent focus on modern design.

In addition to its collections, the museum consists of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park; Oldfields, a restored American Country Place era estate once owned by Josiah K. Lilly, Jr.; and restored gardens and grounds originally designed by Percival Gallagher of the Olmsted Brothers firm. The IMA also owns the Miller House, a Mid-Century modern home designed by Eero Saarinen and located in Columbus, Indiana. The museum's holdings demonstrate the institution's emphasis on the connections among art, design, and the natural environment.

Founded in 1883 by the Art Association of Indianapolis, the first permanent museum was opened in 1906 as part of the John Herron Art Institute. In 1969, the Art Association of Indianapolis changed its name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and in 1970 the museum moved to its current location at Michigan Road and 38th Street north of downtown Indianapolis. Among the Art Association's founders was May Wright Sewall (1844–1920), known for her work in the women's suffrage movement. Other supporters have included Booth Tarkington (1869–1946), Eli Lilly (1885–1977), Herman C. Krannert (1887–1972), and Caroline Marmon Fesler (1878–1960). The associated John Herron Art Institute was established with the help of notable Hoosier Group artists T. C. Steele and William Forsyth.

Dr. Charles L. Venable is the current Melvin and Bren Simon Director and CEO[note 3]. The museum is widely recognized as innovative in its development of open source technologies, institutional transparency, and collaboration between museums. In 2008, the IMA became the first fine art museum to be named an Energy Star partner due to its greening initiative and efforts to reduce energy consumption. In 2009, the IMA was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service for public service, specifically the museum's free admission policy and educational programming.
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