African art: seen without looking

How can you look at art that is seen without looking? This paradox develops when African art is viewed in a Western context, and it frames the Yale Art Gallery's current exhibition, "African Art, Western Eyes," the first museum exhibition to present the work of Baule artists from the Ivory Coast, West Africa.

The Baule (pronounced bough-lay), according to Susan Vogel, curator of the exhibit, don't define "`art' in the Western sense of the word.' Rather than focusing on the individual piece or artist, the Baule place emphasis on art's function in personal shrines, performances, and religious ceremonies. Moreover, their artworks are not always designed for public consumption; many pieces in the exhibit should be viewed only clandestinely, by select groups. The smell of incense and the sound of ethnic music provide an appropriate backdrop for the exhibit, which strives to put each piece of art in its proper context.

The exhibition is divided into five sections. The initial section holds a variety of pieces, and features a recreation of a thatch-roofed Baule house. The next four present examples of private art, masks and entertainment art, sacred art, and decorated objects respectively.

Many of the examples of private art were representations of so-called spirit brothers, spirit sisters and spirit spouses. These depict beings in the spirit world whose lives are connected to the owners of the sculptures. These figures have highly stylized features, designed to carry symbolic weight. Many of the foreheads have been exaggerated, a symbol of intelligence. Some eyes are cast downward, a expression of respect. The spirit sculptures are idealized, but they differ from the idealized figures of the classical tradition of the West. Their features are symbolic rather than naturalistic.

A video of a tribal dance plays in the room featuring ceremonial and entertainment masks, giving viewers a glimpse of the masks not just as lifeless museum pieces, but as participants in a ritual. Still, the viewer must also realize his or her perspective as a spectator; viewers are allowed to see these rituals without the cultural restrictions imposed by the Baule.

Many of the objects are intended for use in ceremonies--they are not to be stared at. Some masks are worn by men and the Baule believe women will die if they look at them; other ceremonies are solely for women. Life-sized models throughout the exhibit replicate moments in Baule ceremonies with the masks prominently displayed. Some of the pieces are built around dog skulls whose teeth remain bared. Others are less menacing: their surfaces are smooth, mimicking the contours of a human face.

Some of the largest and boldest masks featured dramatic beak-like mouths and horn structures behind the head. According to tradition, only men can see these masks--they believe women who see them will die. Other spiritual dances are performed by women, which men are forbidden to see.

The Baule created decorative objects of all sorts, from spoons to staffs to weavers' pulleys. These objects were imaginatively carved with detailed figures of humans or of animals, often animals eating one another. The Baule often displayed them publicly. Out of all the categories of masks and objects, these were the only ones whose details people really noticed. The others did not lack in detail, but people valued them more for their spiritual significance or entertainment value as an integral part of a dance.

According to the exhibit brochure, "African Art, Western Eyes" aims to give visitors "a heightened sensitivity to their own acts of looking; a new awareness of alternative ways of thinking; and a lasting impression of the power and beauty of Baule art." It succeeds.

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