Uche Okeke (Nigerian, 1933–2016) Ana Mmuo (Land of the Dead), 1961. Oil on board, 36 1/16 x 48 in. National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Joanne B. Eicher and Cynthia, Carolyn Ngozi, and Diana Eicher. © 1961 Uche Okeke. Courtesy of Professor Uche Okeke Legacy Limited and American Federation of Arts.
Ana Mmuo by Uche Okeke
Ana Mmuo by Uche Okeke
Behold the bright vivid colors of Nigerian-artist Uche Okeke’s “Ana Mmuo (Land of the Dead),” the dynamic dancing scenes and sculptures of famous Nigerian painter and sculptor Ben Enwonwu, the somber color palette and distinctive paintings of Sudanese-artist Ibrahim El-Salahi, and more at African Modernism in America, on view March 10 through August 6 at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
African Modernism in America allows guests to examine and explore the complexities of modern African artists, patrons, and other cultural organizations in the United States. Thanks to the American Federation of Arts and the Fisk University Galleries, Kemper patrons can explore more than 70 artworks created by 50 artists, flipping the Western narrative of boxing African art to its “primitive past.”
The exhibition began in 2016 as an idea from curators Perrin Lathrop, Nikoo Paydar, and Jamaal Sheats, who were the driving force behind the creation of the traveling exhibition. “[What we hope visitors experience] is something I’m really excited about,” says Sheats, the director and curator of Fisk University galleries and associate provost for art and culture. “We had visitors yesterday that were just amazed and shocked because they had zero context. They were not familiar with the places, the names, the people. And so with that, I think it’s important to look at this exhibition as kind of reinserting these artists in order to gain a better understanding of what was happening during that time.”
The exhibit will be split into four sections, each a distinct chapter in the story of African Modernism in America. The first will be “Art from Africa of Our Time: The Modern African Artist”, a prelude that showcases the places and people who supported the Harmon Foundation exhibition, as well as those who advocated for modern African artists in the U.S. Guests will then make their way to the second section, “Mapping Modernist Networks in Africa”, a dedication to the African network of artists, galleries, literary journals, and art education programs that would lead to the display and discussion of modern African artwork. After taking in the extensive system of intellectuals, “African Modernists in America” brings to light the cultural diplomacy between African and African American artists in the United States. Finally, “The Politics of Selection” features the newly commissioned archival work by Nigeria-based sculptor Ndidi Dike.
“We’re trying to really show [these artists’] work on equal grounds with artists from all over the world,” says Lathrop, the assistant curator of African art at the Princeton University Art Museum. “[African modern artists] were engaged in really vital conversations and exchanges and making real, important creative contributions.”
