Mask made of wood and cloth from Nigeria
Traveling can take many forms, and one often doesn’t have to go very far to take a trip. Tripping can simply involve a state of mind or vicarious experience, requiring little financial outlay and yet providing maximum emotion and thrill. When I think of travel, what comes to mind is music, food, sights or sounds. Music takes you places; film does too. So do books or a trip to an ethnic market. One need not board a plane, train or boat to get there. Sometimes, a trip is no more than a short ride or walk away and can be as effortless as opening a book, clicking a remote or switching a dial, and the synapses of the mind take over and transport you to other worlds.
On September 5th of 2019, I had the opportunity to attend an art reception at the William Benton Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs. It’s not very often that I attend these, but I knew the people whose collection had been put on display, and I had a guest in town who was up for the outing. The opening reception was filled with the University’s old guard as well as current staff and students, and local residents. Music by New York’s FELA aKUsTIc provided extra ambiance to “SOUVENIRS D’AFRIQUE: Arts of Africa from the Collection of Janine and Josef Gugler.” These souvenirs of Africa comprised a startling variety of artifacts, masks, carved figures, household items, coming mostly from countries in Western and Central Africa. Janine Gugler, an artist, and her husband, UConn Professor Emeritus of Sociology Josef Gugler, lived in Nigeria from 1961 to 1962 while he was engaged in research. They began collecting items for his research, her inspiration, and their pleasure. Subsequently, Joseph Gugler had occasion to travel in Africa and added to their collection. In recent years, they hoped to find a way to preserve their collection and were fortunate to find a home, close to home, for 126 pieces at the Benton as part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Having lived in two African countries in my more recent past, I thought the show would be interesting, but I was not prepared for how much I enjoyed it. Curated by Christopher B. Steiner, a historian, anthropologist, and director of the Museum Studies Program at Connecticut College, the displays were artfully arranged in intimate groupings while larger and more imposing figures stood alone. More than a dozen masks adorned the walls. What was particularly appealing about this show was that many of the objects were quite small in size requiring closer examination and appreciation. Many figures measured less than a foot in height, contrasting to larger pieces, three in particular (Mende helmet masks purchased from an Italian collector), whose faces I found quite endearing. These are worn by women during initiation ceremonies marking the rights of passage.
Along with the displays of artifacts, there were several accompanying photographs, as well as videos, provided by Christopher Steiner, depicting the artists at work such as that of an artisan weaving cloth. This struck me, as it elicited an experience that I’d had witnessing a weaver at work in the southern region of Senegal, just south of a town called Kounkane. He was busy creating a large narrow spool of white cotton cloth, the cloth used to make the traditional “tank top” of the farmers of the region. This weaver in the video was doing something similar with hands and feet in perpetual motion. Another video, a recent one, depicted an outdoor performance of men sporting helmet masks and dancing with helpers collecting coins and bills proffered in appreciation.
“Souvenirs d’Afrique,” which ran from June to October was very interesting indeed, for not only was I transported to other countries in Africa, I was able to relive some of the moments I’d experienced while on the continent. Absorbing and eclectic, the attendees at the opening, myself included, were quite taken by it all. In fact, I was so enthralled that I returned twice thereafter to get a better view of the items on display. So varied in style, shape, size, and color were these pieces, that all my previous experiences of viewing African art paled in comparison, washed away and over by new and vibrant visions of far away.
benevu travels 