03/16/2007

Function to form

Dennos Museum exhibit focuses on African art

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

"In the context of African art, objects that were used in societal activities are becoming rarer and rarer and are actively collected by museums and private collectors." — Eugene Jenneman, Dennos Museum director

TRAVERSE CITY — Grosse Pointe Park art collector John Korachis was a teenager when he got the bug to collect African art.

"I came from a culture where art is part of everyday life,” said Korachis, a Detroit-area attorney who was born and raised in Greece. "When I discovered African art and how it's used in that culture, I saw how it was similar to my own.”

Now Korachis is sharing a portion of his collection of primarily 20th century work in an exhibition called "Spirits, Relics and Rituals: The John F. Korachis Collection of African Art” opening March 25 at the Dennos Museum Center. The show includes approximately 60 objects including masks, life-size sculptures and other figures, and furnishings such as chief stools and doors.

A bokolanfini jacket and Fulani earrings in a trunk show sale to be help ad Dennos Museum Center today through Sunday.

Crafted of wood, clay, metal, feathers and beads, the pieces range from 50 to more than 100 years old and reflect cultures, traditions, ways of life and an art form that are quickly disappearing.

"In the context of African art, objects that were used in societal activities are becoming rarer and rarer and are actively collected by museums and private collectors,” said museum director Gene Jenneman. "As interest grew in the 20th century, more African artists began creating works strictly as art instead of as functional art used in day-to-day sociey.”

Korachis said he began collecting the art because he felt a need to help preserve it and obtained many of the works on visits to Paris and Brussels, former colonialist countries that are rich in African art. Now he sees the collection — representing the regions of Sierra Leon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire — as belonging to the "public domain.”

"It's my job now to make sure it is shared and that people learn from it and are moved by it,” he said.

Museum staff have anticipated an African exhibition for many years, said Jenneman, who has mounted similar shows on the art of China and Japan. It opens with a reception at 6:30 p.m. March 24, followed by a concert at 8 p.m. in Milliken Auditorium by the Juno Award-winning afro-pop group African Guitar Summit (see related story).

Attendees are invited to dress in African costume, with the help of an African trunk sale today through Sunday featuring West African mud and kente cloth, beads, jewelry and clothing in batik, tie-dyed and hand-dyed fabrics.

"I know people had a lot of fun when we did it for the Japanese exhibit,” Jenneman said, referring to 2003's "Tradition and Transformation: The Art of Japan.” "As a matter of fact, I wore an outfit the night of the opening and someone bought it right off my back.”

The sale will feature the collection of California designer and manufacturer Ann Maurice, who lived and traveled throughout Africa in the 1960s while serving in the Peace Corps. The garments, including jackets, vests and scarves, are made from fabrics she collects on her visits to Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo and range from about $60 to $85, said Terry Tarnow, museum store director.

Also showcased will be hammered earrings traditionally worn by the Fulani women of Mali and either passed down through generations or given as a gift from husband to wife, and sterling silver jewelry handcrafted by the nomadic Tuareg people of Niger in West Africa. It is known for its geometric patterns and semi-precious stone and wood inlays.

Tarnow said the trunk sale will include about 200 pieces, with more to be carried in the store during the six-month run of the show. The featured artist in the store will be woodcarver Hamilton Banda of Malawi in Central Africa.

"Spirits, Relics and Rituals” runs through Sept. 2. Tickets for the concert and opening reception are $28 in advance and $25 at the door. The trunk show sale in the Janus Community Room is free; hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets or more information, call 995-1553.