Though its abundance may often be taken for granted, iron is so common, so all-pervasive, and so fundamental to humankind across the globe that it literally exists in our blood, as the Fowler Museum at UCLA's recent exhibition, Striking Iron, poetically reminds us. On view from June 3 through December 30, 2018 and then traveling to two other venues, Striking Iron continued the Fowler's tradition of producing intellectually rigorous yet lyrical shows in breathtaking color and style. The exhibition explored the contribution of African blacksmiths, practitioners, and artists to the history and use of iron as they transform this common metal into objects of life-changing empowerment, prestige, utility, and spiritual potency—topics deftly interwoven throughout the exhibition, utilizing effortlessly mixed “high” African arts with objects of daily use. While lacking a contemporary component, objects in the exhibition extended up to the late twentieth century, and the exhibition continued a conversation...
Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths curated by Tom Joyce, Allen F. Roberts, Henry J. Drewal, William J. Dewey, and Marla C. Berns Unavailable
Amanda M. Maples recently joined the North Carolina Museum of Art as its first curator of African art. From 2016 to 2018, she was a curatorial fellow in African and Indigenous American Arts at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center. She has also served in curatorial and scholarly capacities at the Yale University Art Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, the High Desert Museum, and the University of California Berkeley's Hearst Museum of Anthropology. She has written essays, books, and articles on historical and contemporary African arts, museum policies, and collecting practices. She holds a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. [email protected]
Amanda M. Maples recently joined the North Carolina Museum of Art as its first curator of African art. From 2016 to 2018, she was a curatorial fellow in African and Indigenous American Arts at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center. She has also served in curatorial and scholarly capacities at the Yale University Art Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, the High Desert Museum, and the University of California Berkeley's Hearst Museum of Anthropology. She has written essays, books, and articles on historical and contemporary African arts, museum policies, and collecting practices. She holds a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. [email protected]
Amanda M. Maples; Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths curated by Tom Joyce, Allen F. Roberts, Henry J. Drewal, William J. Dewey, and Marla C. Berns. African Arts 2019; 52 (4): 90–93. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/afar_r_00506
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