#national museum of african art

[pointandshooter]

From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya - Ayana V. Jackson (American b. 1977)

National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC

photos: David Castenson

[istandonsnowpiles]

Castle in the Window

[lionofchaeronea]

Afena saber of the Akan people, from the Agnibilékrou region of present-day Côte d'Ivoire. First half of 20th century. Now in the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Ji-Elle/Wikimedia Commons.

[sabistarphotos]

March 27, 2022

Washington, DC

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National Museum of African Art

Sadiq Daba

Iké Udé, 2015

[dmdunamancer]

From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson

"Artist Ayana V. Jackson creates an undersea realm honoring those who jumped or were thrown overboard during the trans-Atlantic slave trade." (Smithsonian Magazine, 8 June 2023)

Where There Is No Origin But Memory I

The Self-Forgetfulness of Belonging Will Never Be Mine I

Consider the Sky and the Sea

Some People Have Spiritual Eyes II (featuring the dress which also appears as "Use the Stars to Fix a Celestial Navigation Point," with materials including Ghanaian currency, paste, cotton, raffia reed fans)

When the Spirit of Kalunda Comes So Does Kianda

Some People Have Spiritual Eyes I

Reliquary: The Sea Has Nothing to Offer but a Well-Executed Grave

It is Only When You Lose Your Mother That She Becomes Myth

I Summon the Voice from the Deep I

[images from the official exhibition website]

Also -- for those interested, many of these garments and models appear in video-works in collaboration with other artists! Very cool.

[dix-a-la-proprietaire]

Glass

[arthistoryanimalia]

For a belated #WorldPorcupineDay:

Akan artist Ashanti Region, Ghana Weight (abrammuo) of a porcupine (kotoko) 18th to late 19th c. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art display

[baebeylik]

Walking. By Charles Henry Alston. 1958. American.

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

[bruce-morrow]

JFK at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2023

GIF: Bruce Morrow

[promitey]

Not so long ago I was at an exhibition of African art. This is impressive, I think many artists of modern games, comics and other works in the fantasy genre were inspired by this, because you look at these totems, masks and costumes and think that somewhere I have already seen it)

[fairyzar]

the older i get the more confused i become in regards to my identity.

[huntingtonnow]

Board Approves Formation of Committees, Appointments

The Huntington Town Board has approved the establishment of the Huntington America250 anniversary committee to prepare for celebrations of the semiquincentennial of the country’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. Appointed to committee were the town historian, town clerk’s archivist, director of cultural affairs and one representative each of these heritage organizations: Cold Spring Harbor…

[persistentvisionz]

March 8, 2024

Five Murmurations - John Akomfrah

[rabbitcruiser]

K-9 Veterans Day

Joseph White, a retired military working dog trainer, came up with the idea for K-9 Veterans Day. By his efforts, his home state of Florida recognized the day in 2009. Other states have since recognized it as well, although it has not been recognized on the national level. The day is dedicated not only to K-9 veterans of the military, but also to customs dogs, search and rescue dogs, police dogs, border patrol dogs, and secret service dogs. March 13 is the date of the holiday because the K-9 Corps was created on March 13, 1942. The Quartermaster Corps of the Army began training dogs on that date, making it the moment when dogs officially became part of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Three months before Pearl Harbor, U.S. Army Sgt. Robert H. Pearce started a small K-9 command program at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, Los Angeles. He brought Hollywood dog trainer Carl Spitz on board. (Spitz was known for owning and training a Cairn Terrier named Terry, who was best known for playing the role of Toto in The Wizard of Oz.) In January of 1942, they began asking people in Los Angeles to bring their dogs to Pershing Square to be used in the war effort. Over 1,000 dogs were brought, including Rudy Vallee’s Doberman Pinscher, King, and Mary Pickford’s German Shepherd, Silver. The program was known as Dogs for Defense. These dogs would go on to be used by the K-9 Corps.

Originally, thirty breeds of dogs were accepted by the K-9 Corps, but this was narrowed down to seven: German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, collies, Belgian Sheepdogs, Doberman Pinschers, Eskimo dogs, and Malamutes. New dogs were first given obedience training. They were then given additional training to be a scout or patrol, messenger, sentry, or mine detector. Within eight to twelve weeks they completed their training. The original idea was to have 200 dogs in the K-9 Corps, but by the end of World War II, the number had ballooned to more than 10,400. Most of the dogs were family pets.

Although dogs were first formally trained for military service during World War II, they have been used in war since antiquity. More recently, some were used informally during the Civil War. During World War I, the German, British, and Belgian armies used them to pull carriages and wagons loaded with guns and supplies, to pull telephone lines, to carry messages, and to comfort those who had been injured. About 7,000 dogs were used in World War I, but not only a few of these were from the United States.

As of the late 2010s, over 2,500 dogs actively serve in the military, and about 700 are deployed overseas. Military dogs sniff out bombs and weapons, search and patrol, perform guard duty, and serve as companions to those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Military dogs are usually German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, or Labrador Retrievers. Dogs in the military now can receive medals and awards, and they often have retirement and memorial services held for them. In law enforcement, dogs began being used more in the 1970s. These dogs patrol, perform search and rescue missions, and detect drugs, explosives, cadavers, and arson accelerants. Dogs in both military and law enforcement roles, as well as dogs in other similar official roles, are all honored today.

How to Observe

Here are some ideas on how to celebrate the day:

If you have, work with, or train a military dog, law enforcement dog, or dog in a similar role, make the day extra special for them.

Contact your representatives and encourage them to support a K-9 Veterans Day on the state or national level.

Support K-9 Courage, a group that provides healthcare assistance to retired police and military dogs, and gives support to service dogs who assist veterans with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. You could help raise funds or have your own dog participate in “Dogs Salute Dogs.”

Learn about notable dogs who have served in the military, such as Sgt. Stubby, Chips, Lex, and Cairo.

Visit a memorial dedicated to dogs, such as the War Dog Memorial at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California; the War Dog Memorial in Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; the National War Dog Cemetery and War Dog Memorial at Naval Base Guam; The Pennsylvania War Dog Memorial; or the Military Working Dog Teams National Monument in San Antonio, Texas.

Visit Sgt. Stubby, who is stuffed and on display, and covered with a blanket that holds his medals, in an exhibit titled “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” at the National Museum of American History.

Watch a movie or documentary about military or police dogs such as Max, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, War Dog: A Soldier’s Best Friend, Megan Leavey, or War Dogs: America’s Forgotten Heroes.

Source

[sabistarphotos]

March 27, 2022

Washington, DC

--

National Museum of African Art.

Genevieve Nnaji's Dress

Iké Udé, 2016.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

2,000-Year-Old Fayum Portraits from Roman Egypt: also known as "mummy portraits," these funerary paintings were often fastened to the coffins of the people they depicted

Above: Fayum portrait of a woman from Roman-occupied Egypt, c.100-110 CE

Fayum portraiture was a popular funerary practice among the upper-class families of Roman Egypt from about 50 CE to 250 CE. Given the high mortality rates for children during this period, many of these portraits depict children and youths, but adults were often featured, too.

Above: portrait of a youth wearing a golden wreath, c.130-150 CE; the wreath and the background of the portrait are both gilded

The population of the Faiyum Delta, where most of these portraits were found, largely contained individuals with both native Egyptian/North African and Greek heritage. The Greek lineages can be traced back to the Ptolemaic period, when the Greeks gained control of Egypt and began to establish settlements throughout the region, gradually leading to a cultural diffusion between the Greek and Egyptian populations. The Romans eventually took control of Egypt in 31 CE, absorbing it into the Roman Empire and colonizing much of North Africa, but the demographics of the Faiyum Delta remained largely unchanged.

Above: portrait of a man with a mole on his nose, c.130-150 CE

Many of these Fayum portraits reflect the same blend of ethnic and cultural roots, depicting individuals with both Greek and native Egyptian heritage (a claim that is supported by both archaeological and genetic evidence). Some portraits may also depict native Egyptians who did not have any European ancestry, but had been integrated into Greco-Roman society.

Above: portrait of a bearded man, c.170-180 CE

These representations of native Egyptians provide us with unique insights into the actual demographics of Roman-occupied Egypt (and the ancient world at large). Non-European peoples are rarely included in depictions of the classical world; it's also interesting to see the blend of cultural elements that these portraits represent.

Above: portrait of a priest of Serapis, c.140-160 CE; the man in this portrait is shown wearing a fillet/crown that bears the seven-pointed star of the Greco-Egyptian god, Serapis

As this article explains:

In the 1800s and early 1900s, Western art historians didn’t know what to make of these portraits. Scholars of Roman history labeled them Egyptian. Scholars of Egyptian history labeled them Greco-Roman. These binary academic classifications failed to capture the true complexity of the ancient (or, indeed, modern) Mediterranean. In reality, Fayum portraits are a syncretic form, merging Egyptian and Greco-Roman art and funerary practices. They reflect the cosmopolitanism of both Roman and Egyptian history.

Above: portrait of a man, c.80-100 CE (left); portrait of a bearded officer, sometimes referred to as "Perseus," c.130-175 CE (right)

Above: portrait of a young woman in red, c.90-120 CE

Nearly 1,000 of these portraits are currently known to exist.

Above: portrait of a man wearing a gilded ivy wreath, c.100-150 CE

Above: portrait of a bearded man, c.150-170 CE

Sources & More Info:

Curationist: Fayum Portraits

Harvard Art Museums: Giving the Dead their Due: an Exhibition Re-Examines Funerary Portraits from Roman Egypt

Getty Museum: APPEAR Project

Getty Museum: Faces of Roman Egypt

National Geographic: Ancient Egypt's Stunning, Lifelike Mummy Portraits

The Athens Centre: The Myth of Whiteness in Classical Sculpture

Forbes: Whitewashing Ancient Statues: Whiteness, Racism and Color in the Ancient World