- “THE ART AND MAGIC OF AFRICA”
Museum features African tribal art
Valparaiso University's Brauer Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition featuring more than 300 pieces of historically significant African tribal art through August 8.
The exhibition "The Art and Magic of Africa: Selections from the Lawrence P. Kolton Collection" includes pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries including masks, carved figures, pottery, weapons, metalwork, furniture and other items.
“It’s a departure from our usual exhibitions, which often involve American art,” says Gregg Hertzlieb, director/curator of the Brauer Museum of Art. “All of the objects in this exhibition were used by the people of Africa in ritual practices and have significance to the culture, which when seen as a collection, they provide a well-rounded view of the African culture of this time period.”
Lulua Mask 
Kaogle Mask 
Egungun Mask These works come from the extensive collection of Lawrence P. Kolton, a Porter County resident who collects and deals tribal and ethnographic works from Africa, New Guinea and China. Kolton has sold and provided pieces to major collectors and public institutions nationally and internationally.
"A world traveler, Kolton has used his passion and keen eye to acquire pieces of historical value and remarkable quality," says Hertzlieb. "The works in his collection being displayed at Valpo are not art in the sense that many of us think about art, but instead are more artfully and beautifully created artifacts that performed an essential function in a particular culture."
Hertzlieb says many 20th century modern artists in Europe and North America were inspired by the creations of various African tribes and considered them to be as formally satisfying as sculpture from any period.
"Artists such as Picasso and Matisse strove in many of their works to emulate qualities of tribal art," says Hertzlieb. "It is the Brauer Museum's hope that viewers can see the displayed objects as being culturally significant and full of magic, but at the same time interesting as products of the human hand that reflect advanced concerns of shape, form, color, texture and related aesthetic elements."
More information about the Brauer Museum of Art is available online at http://www.valpo.edu/artmuseum. The Brauer Museum of Art is open this summer Tuesday through Sunday noon to 5 p.m., closed Mondays. Admission to the museum and all events is free. Group tours may be arranged by calling (219) 465-7926.
