Beads bring 'Transformation' to Art Center
-
"Orisa in the New World," an artistic interpretation of a Yoruba altar for Oya and Ogun, was created by Temujin Ekunfeo, Cathleen Richardson Bailey and Celeta Hickman for the exhibition "Transformation" at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Two- and three-dimensional works in the show were made by members of The Society of Yoruba Bead Artists. -
Elaine Parker's "Epiphany," in "Transformation" by the Society of Yoruba Bead Artists at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
Share with others:
Dorothy found her ashe in Oz.
"Ashe," explains curator and artist Cathleen Richardson Bailey as she walks through the exhibition "Transformation," is the Yoruba word for a "god-given attribute that refers to a person's transformative power."
In an artwork, it shines through as the energy that breathes life into a piece. Consider, for example, the difference in visual power between santos carved for New Mexican adobe churches by 18th-century believers and the brightly colored wooden saints made for the contemporary tourist trade.
"It's something everyone comes to earth with," Bailey says. "In the 'Wizard of Oz,' Dorothy had everything she needed. And when it came time to understand it, she understood it."
Ashe is in abundance in this first public exhibition by the Society of Yoruba Bead Artists at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
It glows from secular beadworks that encompass two- and three-dimensional expression made using a wide variety of techniques, and it reverberates within two artistic interpretations of Yoruba altars, one honoring Egun (ancestors) and the other for the Orisa (deities) Oya and Ogun.
Bailey is a Yoruba priest, as is warmly regarded local storyteller Temujin Ekunfeo, who also exhibits and will conduct a bead workshop beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Whether one is an Olorisa (priest) or an Alayo (uninitiated), practitioners of the Yoruba religion have an altar to Egun in their homes. These sacred spaces may be as simple as a picture and a candle, or more elaborate. Orisa have specific numerical and color attributions derived from their cosmological roles, and these must be prominently displayed. Each also has specific functions.
"You always have to work within those boundaries," Bailey says. "Ogun's colors are black and green. But then you can throw in a little red. It's somewhat like jazz, like Coltrane doing 'My Favorite Thing.' He starts it the standard way, then he goes out, then he'll come back and wait for you a little bit ..."
Bailey has created, for instance, an elaborately worked wall hanging for Oya, "the change agent, Buffalo woman, mother of Egun, owner of tornadoes and hurricanes." A skull, representing ancestors, faces upward from the bottom of three beaded, sequined, embroidered and stitched panels, toward the interlocking strips that represent everlasting life, to a color-emblazoned, stylized buffalo head at the top.
A machete glistens among the Swarovski crystals and stump work (a Victorian embroidery technique) of Bailey's cloth for Ogun, "warrior, blacksmith and symbol of hard work."
The machete is given three-dimensional form by Temujin through black beads and cowry shells.
Individuals either create their own altar components or pay someone to do the beadwork, which is very expensive. Bailey says the 4-year old Pittsburgh-based society of artists "formed because we wanted to learn these things."
Bead artists find inspiration in many places. Two years ago, Bailey put out a call for artists working within the notion of transformation, and received responses from across North America.
She points to the first submission she received with obvious delight: three small beaded figural sculptures by Teresa Sullivan of Portland, Ore. One figure, titled "Questioning," is a caged woman.
"This is [the artist] in the self-imposed prison we all get into," Bailey says. The figure breaks free of the bars in "Breakthrough" and stands assertively in "... and."
Elizabeth Asche Douglas, who was a consultant and designed the show's gallery presentation, exhibits two sculptures, including the motion-filled "Phantasm" ready to throw off all restraints. She'll enact a "dramatic performance" at 1 p.m. April 18.
Darlene Durrwachter Rushing displays handsome flame-worked glass bead works inspired by Shakespeare's "Sea-change;" Terri Perpich's poignant "Degeneration" speaks to her father's battle with Alzheimer's; and Chicago attorney Samara Kaufman's seven extraordinary color studies -- each teeming with form and vibrancy -- rise from change along a light spectrum (she will lead a workshop and speak in the fall).
"Each artist brings a different understanding of beads and beadwork," Bailey says. "They show the transformative power of beads, how they can add dimension, depth and texture."
"Transformation" continues through April 19 at 6300 Fifth Ave. A small catalog and jewelry by society members are sold in the shop. Admission is $5, free for members. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Information: 412-361-0873 or www.pittsburgharts.org.
Carnegie Museum of Art has appointed Daniel Byers assistant curator of contemporary art effective in early May. Byers, who is at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, replaces Heather Pesanti, who assisted with the 2008 Carnegie International.
"Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota" continues through April 26 at the Canton Museum of Art, Ohio. The 40 extraordinary fiber works are stunning and there was a 40-minute wait to enter the exhibition last Saturday. A video complements the show.
First Published April 8, 2009 12:00 am
