Spirits in Steel: The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade

April 25, 1998-January 31, 1999

Spirits in Steel The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade, the first major museum presentation in the United States devoted exclusively to the work of artist Sokari Douglas Camp, opens at the American Museum of Natural History on April 25, 1998. The exhibition, which remains on view through January 31, 1999, features thirteen life-sized steel sculptures, five of which were specially created for the occasion.

Sokari, who was born in Nigeria and studied art in London, where she now resides, creates powerful, complex works that draw on themes from her homeland. The sculptures on view at the Museum capture the movement and meaning of the "Water-Spirit Masquerade," a festival dedicated to the guardian spirits of the Kalabari people of the Eastern Niger Delta.

Also included are more than twenty-five Nigerian masks from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the British Museum; a superb, rare Kalabari funerary screen from a men's meeting house, also from the British Museum; a selection of photographs taken by the artist; and videos made by Sokari and filmmaker Jane Thorburn. The large-scale sculptures are arranged to form a procession, giving visitors the sense that they are part of the community watching the masqueraders perform. Most of the masks are elevated on poles and integrated into the masquerade procession. In fact, Sokari was inspired to create these works when she visited the storerooms of the British Museum and was struck by the isolation of the masks from their cultural context.

The Water-Spirit Masquerade
West African coastal peoples view swamps and creeks as the home of spiritual beings who may form all kinds of relationships with human beings. Each year, the Kalabari invite these water spirits to join them in celebrations and masquerades. The spirits - male, female, and animal - take possession of men, who don the masks and costumes belonging to the spirits and form a procession through the town, causing merriment, laughter, and sometimes arguments among the townspeople.<

In her work, Sokari transforms the masquerade, which might be viewed as a purely local event, into an experience that bridges the gap between Africa and the West. Indeed, through her Western training, Sokari has become something she never could have been in her native country -she is not only a woman who makes art, but also one who works in metal, and one who dares to enter the all-male domain of the Kalabari masquerade. By presenting African culture as distilled through the aesthetic sensibility of one of the continent's leading artists, who is also very much part of the contemporary Western art world, the Museum is asking its visitors to rethink any preconceptions they may have about the meaning of African art.

The Exhibition
The sculptures in the exhibition grew out of Sokari's desire to abstract the powerful messages of the masquerade into artworks that convey the movement and drama of live performance. She transcends the heaviness usually associated with metal sculpture by weaving strips of steel into two-dimensional openwork surfaces and then transforming them into three-dimensional figures. The intricate openwork of these towering figures is reminiscent of the complex basketry of the storage vessels, fish-drying racks, and fish traps of the Kalabari people.

While the Water-Spirit Masquerade is an annual event, the specific masquerade evoked by the sculptures in the exhibition occurs only every seventeen years, when Alagba, the most important water spirit, appears. Spirits in Steel includes two new works that interpret the figure of Alagba, who is usually represented as being pregnant. One of these, titled Alagba in Limbo, consists of four bearers carrying a dying Alagba figure. This striking work alludes to the political turmoil in Sokari's native Nigeria.

In addition to Alagba, the exhibition includes Seikibo, a man in a top hat and waistcoat who leads the procession, keeping the unruly water spirits in line and the onlookers at a safe distance. Three of the works created for Spirits in Steel - Naked Big Fish, Naked Fish, and Naked Gelede - focus on the theme of "dressing," or the transformation of the performers into spirits.

In the elaborate ceremonial preparations for the masquerade, the participants take on the attributes of their respective spirits as they are sewn into their costumes and don their fantastic masks. To communicate this ritual transformation, some of the new figures in the exhibition are half-dressed, caught in the process of invoking the spirits.

The photographs, which were taken by the artist as she observed masqueraders donning their costumes, depict the preparations for the masquerade. In addition, Spirits in Steel includes three videos: one on the dressing ceremonies, one on the Water-Spirit festival in Sokari's hometown in the Niger delta, and one on the artist herself.

Organization
Spirits in Steel: The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade was organized by Enid Schildkrout, chair and curator, Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History. The exhibition is based on Play and Display: Steel Masquerades from Top to Toe, an exhibition organized by the Museum of Mankind, the British Museum, London, and curated by Nigel Barley, assistant keeper, Department of Ethnography, the British Museum.

Special Programming
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum's Department of Education is planning a series of special programs for adults, children, and teachers, including a participatory opening celebration for families, workshops for children, and a weekend festival comprising lectures, film, and a dramatic masquerade performance.

Exhibition Design
Spirits in Steel: The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade was designed and installed by the Museum's Department of Exhibition, in close cooperation with Sokari, under the direction of David Harvey, director of exhibition. Exhibition developer was Joel Sweimler; lighting designer was David Clinard; graphic designer was Betty Derasmo.

Publication
Spirits in Steel: The Art of the Kalabari Masquerade is accompanied by Play and Display: Steel Masquerades from Top to Toe. Published by the British Museum, the booklet is available in the Museum Shop for $13.95.

Sponsorship
This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund.

* * * For additional information or photographic materials, contact Holly Evarts, Department of Communications, American Museum of Natural History, 212-769-5099.

No. 23.1

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