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Heroes: Principles of African Greatness curated by Kevin Dumouchelle

Heroes: Principles of African Greatness curated by Kevin Dumouchelle audiences of all ages into a dense survey of exhibition review aesthetic and political history. Curatorially, Heroes seems to be looking in a few directions. One reference, at least implicitly, is toward recent writing and instal- lations by critic Hilton Als, who has brought mid-century figures such as Alice Neel and James Baldwin to the fore by elaborating their creative interlocutors both past and present. curated by Kevin Dumouchelle Als’s criticism seeks out “Black excellence” at National Museum of African Art, a time when African and diasporic peoples Smithsonian Institution are again the focus of xenophobic rhetoric Washington, DC and, often, brutal policies (see, for example, (November 16, 2019—ongoing) Kraft 2019; Als 2017). Dumouchelle’s exhi - bition, too, emphasizes modes of excellence, and its story is told through the lens of the reviewed by Ian Bourland “heroes”—both artistic and political—who A longstanding challenge of curating African exemplify, for instance, beauty, collectivity, art is connecting traditional objects with empowerment, style, victory, and, indeed, audiences more attuned to the spectacle wokeness. Importantly, women figure of the contemporary. To that African art prominently in what could have easily been historians must add an additional challenge: a rehash of a “great men” version http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Arts MIT Press

Heroes: Principles of African Greatness curated by Kevin Dumouchelle

Bourland, Ian
African Arts , Volume 54 (1): 3 – Mar 1, 2021
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References (6)

Publisher
MIT Press
Copyright
© 2021 by the Regents of the University of California.
ISSN
0001-9933
eISSN
1937-2108
DOI
10.1162/afar_r_00573
Publisher site
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Abstract

audiences of all ages into a dense survey of exhibition review aesthetic and political history. Curatorially, Heroes seems to be looking in a few directions. One reference, at least implicitly, is toward recent writing and instal- lations by critic Hilton Als, who has brought mid-century figures such as Alice Neel and James Baldwin to the fore by elaborating their creative interlocutors both past and present. curated by Kevin Dumouchelle Als’s criticism seeks out “Black excellence” at National Museum of African Art, a time when African and diasporic peoples Smithsonian Institution are again the focus of xenophobic rhetoric Washington, DC and, often, brutal policies (see, for example, (November 16, 2019—ongoing) Kraft 2019; Als 2017). Dumouchelle’s exhi - bition, too, emphasizes modes of excellence, and its story is told through the lens of the reviewed by Ian Bourland “heroes”—both artistic and political—who A longstanding challenge of curating African exemplify, for instance, beauty, collectivity, art is connecting traditional objects with empowerment, style, victory, and, indeed, audiences more attuned to the spectacle wokeness. Importantly, women figure of the contemporary. To that African art prominently in what could have easily been historians must add an additional challenge: a rehash of a “great men” version

Journal

African Arts – MIT Press

Published: Mar 1, 2021

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