THE TA-DAH EFFECT

Take a peek at the Cabinet of Curiosities Exhibition at the Hamill Gallery website.

The Hamill Gallery has a large selection of Fante flags. See more here.


Bobbi and Tim Hamill have pulled together objects from the gallery .... from their homes .... from their travels.

"I've attempted to juxtapose them in a way that suggests affinities of form or material or in arrangements that appeal to our senses of humor. When it works, we achieve what we refer to as the Ta-Dah Effect." - Bobbi Hamill

There's a quirkiness that really appeals to me about this exhibition. It's a bit like a mad hatter's tea party in Africa. Bamana puppets sitting down to tea with a Senufo hornbill ..... the table decked with kuba cloth.

I love it! Go and have a look and tell me what you think. Website here.

"I collect African Art because of its power, beauty, magic and craftsmanship. My viewpoint is as an artist, not as an anthropologist. I choose pieces based on formal visual criteria, some knowledge of the tribal traditions, how well I feel the piece succeeds in what it attempts and whether the work gives me an inner sense of satisfaction, pleasure and mystery. It is certainly not necessary to fully understand African art to enjoy it with a sense of wonder and awe." - Tim Hamill, Director, Hamill Gallery of African Art, Boston

A great selection of Mbuti bark cloths. See more here.

A WALK THROUGH THE KUBA FOREST

Follow me ....





On a walk through the Kuba Forest.





An exhibition at the Hamill Gallery, Boston Massachusetts.

The textiles on show are traditional tribal raffia textiles from the Kuba kingdom in the Congo. The long pieces you see are actually skirts 8 to 25 feet long, which are wrapped around the wearer meany times. These skirts incorporate appliqued patches, embroidered shapes and patterns, openwork, tie-dye, cowrie shells and barkcloth.

Living far away in South Africa, I'm not going to get to Boston to see it but the website is so wonderful that I feel almost as fortunate as those who can see it in person.

A magical world of repetition ........

...... and rhythm ......

... striking pattern ......

.... and colour.

The piece you see below is an example of Shoowa cloth, a highly prized cut pile textile which was often regarded as a sign of status and sometimes even exchanged as currency.

Look out for Hamill's new website, Hamill Tribal Textiles.com

INSPIRED BY TRIBAL ART

Kuba skirt at The Hamill Gallery

It all started when Maurice de Vlaminck was given a Fang Mask and he was so awestruck by its "primitive grandeur" that he wanted to show everyone in his art circle. When fellow painter Andre Derain saw it he had to have it, so he bought it from Vlaminck and rushed off to show Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse: Ambroise Vollard then borrowed it and cast it in bronze. Soon everyone was trying to obtain their own pieces of tribal art which began to influence the way they expressed themselves both in painting and sculpture. Thus a new spirit of freedom swept through 20th century art in the Western world.

Shell Cachet-sex from Papua New Guinea

Many artists are inspired by tribal art and I've gathered a few images that intrigue me.

George Peterson designs, carves, burns and paints old skate boards.

Hannes Harrs' mixed media collage made from old African textiles.

The Ngurrara Canvas. 10 Metres x 8 metres. One of the largest and most spectacular Aboriginal paintings of the Great Sandy Desert Region. read story, here.

Spade Sculpture by Roger Lee. See Flickr photostream, here.

Macrame from IRONIC's Flickr photostream.

Wave after wave has brought to our shores beautiful and mysterious treasures from unknown worlds: figurines, animals, fetishes, masks, ceremonial or useful objects. They are called Primitive for want of a better name...What could never have been written is there, all the dreams and anguishes of man. The hunger for food and sex and security, the terrors of night and death, the thirst for life and the hope for survival."- Dominique deMenil, Tribal Arts Spring 1998

Tribal by Rosalie Gascoigne at The Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

Group of my earliest totems.

X MARKS THE SPOT

Natural ochres on paper by Kitty Kantilla

X marks the exact location on maps where treasure is buried. The artworks in this post are all marked with X's so you shouldn't have any trouble locating the treasure :-)

Unfinished. Mixed Media piece by Seth Apter

Seth Apter is an artist, photographer and blog magician from New York City, who we in the blog world have quickly grown to love. Not only is he gracious and charming but he also has the knack for shepherding artists from all over the globe to his blog The Altered Page . Here he organizes exciting projects such as Secret Sunday...... but I digress.

Many of you know Seth's highly layered and textured mixed media pieces. "Unfinished" is one of my favourites. During an interview at Creative Therapy he describes his layering technique .

"After each layer, the still-wet paint was either distressed with sandpaper, wiped away with a rag, texturized with various materials, or dug into with a straight edge. I feel that building up the layers, perhaps to the point where the earliest layers may not even be visible, is the best way to achieve depth and richness in a piece."



Abstract by Jylian Gustlin





Semiotic. Oil and Mixed media on canvas by Ida Kohlmeyer


Yoruba Diviner's Panel at the Hamill Gallery



One of 7 beaded artworks (700mm x 700mm) commissioned for Singita Pamushana Game Lodge.

When Martine Jackson decided to commercialise her beaded artworks she founded MJ Visual, a design company consisting of up to 6o beaders from the townships of Cape Town, South Africa.

" MJ.VISUAL is a result of Jackson’s passion for combining traditional African beadwork with contemporary graphic design as well as creating a platform for less privileged women to reveal their amazing artistic skills. "

Detail of a piece called Rust Moon by Velma Bolyard. Layers of handmade daylily paper, linen, hosta and shifu.

White Rock with Ochre Cross by Susanne Carmack

A Letter to Phil about Dolphins by Allen Maddox. See more here and here.

Piazza. Mixed media by Lennox Dunbar

Felt piece in progress by Fiona Rainford

TURNING OBJECTS INTO OBJETS D'ART

Wooden box with alarm bell and Kusu Knives. Under Construction Exhibition at the Hamill Gallery

I find it quite thrilling to see found objects transformed into objets d'art and the two pieces I found at the Hamill Gallery are no exception. Just look at that weathered wood! If anyone who loves me would like to tuck them into my christmas stocking, feel free to do so :-)

Dogon trough with spool of twine. Under Construction Exhibition at the Hamill Gallery

Its time to visit Lost Found Art again. The vintage collections displayed here make me extremely happy.

Carved articulated "limberjacks". Lost Found Art.

Mark Indursky, the owner of Lost Found Art, channels his artistic energy into creating assemblages and installations from the eyecatching pieces he finds in dumpsters or at flea markets and antique shows etc.

"When I see a dumpster, I'm right in there. A suit and tie don't faze me."

Antique caste iron road sign marker.

Mark started out displaying his collections at home for his own pleasure but when visitors asked him to help them find similar collections he and his wife Joy had the bright idea of creating a business out of finding and grouping vintage objects to sell and install in homes. Thus, Lost Found Art was born. Imagine making a living out of scrounging and assembling collections of your favourite objects!

Antique wire coat hanger collection.

" A lot of people don't have the time or instincts to search for this stuff and often they are not quite sure what to do with it when they get it." Mark says "I have a knack for doing both."

He has gathered old radio microphones for musicians, antique gavels for attorneys, a vintage abacus collection for an accounting firm, as well as installing an antique hypodermic syringe collection for a doctor.

Steel food chopper collection. Lost Found Art

Antique and vintage Abacus collection. Lost Found Art


Ruler by James Michael Starr

Wood type by Slowprint at Flickr, here.


Feral by Keith Long

Caged by John Outterbridge