Carlos to host Kuba cloth
exhibit, year-end safari
The Carlos Museum will feature "The Social Life of Kuba Cloth,"
an exhibition of African textiles from June 27 through Feb. 21, 1999. The
Kuba, who live in the central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
are well known for the raffia textiles they produce.
This exhibition of highly patterned Kuba cloths from the museum's sub-Saharan
African collection will explore the innovative creative processes and techniques
of their production, the efficacy and importance of cloth and the role of
these cloths as currency in the trade market.
The textiles in the exhibit were created by the different ethnicities
that make up the Kuba culture. Commonly called "Kasai velvets,"
referring to one of three rivers that act as natural boundaries marking
Kuba lands, these textiles are characterized by their soft, velvet-like
appearance. In the Kuba culture, men produce the plain weave cloths that
support the women's geometrical designs in cut-pile and embroidery techniques.
Featuring a repertoire of some 200 different patterns, the textiles exhibit
certain basic patterns such as diamonds, interlaces and triangles. The basic
patterns could be called the theme of the individual composition, to which
the artist-embroiderer responds with a variation. The complementary labor
of male weavers and female embroiderers in the Kuba culture has produced
a rich and varied textile art form in which innovation is highly valued.
The exhibition will be mounted in the Hinge Galleries on the museum's first
floor.
At the end of this year, the museum is planning a trip to Kenya from
Dec. 28 through Jan. 8, 1999, for its members and friends. Sidney Kasfir,
associate professor of art history and faculty curator of African art, will
introduce participants to Kenyan arts and cultures through visits to museums
and galleries and workshops.
Travelers will depart Atlanta for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and
then on to Nairobi for a 12-day trip through East Africa. From Nairobi they
will go to Sweetwaters Tented Camp, part of a private reserve known for
its impressive elephant and rhino populations.
The next part of the journey explores the Northern Frontier District.
At Lake Baringo, an area known for hundreds of species of brilliantly colored
birds, travelers will take a game drive to view the many species of aquatic
animal and bird life, including crocodiles and herds of hippos. Also included
is a visit to Maasai Mara Game Reserve, where on the rolling savanna the
"Big Five"-leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino-are all
represented along with many other species. Travelers will see these animals
from special safari vehicles.
Predeparture materials and a reading list are part of the package. The
cost is $6,295 per person, double occupancy ($750 single supplement) which
includes round-trip economy air travel from Atlanta via Lufthansa; nine
nights in hotel, lodge or tented camp; all meals with bottled water; a New
Year's cocktail reception; and all internal flights and touring services.
For more information, call 404-727-2251.
-Joy Bell
Return
to June 22, 1998 Contents Page |