African Cosmos: Stellar Arts
Saturday, January 31, 2015 - Sunday, June 28, 2015
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts explores the ways in which different African artists and cultures visually express their understanding of the universe. Interpretations of the earth, sky, sun, moon, and stars illuminate how we construct our worldview and the exhibition features a varied and rich body of unique and visual material reflecting a diversity of approaches. The artistic explorations are not always based upon the science of astronomy; rather they are often based on extended personal observation.
The connection between the earth and the sky is explored by the art of the Dogon and the Yoruba. The ancient Egyptians sought to explain the path of the sun, the anchor of the daytime sky. The sun is complemented by the moon, the anchor of the nighttime sky, and its shimmering presence is an entry point to the spirit realm of the Luba and Tabwa of central Africa. As the moon wanes the stars become more visible, and the ancient Egyptians and the Akan of west Africa created stellar motifs. Contemporary African artists continue to explore these celestial bodies in their contemplations of the place of human beings in a vast universe.
Each African culture represents a nuanced and individualized view of the celestial realm. Yet all societies see the relationship between time and cosmological cycles. The rising and setting sun tells us a day has passed; the phases of the moon, from new to full, that a month has gone by; and the changing night sky cycles with the changing year. It was the observation and the consistency of astronomical cycles that allowed people to construct the thought systems that explained why and how the world came into being and continued to exist. Art plays a central role in articulating these observations of the heavens and their relationship to the human experience.
In celebration of Emory University's Creation Stories Project, African Cosmos explores how these works of art, as cosmological expressions, are linked to African origin stories.
The connection between the earth and the sky is explored by the art of the Dogon and the Yoruba. The ancient Egyptians sought to explain the path of the sun, the anchor of the daytime sky. The sun is complemented by the moon, the anchor of the nighttime sky, and its shimmering presence is an entry point to the spirit realm of the Luba and Tabwa of central Africa. As the moon wanes the stars become more visible, and the ancient Egyptians and the Akan of west Africa created stellar motifs. Contemporary African artists continue to explore these celestial bodies in their contemplations of the place of human beings in a vast universe.
Each African culture represents a nuanced and individualized view of the celestial realm. Yet all societies see the relationship between time and cosmological cycles. The rising and setting sun tells us a day has passed; the phases of the moon, from new to full, that a month has gone by; and the changing night sky cycles with the changing year. It was the observation and the consistency of astronomical cycles that allowed people to construct the thought systems that explained why and how the world came into being and continued to exist. Art plays a central role in articulating these observations of the heavens and their relationship to the human experience.
In celebration of Emory University's Creation Stories Project, African Cosmos explores how these works of art, as cosmological expressions, are linked to African origin stories.
