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The Art Institute of Chicago
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For Hearth And Altar
African Ceramics From The Keith Achepohl Collection
December 3, 2005 to February 20, 2006
Susan Weinrebe
December 2, 2005
The human need to create and then to decorate will find a way. A great array of utilitarian ceramics from Keith Achepohl’s collection of earthen containers, used for daily needs as well as spiritual rituals, visually affirms this.
For Hearth And Altar, an exhibition of trans-African ceramics, speaks to the unique forms and geographic aesthetics of the vessels. Female potters who crafted and embellished these essential objects used personally identifiable motifs and designs. And as surely as form follows function, the work reflects their individuality.
Though the ceramics were used for the most mundane of daily purposes, to carry water, store food, medicine or belongings, hands labored not only towards a utilitarian purpose, but also to please the eye and heart. One photograph showed a room-sized wall of carefully stacked vessels, a woman’s dowry and legacy when she died. Thus was reflected the intrinsic as well as extrinsic value of her and her ancestors’ work.
All manner of animals that creep, crawl, fly or run adorned the vessel forms. Painted, incised and applied designs varied other surfaces of the burnished and fired clay. One little pot sported finger grooves rimming its edge, belying the cleverness of the decoration in its apparent usefulness. A lizard shape had been applied to another pot and was so close to a real chameleon I had once seen splayed on a wall that I expected to see its tiny back moving with the rhythm of breath.
Figural forms, body decoration, shapes, symbols, patterns, and sizes abounded. The largest vessel in the show, what Mr. Achepohl termed a real, “Ali Baba pot that took three people to lift,” was among his favorites.
Many museum displays are not particularly user friendly, but that is not the case with For Hearth And Altar. Subtle earth and vegetation hues reference the geographic regions of Africa, from which gatherings of vessels are grouped. Large-scale photographs show the potters at work, building, firing, and decorating their pots; the images put a human face on the collection. Textile hangings and low platforms, on which ceramics are arranged, several maps of Africa, delineating where the works originated, and a large open space, that designer Joe Coshand visualized, to reprise stretching savanna, all create an accessible and attractive presentation.
When I spoke with Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Curator of African Art, she told me the excellent signage attending each piece was derived and developed from research. The labels were particularly informative and seem to be a strong initiative at the Art Institute to educate the viewer and expand each visitor’s experience.
Keith Achepohl’s For Hearth And Altar demonstrates that even the most common objects, worked under the roughest conditions, can speak to people a world away, through the imagination of the maker and the work of her hands.
Storage Container , early/mid-20th century. Nuna; Burkina Faso. Terracotta and slip; 55.9 x 64.8 cm (22 x 25 1/2 in.). Collection of Keith Achepohl.
Shrine Jar, early/mid-20th century. Yoruba; Ekiti, Nigeria. Terracotta; 49.5 x 41.3 cm (19 1/2 x 16 1/4 in.). Collection of Keith Achepohl.
Osun Shrine Jar , early/mid-20th century. Yoruba; Osogbo or vicinity, Nigeria. Terracotta; 59.7 x 31.1 cm (23 1/2 x 12 1/4 in.). Collection of Keith Achepohl.
Title-Taking Vessel , mid-20th century . Northeastern Igbo; Nigeria. Terracotta ; 39.4 x 40.6 cm ( 15 1/2 x 16 in.). Collection of Keith Achepohl.
Bottle , early/mid-20th century. Yacoma; Democratic Republic of the Congo. Terracotta and pigment; 27.9 x 20.3 cm (11 x 8 in.). The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Keith Achepohl, 2004.743.
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