Olówè of Isè (c. 1870– 1938), Chief’s throne. Yoruba, Nigeria. C. 1930. Wood, pigment. H: 143 cm. Detroit Institute of Arts. Charles Ferdinand Wimar, American (born Germany), 1828–1862; Unidentified Indian, possibly Pahtanka (Big Head) (leaf 21 verso), c. June 12, 1858. Graphite on paper. 9.5 x 14.6 cm. Saint Louis Art Museum, gift of Mrs. M. F. Hahn 61:1941.21v. BALANCE OF POWER Detroit—According to Yoruba oral history, the artist Olówè of Isè (ca. 1870–1938) could sculpt a person’s likeness on the spot, without even looking at the wood he was carving. In his day, Olówè was the most sought-after artist for Yoruba royalty. Kings from far and wide called on him to sculpt the decorations that filled their palaces. Today, Western museums consider his works priceless. Sometime around 1930, the heir apparent to the city of Isè, Prince Ilori needed a seat of state to receive visitors from near and far—his Yoruba subjects, other Africans, and Europeans. The prince’s throne needed to project an image of power to this diverse audience, and it needed to be particularly clear to Westerners. To achieve this goal, the king-to-be called upon Olówè as the foremost artist of his day. They decided to reject the traditional Yoruba caryatid stool form and instead create a hybrid throne with a stool-like base but a high-raised back and projecting arms, essentially creating a throne that Europeans could recognize. The throne’s iconography is a mixture of traditional and innovative figural motifs, many of which wryly reference European power, which the prince would literally sit upon. A special exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts is spotlighting this singular work in an exhibition titled Balance of Power: A Throne for an African Prince, which features this sculpture along with detailed didactic analysis that allows visitors to fully comprehend its meaning and significance. The exhibition will be on view until March 16, 2014. ENCOUNTERS ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER St. Louis—St. Louis artist Karl “Charles” Ferdinand Wimar (1828–1862) made two lengthy trips up the Missouri River in 1858 and again in 1859 seeking encounters with Native peoples. German born and trained as a painter at the Düsseldorf Academy, he had by then made a name for himself by depicting colonial themes. Living in a city that was on the edge of Euro- American and Native territories, he developed an abiding interest in Native American culture and spent the rest of his short life creating paintings and murals that depicted Indians and scenes of the Great Plains and of Western expansion. A small but interesting installation at the St. Louis Art Museum features the contents of two sketchbooks Wimar filled with drawings during his first trip up the Missouri. Encounters along the Missouri River: The 1858 Sketchbooks of Charles Wimar features the books’ small leaves (5 x 7.25 and 3.75 x 5.75 inches), most with multiple images accurately rendered in pencil and carefully notated with names. These augmented photographs he took (now lost) and art objects he collected, all in an effort to add greater veracity to his paintings. The show can be seen until January 19, 2014. MUSEUM news
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