MUSEUM news on view until February 8, 2016, highlights stunning masks and costumes from around the globe, including 76 Siberia, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Japan, and the Northwest Coast of North America. Featuring nearly 100 masks ranging from the fi fteenth to the twentieth centuries, the exhibition examines the striking similarities and distinct differences in practices across these distinct cultures. Becoming Another is organized around three predominant cultural practices: shamanism, communal ritual, and theatrical performance. The shaman medium uses a mask to communicate with or take on the identity of a supernatural entity. In communal ritual, masks are used as part of a broader social function to achieve a benefi t for the group. Masks are also an important aspect of storytelling, whether an oral tradition or a theatrical performance. For many cultures, these uses are fl uid and intermingled, and the exhibition explores the juxtapositions created by these diverse functions as well as the implications on both individual and communal identity. ABOVE: Nandipha Mntambo (Swazi, born 1982), Europa, 2008. Exhibition print. 80 x 80 cm. Photographic composite by Tony Meintjes. Seattle Art Museum, loan from the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg. RIGHT: Zina Saro-Wiwa, USA/UK/ Nigeria, born 1976. Lenu Naagbiwa of Boue, One of the Last Active Carvers in Ogoniland, 2014. Exhibition print. 78.7 x 101.6 cm. Seattle Art Museum, loan from the artist. TOP: Brendan Fernandes (Kenya/ Canada, b. 1979), Neo Primitivism 2, 2007–14. Twelve fi berglass animals, resin masks. Dimensions: variable Seattle Art Museum, loan from the artist. © Brendan Fernandes, photo courtesy of the artist. ABOVE: Jakob Dwight (United States, b. 1977), The Autonomous Prism, 2010–14. Sixteen digital videos, looped in continuous playback, DVD for plasma or projection, 4+ minutes. Seattle Art Museum, commission. © Jakob Dwight, photo courtesy of the artist. BELOW: Walter Oltmann (South Africa, b. 1960), Bristle Disguise, 2014. Aluminum wire. H: 120 cm. Seattle Art Museum, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery. © Walter Oltmann, photo: Anthea Pokroy. DISGUISE Seattle—A groundbreaking exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum this summer will consider the past, present, and future of disguise, a visual act and psychological state that can be a mask, a costume, or just a smile. The exhibition will feature fi fty masks and ten costumes from SAM’s African art collection and some 100 loan objects. The traditional African masks are intended to stimulate visitors’ imaginations as they consider disguise as animal avatars, authority fi gures, altered portraits, and minimalist expressions. However, beyond its historical dimension, Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, on view from June 18–September 7, also will take an in-depth look at ten contemporary artists, whose work has distinctive ways of addressing the subject. Whether in drawings, photographs, videos, masks, sculptures, performances, or installations, all will offer a variety of ways of embodying disguise. Many combine media in innovative ways, enabling disguise to evolve with a mixture of documentary and personally created imagery. The unusual interplay of shared themes in traditional and contemporary art promises to make this show an innovative and memorable event.
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