137 LEFT: Statue, Tellem Hermaphrodite? Man or woman? It doesn’t matter. This is the primal ancestor of creation. The fi gure’s entire body reaches for the sky, beseeching it for rain. Dogon art is gestural and dynamic, as this sculpture clearly demonstrates. It is superb in its fl uidity, which is enhanced by its smooth, ancient patina and a stylization reminiscent of Cycladic sculpture. ADAM. ABOVE: Mask, Batcham, Cameroon. Batcham and Mahongwe sculptures are both paradigms of African art. Realism is revisited and pushed to an extreme until it fl irts with abstraction. Above and beyond its audacious cubist architecture, this mask is the sum of its curves and counter curves. Its oversized eyes and cheekbones are presented on a single plane, and the pronounced convex curve of the neck acts as a counterbalance to the concavity of the ocular orbits. The immense mouth harmonizes with the whole. These giant masks were carried in procession at enthronements and royal funerals by two men, each holding one end of a long stick that passed behind the mouth, which is the reason for the large openings to either side of the lips. In my opinion, this is the fi nest example of this much-copied type of mask. Eighteen of them are known today, and this example is recognized as being among the three oldest. Only four were known prior to the Second World War, including the one that burned in the Munich museum. ADAM, fi g. 38. LEFT: Statue, Bangwa, Cameroon. Is it a man? Is it a woman? It doesn’t matter. It is the emblem of the founders of the clan, male and female at the same time. But what audacity! Few artists have been able to express themselves with such dynamism. The gesture of wisdom (the hand held to the chin) and the expressive but classically proportioned face are contrasted by the exceedingly long arm, bedecked with bracelets, and an exaggeratedly swollen neck. The power of this sculpture is such that our imagination can fi ll in the parts that time has taken away. Since it came to light only in the 1970s, Man Ray did not know this superb fi gure when he took Nancy Cunard’s portrait, but the shared pose represents an encounter of two great artists over time. ADAM, fi g. 41. LEFT: Figure, Leti or Babar, Maluku Islands. Brought to Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, and then long the property of a Dutch artist, this fi gure has a sensitive heart-shaped face. The fl at back, thin as a playing card, contrasts with the elongated and harmoniously idealized limbs, which are both geometric and supple. The combination of realism and stylization is the hallmark of the art of the Sunda Islands. This is the most perfectly realized sculpture of its kind. ADAM, fi g. 123.
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