106
Striking Iron: The Art of African
Blacksmiths reveals the history of invention and
technical sophistication that led African blacksmiths
to transform one of Earth’s most basic
natural resources into objects of life-changing
utility, empowerment, spiritual potency, and astonishing
artistry. The exhibition features 232
artworks from across the African continent, but
focusing on the region south of the Sahara, and
borrowed from fi fty American and European
public and private collections. Works have been
selected to highlight blacksmiths’ virtuosity
and to introduce the ways forged iron objects
harness the powers of the natural and spiritual
worlds; assist with life’s challenges and transitions;
and enhance the effi cacies of sacred acts
such as ancestor veneration, healing, fertility,
and prophecy. To fully tell such visually rich
and complex stories, the exhibition is organized
around eight thematic sections complemented
by didactic texts, historical and ethnographic
fi eld photographs, and video footage, including
narrated video stops by lead curator Tom
FIG. 1 (right): Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́
mask, by Alaiye Adeisa
Etuobe (active mid
20th century). Yorùbá;
Nigeria. Mid 20th
century.
Wood, laundry bluing,
pigments. H: 62 cm.
Fowler Museum at UCLA, inv.
X70.990; gift of Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Hughes.
Image © courtesy Fowler
Museum at UCLA. Photograph
by Don Cole, 2018.
Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ masquerades celebrate
the spiritual powers of
“our mothers” and refl ect
community gender dynamics.
This Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ mask faithfully
depicts a blacksmith and his
coworkers at the forge, each
executing a specifi c task as they
contend with the dangers of
high heat to fashion objects of
purpose and beauty. The artist,
Alaiye Adeisa Etuobe, may have
been a blacksmith or a member
of a blacksmith’s family, given
his acute interpretation of the
workings of the forge.
STRIKING IRON:
The Art of African Blacksmiths
By Tom Joyce and Marla C. Berns
ART on view