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Click on the picture for a closeup view The Matei family of wood carvers has been recognized along with renown carver Sumaki as having been the first to introduce into their work personalized abstract elements as opposed to abstract symbols of communal use. This innovation took place during the 60s and early 70s giving birth to a new style of carving called "MWINGU" which in Swahili means "a cloud changing its shape". The Benefactor is one of the most striking representation of this new direction in African art. It combines the traditional subject with a highly personal image and attitude. The Benefactor was created by "Clemans" Matei, the youngest of the Matei carvers, over a 2 year period between 1988 and 1990. " Clemans" Matei started as an apprentice of his father and has become one of the most appreciated Makonde artists by the Western world as much as by his own people. He toured Europe in 1987 as part of a African Living Arts display and three of his large works priced between $9,000 and $15,000 have been sold since then. One was purchased by Mel Brooks, another was purchased by a member of the Olympic Committee and is on display in Norway, the third is on permanent display in the Museum of Art in Amsterdam. The subject of this piece is Shetani, the legendary spirit which can assume animal, human or demon form. He is neither good nor evil but can exert good or evil influence over people according to his whim. Personal interpretation of his different moods and forms by various artists has resulted in very expressive , sometimes grotesque sculptures with powerful psychological content. Matei's Shetani as Benefactor has the quality of the duality. He is beautiful and almost repulsive at the same time. He sees with piercing vision yet is blind. Being extroverted, dynamic and yet filled with suppressed inner tension he seems ready to burst out with enigmatic strength. This erotic, skeletal Benefactor is the expression of the artist's own duality; his imbalance and struggle in the contradictory world of mixed and often misunderstood values . This piece presents Matei as a member of an African "lost generation," the generation that was raised in the old traditional ways, but has been exposed to the "gifts" of what we call "Western civilization." Although his works have made it to the West, Matei is not in the Western sense a commercial artist. He doesn't work for the market, nor does he dream of getting commissioned. His carvings are the genuine expression of who he is and how he feels about life. Large carvings of ebony are rare. Ebony is regulated by the Tanzanian government both by the rationing of raw ebony to master carvers and limiting the export of finished pieces. Ebony is one of the most difficult woods to carve and traditionally only the master carvers would be given the chance. Another reason is the growing scarcity of raw ebony. Tanzania has substantially limited harvesting and issues very few licenses for cutting ebony trees. The high cost of material makes it available for only the best to use and the fact that Matei is one of the very few chosen to be trusted with pieces of wood so large serves as good proof that his work is highly appraised by his own people. African Art or Orphan Idols When we started carrying African artifacts last year it was exciting but also provocative. Questions continued to surface the more we read and researched and displayed our new inventory. For instance, if most of the wood carvings were used in religious ceremonies, how did these carvings become merchandise? How does the local trader feel about selling his yesterday's Gods? Are they art pieces or orphan idols? Not long ago we had a chance to talk with Almamy Kouyate who lives in Mali and supplies museums and private collectors in Europe and America and recently us at Natasha's Cafe. We asked him about his business and many of these questions that we had asked ourselves. Ali, tell us how your business began? My family has been trading for 35 years, first in Ivory Coast , then in Europe and then in America. In l980 I apprenticed with my uncle and began traveling. By l987 I had saved enough money to start on my own. My first trip to America, however, was a disaster. The first collection of artifacts and wood carvings was stolen in transit and I found myself stranded in Manhattan penniless. I got a job at a car wash and then as a taxi driver. In one and a half years I saved enough money to start all over. You've told us a lot about the ceremonial uses of the various objects you sell. How do you feel about creating merchandise out of sacred items? First, I should say that the trading of carvings is an ancient tradition and dates back many generations in my family. My tribe is Boule and I am a Grio. The Grio are artists, craftspeople, blacksmiths, medicine men and traders. Trading is considered an art form of peacemaking. Even though I am Muslim and don't practice traditional African ways, they are very much a part of me and I have a lot of respect for these pieces. Some I don't sell because they are special. For traditional Africans the masks and statues are only temporary holders of the spirit, they are not in themselves powerful, and most have been spiritually washed before being sold. Most of all I feel that I am preserving my heritage. In the African climate wood deteriorates quickly and with it much history and feeling. The masks are like letters from the past for those who can read them. When I look at a mask I'm trying to imagine the artist who carved it with almost no tools maybe two hundred years ago. I want to know what he thought, how he felt. For me these carvings are more significant as art that deserves preservation rather than a religious object that lost its worshipers. These pieces are much better off in the dry homes and museums in America than on the jungle floor. Who sells these items to you? We trade for most of them. For African traditionalists these carvings in such a perishable environment do not increase in prestige as a result of their use. They are often replaced with a similar carving, a new model, so to speak, and the old ones are simply discarded. It is often that I see children playing with a previously very sacred carving that they have found in the bush. Also, as people convert to Islam they often trade away their traditional objects as an act of loyalty. |
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