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    VISUAL ARTS

    Object, Image, Collector: African and Oceanic Art in Focus

    Object, Image, Collector: African and Oceanic Art in Focus

    Presented by Museum of Fine Arts. Boston (MFA) at Museum of Fine Arts Boston

    December 12, 2009-July 18, 2010

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    By juxtaposing pieces from Africa and Oceania selected from private collections with photographs, “Object, Image, Collector” explores the complex intertwining of the histories of these objects, photography, and collecting. Objects from the African continent and the Pacific came to Europe and the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In their places of origin these objects may have served in rituals, denoted prestige, or have been utilitarian in nature, but they became endowed with different meanings after they arrived in the West, eventually metamorphosing from artifacts into works of art in the early decades of the twentieth century. How did this change in focus come about?

    In a vibrant visual narrative, “Object, Image, Collector” explores photography’s role in the promotion and recognition of African and Oceanic objects as art. Three-dimensional works, among them figurative sculpture, masks, and utilitarian objects selected from twenty-one private Boston-area collections, some displayed in public for the first time, are complemented by images from several important photographic endeavors, among them projects by American modernists Charles Sheeler and Walker Evans. With examples of art books and teaching materials, the exhibition also demonstrates the impact of photographic illustrations on creating a classical canon of African and Oceanic art, and how collectors—and museums—regard them today.
    Generously supported by the Bertha L. and William E. Teel Fund.


    • At-a-
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      • Venue Info

        Museum of Fine Arts Boston

        465 Huntington Ave
        Boston, MA 02115

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      • Admission Info

        Tickets: Members Free Adults $20 Seniors and Students 18 and older $18 Youths 6 and under Free Youths 7-17, weekdays before 3 pm $7.50* *Youths 7-17 admitted free on weekdays after 3 pm, weekends, and public school holidays

      • Dates & Times

        Dates:
        December 12, 2009-July 18, 2010

        Times:
        Monday and Tuesday
        10 am-4:45 pm

        Wednesday-Friday
        10 am-9:45 pm

        Saturday and Sunday
        10 am-4:45 pm

      • Accessibility Info

          Currently, no accessibility information is available for this event.

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