Kongo: Power and Majesty
Review by Cathy Corman, CGCM Visiting Researcher
Those interested in the history of African Christianity may want to consider making a trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art before January 3, 2016, to tour Kongo: Power & Majesty. The exhibit focuses on the material culture of Central African peoples after contact with Portuguese Catholics in the late fifteenth century. Curators have done a terrific job showcasing the ways master craftspeople wove tapestries and caps, incorporated crucifixes into indigenous forms, carved female power figures to increase fertility during population decimation, and crafted male power figures to safeguard villages struggling to survive. It’s well worth paying $7 for the audio guide, which weaves together interesting background information and curators’ interesting analyses. The Met is also featuring two relevant photographic exhibits in its contemporary collection: In and Out of the Studio: Photographic Portraits from West Africa and The Aftermath of Conflict: Jo Ratcliffe’s Photographs of Angola and South Africa.