Object Details
- Ben Enwonwu, 1917-1994, Nigeria
- Label Text
- "I will not accept an inferior position in the art world."
- - Ben Enwonwu, 1989 (http://www.benenwonwufoundation.org)
- Ben Enwonwu is arguably one of the most important and influential artists not just in Nigeria but to all of Africa, as well as playing a transformative role to critical understandings of modernity worldwide.
- Enwonwu began his African Dances series in 1949 as a response to the dance and performances of his Onitsha origin (Ogbechie 2008: 95), but it became a subject to which he returned throughout his illustrious career. In his paintings, “he had tried to capture this essence
by tracking the body in its motions through space, using fractal surfaces and many figures to convey the idea of vigorous movement, which carried the eye in quick jumps to multiple points of focus. As this kind of figural exuberance was not easily achieved in sculpture, Enwonwu developed other techniques to capture the same effects” (ibid: 190). The series of sculptures the artist made between 1980-1984 represent the explorations of a mature and sophisticated artist. In his studies of both male and female figure in dance, Enwonwu isolated each figure in space imbuing each of its features with a liquid flow that captured the essence of a body in motion. - While Enwonwu created a bronze casting of Africa Dances in 1982, this is a cold cast resin predecessor to this that the artist realized in 1980. According to Enwonwu expert, Sylvester Obgechie, such a piece should not be considered a study per se (personal communication with curators Christine Mullen Kreamer and Karen E. Milbourne, August 23, 3016). The cold cast resin is identical in form to the later bronze, but because it of its material, it may have been cast by the artist himself. Working with cold cast resin is a process the artist would likely have mastered and Ogbechie is confident that the artist would have painted the surface himself to understand how the light would play across its form. So, unlike the better known bronzes which Enwonwu had cast in Italy, this object retains the traces of the artist’s hand.
- African Dances (1980) has unfortunately broken multiple times, due to the increased fragility of resin versus bronze. The timing of the first break to the proper left arm has not been documented but occurred before the sculpture was first offered to the museum in 2015. The work subsequently broke in transit, with a clean fracture of the proper right arm and a “blister” or pressure split to the proper right wrist. Given the unique nature of this work of art, and it’s significance within Enwonwu’s body of work (this sculpture even appears as the frontispiece to Ogbechie’s definitive monograph of the artist), the museum acquired it.The museum conservation team has analyzed the work and plans to repair the work and stabilize it for display.
- Description
- Lyrical bronze-finished sculpture of an attenuated three-quarter female figure. The figure’s buttocks and shoulders curve back while her slender torso arches forward. The hint of a wrapper is indicated along her upper torso but disappears as the figure curves toward two truncated legs. The figure’s proper left arm is bent backward with elbow up and hand down but fingers turned parallel to her buttocks. Her proper right arm has the elbow down and hand enlarged and reaching up, each finger outstretched. The mount, a rubbed gold-toned brass cube, is part of the artwork and attached to the figure’s proper left leg by a brass rod.
- Provenance
- Og and Joy Amazu, 2011-2016
- Exhibition History
- Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- 1980
- Object number
- 2016-15-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- Cold-cast resin bronze
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (Figure (damaged, includes base)): 91.4 × 24.1 × 22.2 cm (36 × 9 1/2 × 8 3/4 in.)
- H x W x D (broken arm): 26 × 10.5 × 9.5 cm (10 1/4 × 4 1/8 × 3 3/4 in.)
- H x W x D (base): 34.3 × 21.6 × 16.5 cm (13 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- female
- Record ID
- nmafa_2016-15-1
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys78a7fffe3-e693-4dcd-87d6-07d838e5e4a3
