Exhibitions

Inscribing Meaning: Writing + Graphic Systems in African Art

May 9, 2007 – August 26, 2007

Pendant (tanfuk n' azraf),  Tuareg peoples, Niger, Early-mid 20th century

National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC

Sublevel 2

See on Map Floor Plan

This is the first comprehensive exhibition that addresses the interaction between African art and the communicative power of graphic systems, language, and the written word. Approximately 90 works dating from ancient to modern times represent the ingenuity and creativity of African artists who have incorporated script and graphic forms of communication into a range of artworks, including everyday and ritual objects, religious paintings, talismans, and photography.

Catalogue