Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art
Abstract
exhibition preview Inscribing Meaning Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art Christine Mullen Kreamer, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney, and Allyson Purpura NatioNal MuseuM of africaN art May 9âaugust 26, 2007 fowler MuseuM at ucla october 14, 2007âfebruary 17, 2008 This exhibition was developed by the National Museum of African Art in association with the Fowler Museum at UCLA. It is accompanied by a major volume of the same title (5 Continents, 2007), edited by Christine Mullen Kreamer, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney, and Allyson Purpura.1 I nscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Artâ explores the relationships between African art and the communicative powers of language, graphic systems, and the written word. For thousands of years, African artists have incorporated writing and graphic symbols into their art with great ingenuity and creativity. The exhibition and book seek to increase understanding and awareness of Africaâs legacies of writing and inscription and their prominent place in artistic and expressive culture past and present. Scripts communicate in many waysâthrough their appearance, their placement, and the very act of writing. Objects dating from ancient times to the contemporary moment illustrate how African artists have used both the diverse forms of