APRIL 5 -11,1987 THE MICHIGAN CITIZE
arristers Ball
OIT - The Twenty-
u B rristers Ball
out more than 1,200
r ho enjoyed the
evening of dining and
t the Westin Hotel,
ce Centter, During
evening, olverine Bar
elation pre 'dent Charles
cales pre ided with the help
of Barri ers Ball c -chairmen
Elliot Hall and Duane Folk,
olverine Bar A ci tion is
noted for its po itive com
munity in lvement. WBA/
C LS Judicare Program is a
joint effort between ayne
County eighborhood Legal
C and the 01-
ciation BA ,
to provide e ntial le al r
vice to qualified indigent per-
ns.
Since ovember 1982 BA
has a isted C LS in ful
filling this commitment. Pre-
ntly BA is committed to
providing attorneys who
specialize in dome tic relation
(divorce, bankrupcies, and pro
bate wills. In 1985 BA
handled over 600 - Private
ttorney Involvement (PIA
ca s.
Wolverine Bar ssociation
Officers are Charles Scales, Presi
dent, Victoria Roberts, President
Elect, Saul Green, Secretary,
and Kenneth Lewis, Treasurer.
Board of Directors are Ulrp s
B ylsin Victor Bowman,
Sharon cPhail, Her ert Dud-
ley Desiree Coo r, Elliot Hall
Craig Strong Lesli Grave,
Leroy Daggs and Valerie Lewis,
(photo by Kri in Hay
so
By • in Ha
The African m s jewelry
and ulptures we e in
museum are part of an intri
cate communication sy tern
often between this eartly plane
and the pirit world, say
Marilyn Houlberg, a nationally
known expert on African art,
'A ulpture very often
serves s an intermediary be
tween the human world and
the pirit world," she says.
An s ciate profe r of
art and anthropology at the
School of the Art Institute
of Chicago, Houlberg is now
living in South Haven while
on abatical from the art school.
She holds a degree in
anthropology from the Univer
sity of London and a degree in
art from the University of
Chicago, She h lectured all
over the tates, including the
� Smith nian Institute, and
abroad.
Currently, she is collaborat
ing ith veral African Ameri
can and British scholars about
E IBEJI twin SCUlpture
of the Yorb tribe in e tern
i eri .
The Yorba number between
10 and 13 million and have the
highe rate of producting twins
ar
o
•
•
co
in the world as well as a high
infant mortality rate, RE
IBEJI are memorial ulptures
of dead tins.
, hen a twin dies among
the Yorba, a carved im ge of
the dead twin is washed dressed
fed and rved as a urrogate
of the dead child, The hope is
that the mother will conceive
again and give birth to a healthy
child who will live to adult
hood.
The concept of art for art
sake doe not apply to African
art, says Houlberg. All of the
objects e call art are funct
ional. If a client needs a cere-
monial rna or a ulpture,
he commissions carver to
. make the image, A ulpture
or a rna could represent a
venerable ance tor for example.
A m worn in a tribal t ting
of festival serve a part of a
communication stem between
the w rid of the living and the
dead.
One can appreciate frican
art for it be uty and unique-
ness but kn in methin
ab ut the culture de pen a
vie er's under tanding f
piece Houlberg ys. Her
approach is to t ke the bject
out of the mu urn case con-
u
•
Iy
text and explain ho they
were used by people in fri a,
"The object are part of the
fiber of village life," she ex
plains, They may give them
fo d offerings variou kinds
of crifices to plea the spirit,
and to bring it d n into
the object where it can be c n
suited,
Body adornments repre nt
another kind of c mmuni at ion
sy tern, Afri an cien
elaborate ays of pr
them lves. omadi
like the a i of
have t en b dy dornment
to its highe t level. h ul er
say . They ear their
herea the Y rb and
gricultural group ere t
hou s and fill them
oboe ts.
In East
and
mni
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