4 Page 8--The Michigan Doily-Thursday, January 14, 1988 Bold 'Shoowa Textiles ' reveals African culture By Lauren Shapiro Intense bold geometric patterns are the focus of the latest exhibit at the University Museum of Art. The show titled Shoowa Textiles com- bines various kinds of craftwork in- cluding the handmade textiles, cos- tumes, masks, knives, and jewelry. This wide range of objects composes the most comprehensive exhibition of African textile art ever promoted in the United States. Although many beautiful objects are presented, the show focuses on the textiles and their symbolic pat- terns. The most renowned group of textile artists remains the Shoowa, whose name originated from the words Sango Meno meaning "pointed teeth." They have a reputa- tion for the quality of their technique and their cut-pile raffia textiles known as mbal. Until the time of colonization, the Kuba maintained an extensive trade through inter-tribal markets. The city Loango was a center of production for cut-pile textiles. The Kuba used the textile squares as cur- rency in trade within and outside the country. During this period of time, many Portuguese were coming into Zaire to make trades with the Shoowa people who valued their cloths as heirlooms since social sta- tus was reflected by their ownership. Today, the textiles remain very valuable since each one is handmade with natural fibers and may take more than a year for the Shoowa to produce. In his catalogue about the show, George Meurant describes the initial impression of the Shoowa textiles: "The first structuring of the surface exploits the possibilities of juxtaposing, interlocking, and superimposing simple elements to form motif." This unique feature of the works is accomplished by cover- ing the velvet surface of the textile in cut-pile so that no individual tufts are visible. While most Kuba people practice this form of embroidery, only the Shoowa modulate the thickness of the textile and thus, accentuate the surface effects. The Shoowa were able to enhance the total visual effect of their works in this way by cutting the velyet with a flat knife so that depth could be varied. The curves within the velvet are another charac- teristic of the Shoowa textiles. The textiles possess a richness which is expressed not only through colors like brown, gold , ginger, and black, but also through intricate patterns. These patterns reflect the variety of motifs and potential sym- bolic interpretations of the Shoowas' work. Meurant explains that the "patterns form abstract expressions, leaving each individual to understand the symbols in his own way, as he does the world." Many of the designs may actually be traced back to the scarification patterns of the Shoowa women. The textiles reflect the esteemed place of women in the Shoowa society. Not only do the Shoowa observe ma- trillineal descent, but their division of labor is inter-dependent. Accord- ing to Meurant, "a man cannot live without a woman and vice versa." Generally, men wove the background raffia cloth, usually dyed yellow, or- ange, or red, while women threaded thick tufts of fine raffia, softened by hand, to form complex geometric designs. Meurant refers to the sym- bols created by these designs as "rectilinear graphic language" which allude to the cosmological and social order within the Shoowa culture. Modern artists like Mondrian and Vasarely have interpreted these pat- terns representing orders within Shoowa society. The textiles look remarkably contemporary in their bold and colorful expression. Henri Matisse himself was a great admirer of the intricate graphic designs cre- ated by the Shoowa people and combined their theories in several of his works. SHOOWA TEXTILES will be at the University Museum of Art through February 7. The exhibit will also be the subject of several free Art Breaks at the museum, today and February 2 and 4. Sunday tours are January 17 and 24. The museum is open Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 1- S p.m. Admission is free. For further information call 764-0395. Join the Daily Arts Page Call: 763-0379 'Shoowa Textiles,' focuses on the intense bold geometric patterns of various kinds of craftwork of the Shoowa people of Zaire. The craft- works include handmade textiles, costumes, masks, knives, and jewelry. Records (Continued from Page 7) Walkenhorst's penchant for putting across gospel ideas with a gutsy irony, steamrolling over Amy Grant- type "Christian-rock" wimpiness: "I was ignoring the thief who was lashed to the cross/ He cried 'help me get this son of a bitch off."' In "Tornado of Love," he even lightens up the frenzied story of disaster on the farm with a human vignette: "Then we saw the outhouse splin- tered/And there sat Pa with his over- alls peed/ His Sears catalog and his rosary beads." Immediate Occupancy For Winter Term1 All apartments located on central campus Flexable Terms Maximum Space for Minimum Price Lots of Parking st, Ann Arbor A A -L We Pay Heat l11 c> > Boa But Walkenhorst's visions reach far beyond the backwoods; "Small Circles," with its charming story and melody, and "No Romance" frankly lament the fall of childhood dreams to the cynical world. His global view of life glimpses "The Other Side of the World," and sees the ma- terialistic powerlust and decadent vanity collapsing America into a second apocalypse of sorts ("Rainmaker"). Jimmy Swaggart says that rock 'n' roll is "devil music" no matter what it says. But the rocking, carni- val thrill of Walkenhorst's band proves that pop can be serious fun indeed. As he cries in "Snakedance," "I'm part man, part monkey, part mystery/And the angels and the dev- ils/ Are playing tug-of-war with my personality." Whichever side you 721 S. Fore 1700 Geddes, Ann Arbor 1215 Hill, Ann Arbor and others... M (313) 761-15z2 543 Church Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104 If you're going to a Campus Computing Site, don't leave home without one of these: may root for, this is simply one show you have no reason to miss. -Michael Fischer Eurythmics Savage RCA Records Nobody would have expected a group like the Eurythmics to ever get the notion to release a Who-like "concept" album like this one. Af- ter all, being a mainstream techno- dance-pop duo, they are known for their few exciting singles, rather than albums with any kind of narrative coherency. The reason for the ultimate fail- ure of the record, however, is not its storyline; that element is actu- ally original and worthwhile in its own way. Most of the music though, is little more than ker- chunking synthesizer repetitions. If only Dave Stewart's multi-instru- mental support were as vivid as Annie Lennox's muscular singing, Savage might have been some- thing special. Savage is the story of an unsat-. isfied and slightly psychotic housewife - kind of a radio- friendly Madame Bovary. She is the type of woman who longs for glamor, "something extreme." The plot thickens as she embarks on a torrid new lifestyle, including a "lover back in Japan" and "dancehalls and cinema."She winds up losing her innocence when the "Wide Eyed Girl" within her goes away, and the story closes tragically with the dramatic self-pitying-to- the-point-of-masochism hymn, "I Need You," by far the best song on the record. Then, just as it should be in the Disney universe of pop music, she wakes up to a "Brand New Day." It was only a bad dream after all, folks. 4 THE UNIVERSOFMICH IGAN 000 00 STUDENT A . 1 0000 0 JOE K. i .. . a a S I THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN C"Aestha A SEWIL.OYEDBYTHEUMVERS4TYOrMWCGMI APPT. DATE______________ SOC. SEC SIGNATURE DATE THE UNfVERSITYOFMKCHGAN ComTpurg Center This card entitles the bearer use of the public Com- puting Center facililties. Name - CCID ::Expiration Student ID Staff/Faculty ID Computing Center ID If only Dave Stewart's multi-instrumental support were as vivid as Annie Lennox's (pictured above) muscular singing, 'Savage,' the latest release by the Eurythmics, might have been something special. The undeniable emotional im- pact of "I Need You" reveals the solution to the Eurythmics sonic woes. A bare-bones acoustic bottleneck guitar accents Lennox's vocal angst as well as wisely back- ing away from it, allowing it to speak for itself. The electronically rooted Eurythmics should take heed of the "A Little is Enough" ap- proach of Pete Townshend. 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