Discuss all the steps the artist needed to fulfill to complete the
work. Who were the likely patrons? What role might they have had in deciding the
form the work assumed.
For this blog post I was fortunate enough to have a book called The Making of Bamana Sculpture, by Sarah C. Brett-Smith at Rutgers University. The book conveniently delineates every step in the process of being a Bamana sculpter, including interactions with the spirits, negotiations in the human world, the economics of the commission, the place, timing, and pacing of the caring, the artist's motivation, his aesthetic objectives, and the process of carving itself. I will attempt to summarize and interpret as many of these categories as I find relevant!
First, to become a sculptor and get commissioned for work:
To become a working sculptor in Bamana culture requires a great deal of work and apprenticeship. A sculptor has a unique power that is not granted lightly. He must learn to control this power, this nyama, or “a potential power to act in the world that is inherently dangerous” (8), once he receives it.
The sculptor must develop a relationship with the spirit world that makes it accessible to him. As it turns out, this "relationship with the spirits feminizes the master sculptor, and... this process has social as well as ritual dimensions" (84).
Once developed, a master sculptor tends to have a specific personality. “Famous sculptors are difficult individuals. They are cantankerous at best, forthright to the point of rudeness, and their generally exceptional intelligence is often directed with venomous intent. They may, in the full flow of speech, stop abruptly, stare off into space, and simply walk away if their spirit calls.” (48)
Even then, individuals or communities in need of a sculptor's service have different artists to choose from, and "criteria for choosing a carver reveal striking similarities to those employed in evaluating women for marriage… clients assess the artist as though he were to become the ‘mother’ of the ritual object they are seeking.” (84)
Second, to negotiate with the client:
Artwork can be commissioned on behalf of an individual, or on behalf of an entire community. If on behalf of a community, the commissioner will be what is called a KOGLKJ. If on behalf of an individual, the commissioner will simply be a "cekun," a "leader of men, an important person."
"Komo masks and other communally owned objects have clear public functions, but… small human figures are usually commissioned by individuals," the book clarifies (100). Therefore, my piece was likely commissioned by a cekun.
Once the cekun chooses the artists, they must agree on the terms. Most often, the sculptor chooses not to inquire into the functional purpose of the piece. The artist distances himself from the client’s goals, maintaining a “know-nothing” policy. “This attitude of nonjudgmental comprehension enables the sculptor to listen to his clients’ ritual and psychic needs with acute attention" (101).
The details of the piece itself must be negotiated. Often, the "Bamana client often makes specific visual requests: the horns of their Komo mask must be longer than those of village x, the old mask had too many teeth, or the human figure bust be a likeness of the client’s grandfather" (101). But, when it comes down to it, the artist has the final say; the commissioner, in reality, has very little role in deciding the form of the work:
"When the emissary or client approaches the sculptor, he will mention these specifications, and the aesthetic dialogue that results is an accepted part of the commission process, for the artist does not wish to carve an object that will diminish his reputation. Sculptors acknowledge that they have a responsibility to fulfill their clientele’s visual expectation… however, they also direct their more obtuse clients." (101)
Third, to determine the payment:
It is important to note that “what we term ‘payments’ for ritual carvings are still largely viewed as ‘gifts’ or laada by the Bamana” (107). The commissioner must pay the artist in three installments, all with different intentions: “subsistence for both the sculptor and his extended family for the duration of the commission [usually grain, a sheep or goat, and payment of ongoing expenses], ritual offerings made during the course of the sculpture’s execution, and the exchange of cattle, other livestock, and/or slaves for the finished object” (107)
Fourth, to divine the details of the piece:
Determining the image of the piece involves "prolonged attempts to obtain visionary images through a spirit familiar" (179). The visual phenomena that they experience in these attempts are signs form another world, so when recreated, “their importance does not like in their appearance, but in their function as an abstract code that enables the artist to communicate with the invisible” (179).
Often to “harness the inspiration that comes from the alternate world,” the artist must “protect himself by ingesting special drugs, aim for a visual equilibrium that does not threaten traditional assumptions, and develop his visual memory so that he can recall the exact features of a mask he ahs only seen preifly by night. Finally, he must maintain a sexual abstinence that assures his purity when at last he picks up his adze" (179).
No comments:
Post a Comment