National Museum of African Art
Special Inaugural Exhibition
January 17, 2009 – February 28, 2009
On view in the entrance pavilion is the 2009 painting Finally by Togolese artist Papisco Kudzi (b. 1972). A resident of the Washington area, Kudzi followed Obama's campaign closely and, for this mixed-media painting, translated the candidate's "Yes We Can" message into French. A factory-printed textile known in East Africa as "kanga" also is displayed. It depicts Obama's image and features Swahili words commemorating him.
At the base of the museum's grand staircase, on the first level, are two special cases of artwork. One includes four objects from Kenya, the homeland of Obama's father. A second case includes gold objects, which were used for centuries in the West African regions of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire to identify leaders and other prestigious individuals and to convey power and splendor.
In an adjacent gallery, African textiles and accompanying photographs from the museum's Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives exhibit the ways Africans use cloth to recognize leadership and make political statements. On view are textiles depicting former leaders of Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania as well as a cloth portraying U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Images of Kennedy were popular in Africa both during his presidency and as commemorative cloths.
