Africa in Their Eyes

Jean Pigozzi (center, in notably vivid shirt), photographed in Juan-les-Pins, France, on July 16, 2005, with (less three exceptions) artists represented in his collection of contemporary African art. Back row: Rigobert Nimi, Abu Bakarr Mansaray, Calixte Dakpogan, curator André Magnin, artist's assistant Elias Mahlangu, Ivory Coast cultural official Yaya Savané. Seated: Philip Kwame Apagya, Malick Sidibé, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, Esther Mahlangu, J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, Chéri Samba, Bodo. On ground: Romuald Hazoumé, Richard Onyango. Photograph by Todd Eberle. Enlarge this photo.

Africa in Their Eyes

Works from the collection of Jean Pigozzi.
by Ingrid Sischy

It’s no secret that so many giants of 20th-century Western art, Picasso included, can thank for inspiration the citizens of Africa and the objects they have been making for hundreds of years—some functional, some spiritual, some for adornment. What has been much less acknowledged by the West is Africa’s contemporary art. That began to change about 20 years ago when a long-needed debate erupted over the colonialist treatment (or ignorance) of art outside the European tradition. Since then, exhibitions attempting to “represent” the enormous continent of Africa have been plentiful. But many of these shows, well intentioned though they may have been, suffered from heavy ideological baggage. “African Art Now,” which opens at the National Museum of African Art, in Washington, D.C., on November 16 (after originating at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston), offers a much more spontaneous and personal view: all the pieces come from the massive private collection of Jean Pigozzi. The heir to a European car fortune, and a canny investor in his own right, Pigozzi has been buying art from the continent for 17 years with the help of curator André Magnin. They set three rules for them­selves: the artists must be black, breathing, and still living in Africa. The works shown in Washington, which include paintings, sculptures, and photographs by 28 artists from 15 countries, defy easy categorization. There’s sophistication, naïveté, and every­thing in between. There’s hokeyness and the presence of genius—for which there is no explanation and no color bar.


Ingrid Sischy, a Vanity Fair contributing editor, is editor in chief of Interview magazine.

Nice phot but what happened to one or two ladies that made history too?