My MIL Mimi and I went to the latest exhibit at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. Both exhibits were wonderful! They will continue until August 27th, and then a new feature will be on display.
First, the Ubuhle Women. It's pronounced "Ooo bouk lay" - I had to ask the docent. This art form was developed by a community of women living in rural KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Here is a map that shows the region:
The women use colored Czech glass beads to make their works. The pieces are called ndwangos. Their motto is that their art comes "directly from the soul". Ubuhle was established in1999 on a former sugar plantation. It was designed to provide employment for rural women, using skills that they had handed down for generations. The area's men either work in the diamond and gold mines or in the cane fields. The sale of the women's art allowed them to make additional money to fund education and health care for the families in the region.
Ubuhle means beauty in the Xhosa and Zulu languages. Each artist uses a motif that has meaning to them, and as I show you their works, I will point out these signatures incorporated in the pieces.
These are collars. The Masai use beadwork to indicate one's status and tribe affiliation. The women wear them to reflect their marital status and the occasion they are wearing the collar for. Each family in each tribe uses their own favorite color combinations for their collar.
Bev Gibson is the American woman who helped the Ubuhle start their business. All of the works are for sale, and some are commissioned. This one was a private gift to Bev from one of the original artists, Bongiswa Ntobela as a thank you for her help. This lady has passed, but her daughters, nieces, and sisters carry on the legacy. "Thank You" is from 2008.
This spectacular piece is called "Crucifixtion" and was put together using individual panels created by many artists. Each one used their favorite motif.
Here are some of the panels. This one is the tree of life.
This is the heavens at night.
This shows a storm and how it affects the land and the animals.
This piece is called "My Mother's Garden", from 2013. Four women completed their ndwango panels to depict a united version of their ideal garden. Gardens are the center of a woman's life in the Zulu and Xhosa societies, because a woman is the life-giver and nurturer of the family. Men are not usually allowed to enter a woman's garden.
Since 2006, five of the artists whose works are on display have passed. Many of the artworks were then completed by other women as memorials to their sisters. This work had a bull on it. Bulls were symbols of prosperity, so if a family had one, it was central to their identity. You will see a lot of bulls.
This small piece by Nolidelo Sidibi is called "What have I done?" The artist learned that she had AIDS, and refused all treatment, although very little care was available. She died in 2007.
This piece from 2006 is called "My Life". The artist, Thembani Ntobela, also did the Christ figure in the crucifixion panel. It features a chicken. Chickens are part of life - they are sacrificed to elders and ancestors. They are also used as wedding payments and represent basic but cheerful survival. This artist died in 2011.
This piece is called "Looking Back." It was created during the pandemic, a time of extreme loneliness and isolation for the Ubuhle. Making the chicken ndwangos served as wonderful distractions from the bewildering world.
This piece is called "Morning Reflections". It illustrates the challenging journey to self-sufficiency, looking back to a time that was less complicated and simpler. The success of the art gave the artist a purpose, but also a great many responsibilities.
This piece by Zondilie Zondo is called "Jamludi the Red Cow". The cow reminded her of her mother and father, who both loved traditional songs. Her father would sing a song about his cow at festivals and parties. It is from 2012.
This one is called "Ankole Bull" and was made in 2013. The Ankole has huge horns and no hump, like the Boran bull. The bull reminded her of her strong, courageous mother and her busy farmer father, who kept their land and crops tidy and growing.
Here are two examples of the Boran bulls. The ownership of these animals was the basis for traditional society.
This beautiful piece by Zandile Ntobela is called "Heaven and Earth become One" and is from 2011. There was very little information about this lovely work, other than blue and green were the artist's favorite colors.
I loved the idea of this one. It is called "My Mother's Peach Tree" and is from 2012.It was also made by Zondilie Zondo. The home that she grew up in had a big peach tree, and her mother would take her sewing machine out under it to sit and do piece work for money. The family rented a room from another family, but eventually between the sewing and the art, they bought their own little white house, a dream for the family. The white house is somewhere in all of Zondo's pieces, like a signature.
This one, called "Dressed for the Dance" was made by Zondilie Zondo in 2023. This is an Ankole female, and she is decorated for the high school girl's graduation. The horns are embellished and represent a time of joy, excitement and happiness for a young girl.
This piece is called "Cherry Tree". It was done by Zandile Ntobela in 2011. The cherry blossom was her signature pattern.
The tree of life was also a prominent motif, as seen in these two examples.
This work is called "Tribute to my Sister Bongiswa", done by Ntombephi Ntobela in 2010. Recall that her sister Bongiswa was the original artist who Bev Gibson helped. The circle was Bongiswa's favorite shape.
We thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit. One cool thing that the docents did was to have a piece of the beadwork, about the size of a standard piece of paper, for viewers to hold and feel. You could turn it over and see the stitching that held the beads onto the black fabric.
Then we went to see the California Art Club Exhibition. All of the works were for sale. The Club is one of the largest professional fine arts organization in the world. It was founded by Franz Bischoff in 1909 on the banks of the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena. There is no theme, and all artists are welcome to display their works, no matter the style or medium. I tried to recognize each California location as I looked at the pictures. I could recognize many of the locales.
This is called "Front Row Spectators" by Wendy Wirth. It is Three Arch Bay in Laguna Beach.
This one, by Mian Situ, was called "Enchantment". He dressed his wife Gloria in tradiional Chinese costume. It was beautiful - it won the Gold Medal Award for Best Portrait. He learned art growing up in Guangdong province in China.
This piece by John Asaro was called Romeo and Juliet Ballet. It won the Gold Medal Award for Best Multi-Figure.
Scott W Prior painted "Nikes on Valencia", a street scene that won the Award of Excellence from American Art Collector magazine. It celebrated unusual people - they teach us to see the world through different eyes.
This work won the Gold Medal Award for Best Waterscape. It is called "Midnight Serenade" and was done by Jennifer Moses. I loved the lightning hitting the water. In person, this one was gorgeous.
"Sweetly" by Yun Wei was classic realism. Realism is my favorite discipline.
I loved "Eocene Antarctica" by Wiliam Stout. Wouldn't this be wonderful in a child's room? It depicted creatures that lived in Antartica approximately 40 million years ago. That is when the continent was believed to have separated from Australia.
I recognized this locale immediately. It is called "Good Evening LA" by Simon Lok and depicts downtown LA at sunset. A nice depiction of the beauty that the city can have, if one only looks for it.
"Before the Music Starts" by Daniel Gonzalez was amazing. This charcoal on paper sketch looked like a photograph. The artist feels like he has a duty and privilege to put beautiful things in the world.
The Arroyo Seco! W Jason Situ captured the feel of the Pasadena area perfectly. Everyone who has driven the 110 freeway will recognize this bridge. It's called "Spring in Arroyo Pasadena".
A very charming still life by Brenda Swenson called "Sweet and Spicy."
Who doesn't recognize the Half Dome in Yosemite? This piece called "Sierra Patterns" by Charles Muench won the Award of Excellence for Art of the West.
I loved this little piece called "That Sunny Spot" by PA Farris. The mallard is a common but beautiful species of duck. Look at the detail in the closeup!
Dennis Doheny's piece called "Cloud Veil - Catalina Island" perfectly captures the beauty of sun streaks poking through the clouds.
I failed to capture the name of this piece. It was a beautiful watercolor. I focused on the bee's transparent wings because it was so well done! The artist is Marilyn Wear, and watercolor is her favorite medium.
"Eden Restored" by Donald Towns illustrates Isaiah 11:6-9, the passage which gives the idea that wild beasts will not destroy the earth but will lead it.
This work by Frank Ordaz, called "Between Heaven and Earth" shows that as a former atheist turned theist, he was inspired to translate the beauty of being a human and created in the image of God.
This bronze sculpture called "Quarrel" by Adam Matano describes the animal as a mirror of ourselves, using the neck folds as our vulnerabilities that invite the arrows into ourselves.
Gotta love the portrait of sleeping labradors! it was done by Ken Goldman.
There were two still lifes done by Mary Kay West. She won the Award of Excellence from American Art Review magazine. Instead of using tromp d'loleil, she actually had parts of the work come out of the background and overlap the frame. The bread was inches thicker than the rest of the picture.
Here, she did the same with lazuli bunting birds as the focus. The flowers were the 3D part. It was called "Birds in Blue and Gold".
This one, called "Memento Mori" by Cathryne Trachok, was the artist's vision of those Victorian death portraits of people, only using a sunflower as the subject instead of a dead person. She wanted to remind us that beauty is transitory, and that we should appreciate it more.
The realist Yun Wei also did this amazing "Ship in a Bottle."
Finally, a piece called "Summer Reflections" done by London Vale. The soap bubbles were perfect !
And that's it! We both loved this outing. The next exhibit should begin soon, and you can bet that we will be there, so stay tuned!!
