Architect: Robert Odhiambo
Location: College Station
Project year: Fall 2010
Client: City of College Station
The expressive power of African art (mask) was fundamental to the revolution of modern art and the subsequent development of the first modernist styles: Cubism, Fauvism and Expressionism. I was commissioned to design an exhibition pavilion inspired by an African mask. My task was to identify, research one such mask, then through the process of transformation, express the social-cultural, religious and aesthetic qualities of the mask in the form as a small exhibition pavilion for the display of African art. The architecture of the pavilion is therefore inspired by the symbolic, "structural" and aesthetic- (Qualitative) properties of the mask of my choice.
A fabulous piece of tribal art from the Tchokwe peoples of Southwestern Democratic republic of Congo, Angola and Zambia. This mask represents the ideal young female beauty, Mwano Pwo, and is danced by males during initiation ceremonies and other important occasions to bring fertility and prosperity to the village. An ideal example of “Mwana Pwo”.
Size: 10 1/2" high; 5 1/2" wide
Material: Wood, Fiber
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| pencil rendering of the mask |
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| conceptual design |
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| second conceptual design 1 |
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| design 2 |
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| final design 1 |
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