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African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Highly interactive site that opens the eye to African art.
GRADE LEVEL: K-2, 3-5
http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/pigozzi/index.html

CONTENT:
This online exhibition of Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection (Contemporary African Art Collection CAAC) is presented by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and funded by Continental Airlines. It profiles works by twenty-eight African artists from fifteen African countries that are a part of the extensive Pigozzi collection.
SITE DESIGN:
The site is well-organized and easily navigated. Contents are grouped into three sections available after entering the exhibit. Active X Controls must be enabled to run the site.
 

REVIEW:
African Art Now introduces only a few of the pieces of African art that are in the Jean Pigozzi collection now called the Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC). The online exhibit is divided into three sections: Apartheid and Africa, Kinshasa, and Artist Works and Biographies. The first two sections provide background information. The third section, Artist Works and Biographies, is the meat of the site, featuring the artists and their works. It includes brief biographies, photographs of the artists, and examples of their work. The various works cover everything from Willie Besters powerful collages influenced by the experiences of apartheid to Monsengwo Kejwamfis (Moke) animated compositions of street scenes and local dandies called Sapeurs. Interestingly, only a few women are featured, including: Seni Awa Camara, whose sculpture reflects daily life in Senegal as well as her heritage, and Esther Mahlangu, whose brightly colored murals and paintings reflect the traditional designs of her ancestors.
 

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