When: February 19 � March 16, 2008

Reception: Tuesday, February 19th, 4:30 � 6:30 p.m.
                   Archer Gallery

Lecture: Tuesday, February 19th, 6:30 p.m.

Following the Opening Reception from 4:30 to 6:30 pm in the Archer Gallery, a lecture by Dr. Binkley, �Stop the Sun: The Art of Masquerade in Southern Kuba Culture,� will be held at 6:30 pm in the Penguin Student Lounge.

Representing a decade of collecting while living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the 1970�s and 80�s, the collection is the result of a discovered enthusiasm by the Lee�s for traditional African art and the passion of collecting. At a particularly vibrant crossroad of public and private collecting, the Lee�s enthusiasm brought them into contact with many academic and institutional historians and further honed their knowledge and connoisseurship of African art. The breadth and level of their collection is a reflection of their commitment.

The exhibition not only represents the collecting passion of the Lee�s, it also represents a friendship formed years ago in central Africa with art historian David Binkley and sustained through decades over a shared enthusiasm for traditional African art. Accompanying the opportunity to present the Lee�s collection at Clark College, was the desire to bring Dr. Binkley�s academic knowledge of African art and his personal acquaintance with the Lee�s and their collection, to the curatorial process.

Dr. Binkley has served in curatorial positions in significant museum institutions including the Nelson-Atkins Museum and National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. He supervised the development of major African exhibitions and publications, has published numerous articles on African art and culture, and received multiple fellowships, research grants, and awards in the study of African art.

Gallery text written by Dr. Binkley develops the thematic groupings of the exhibition, and individual object labels place the collection within the cultural context of the central African region. Presenting over fifty objects from the late 19th to early 20th centuries in the exhibition, the thematic groupings focus on masks and masquerade, emblems of position and rank, ritual objects, and musical instruments.