Images(3)

Ugonachomma (The eagle seeks out beauty) Display Figure

Label TextYoung lady, you are: A mirror that must not go out in the sun A child that must not be touched by dew One that is dressed up in hair A lamp with which people find their way An eagle feather worn by a husband A straight line drawn by God (Egudu and Mwoga, 1973) This young woman is a beacon of cosmetic artistry. Her hair is molded into an intricate composition of braided fringe and mirrors. Her face is painted white as a sign of poise. Using a stain derived from indigo (uli), assistants have covered her body with minutely detailed body painting. Rows, or rectangular marks cut into the skin of a young woman before marriage, lead down her torso. She holds a mirror that suits the Western notion of cosmetics-from the neck up-while her entire body has become a cavalcade of cosmetology. This Igbo woman served as a centerpiece in a competitive dance display.

Object number81.17.525

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Praise Poems: The Katherine White Collection, July 29 - Sept. 29, 1984 (Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 31, 1984 - Feb. 25, 1985; Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Apr. 6 - May 19, 1985; Fort Worth, Texas, Kimbell Art Museum, Sept. 7 - Nov. 25, 1985; Kansas City, Missouri, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mar. 8 - Apr. 20, 1986). Text by Pamela McClusky. Cat. no. 20, pp. 48-49, reproduced (as Female figure). New York, New York, American Museum of Natural History, Body Art: Masks of Identity, Nov. 16, 1999 - May 29, 2000. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 33, 35, reproduced pl. 10.Published ReferencesMcClusky, Pamela. "Art of Africa." In Selected Works, pp. 35-52. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1991; p. 45, reproduced. Ottenberg, Simon. Sources and Themes in the art of Obiora Udechukwu, in African Arts, vol. 35, no. 2 (Summer 2002): pp. 30-43, 91-92, image 7 (detail) p. 34. Blackmun Visona, Monica; Poyner, Robin, Cole, Herbert M., A History of Art of Africa, 2008, p. 296. Petridis, Constantine. The Language of Beauty in African Art. Exh. Cat. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 2021; p. 292, reproduced fig. 1 [not in exhibition].

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions50 x 14 3/16 x 10 in. (127 x 36 x 25.4 cm)

MediumWood, pigment, and mirror