THEORIES OF THE AFTERLIFE

Collector:

Charles Jones

AFRICAN FUNERARY ART

Sub-Saharan Funerary Collection

No single description encompasses all African traditional beliefs. Over 800 language groups exist

in Sub-Saharan Africa alone; mythologies and rituals vary widely. A commonality, however, is that

traditional African funerary practices treat death as a transition rather than as a departure and

frequently involve celebration. The spirits of ancestors are assumed to live on and to continue to have

influence over the living. For this reason, they are variously honored and appeased. Many types of

African art are made for these purposes, including the examples in this exhibition.

Jones, a Wilmington native, is a graduate from UNC Chapel Hill and was the director of the first alternative school in North Carolina. After traveling through Africa for the first time in 1974, Jones became an avid collector and curator of Sub-Saharan art. Over the years, Jones has supplied exhibits and pieces to major galleries and museums throughout the country. Locally, he has curated three exhibitions at the Cameron Art Museum and one at the Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill. Jones maintains an extensive gallery and reference library at: 311 Judges Road, Unit 6E, Wilmington, NC.

WHAT IS ANIMISM?

Most traditional African beliefs are built on an underlying animist belief. Animism (from the Latin anima, "breath, spirit, life") is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence and are believed to be animated and alive. Animism is the oldest known belief system in the world, predating even paganism.

Carole Osman

O Jizo San

Pastel on Paper

31” h x 36” w

$ NFS

The exhibit you see here is a tribute by Carole Osman to the numerous displays of reverence that she observed in Japan to Jizo, the bodhisattva of the earth. In the Japanese tradition, Jizo Bosatsu is the guardian of children. Japanese Buddhist temples frequently display small stone statues clothed with children's bonnets and bibs. At first glance, it is a cheerful scene because the statutes resemble children. However, the statues have a sad role; the garments are usually offered by grieving parents as part of the prayers for lost children. Osman has traveled widely in Japan and took the accompanying photographs of typical Jizo gardens before painting this tribute herself.

Born in New York City, Osman earned a BS in Art Education at State University College, Buffalo, NY and a MS Degree in Arts Administration from Parsons School of Design and Bank Street Graduate College of Education (a joint program). Osman has lived, taught, traveled, and exhibited her work around the world including in South Korea, Japan, Turkey, and Germany. She retired in 2014 to Wilmington, NC, where she has owned a home since 1992.