Surrounded by generations of his students, Professor Roy Sieber examines the commemorative albumpresented to him at the Symposium banquet

"African Art Celebrates Life"Sytnposiurn Held Honoring Roy Sieber

On February 25-26, a symposium was held at IndianaUniversity in honor of IV professor Roy Sieber's contributionsto the history of African art. Rudy Professor Emeritus of IV'sSchool of Fine Arts and Associate Director for Collections andResearch at the Smithsonian's National Museum of AfricanArt, Sieber was awarded the fIrst U.S. doctoral degree inAfrican art from the State University of Iowa (now theUniversity of Iowa) in 1957. During his career, Sieber hasmade a major impact on the fIeld of art history through hisscholarship and as mentor for a large percentage of thescholars and curators active in African and Oceanic art historytoday.

In the words of History of Art Chair Eugene Kleinbauer,Roy Sieber has been "a pioneer in the fIeld of art history." Insummarizing Sieber's many contributions to art historyscholarship, Kleinbauer and History of Art professor Patrick

McNaughton note that the IV professor pioneered "threeimportant revolutions in Western thinking about African art."Roy Sieber "brought aesthetics into our picture of Africanart," demonstrated "the signifIcance of material creations-from dramatically carved wooden masks to elegantly fashionedwooden stools-in the everyday lives of ordinary Africanindividuals," and was instrumental in replacing the simpleconcept of 'tribal style' with a new perspective grounded in"the complex social processes at work in the histories ofAfrican art forms, functions, and meanings. "

Since coming to Indiana University in 1962, Sieber hasalso been-Thedriving force behind IV Art Museum's aquisitionof almost fIfteen hundred African and fIve hundred Oceanicand pre-Columbian works of art. The holdings are consideredto constitute one of the best collections of African, Oceanic,and pre-Columbian art in a U.S. university art museum.

Surrounded by generations of his students, Professor Roy Sieber examines the commemorative album presented to him at the Symposium banquet

"African Art Celebrates Life" Syinposium Held Honoring Roy Sieber

On February 25-26, a symposium was held at Indiana University in honor of IU professor Roy Sieber's contributions to the history of African art. Rudy Professor Emeritus of IU's School of Fine Arts and Associate Director for Collections and Research at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, Sieber was awarded the first U.S. doctoral degree in African art from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) in 1957. During his career, Sieber has made a major impact on the field of art history through his scholarship and as mentor for a large percentage of the scholars and curators active in African and Oceanic art history today.

In the words of History of Art Chair Eugene Kleinbauer, Roy Sieber has been "a pioneer in the field of art history. " In summarizing Sieber's many contributions to art history scholarship, Kleinbauer and History of Art professor Patrick

McNaughton note that the IU professor pioneered "three important revolutions in Western thinking about African art." Roy Sieber "brought aesthetics into our picture of African art," demonstrated "the significance of material creations­from dramatically carved wooden masks to elegantly fashioned wooden stools-in the everyday lives of ordinary African individuals," and was instrumental in replacing the simple concept of 'tribal style' with a new perspective grounded in "the complex social processes at work in the histories of African art forms, functions, and meanings."

Since coming to Indiana University in 1962, Sieber has also been-The driving force behind IU Art Museum's aquisition of almost fifteen hundred African and five hundred Oceanic and pre-Columbian works of art. The holdings are considered to constitute one of the best collections of African, Oceanic, and pre-Columbian art in a U.S. university art museum.

International Programs, March 1994 / 1

The February symposium honoring Roy Sieber,African Art Celebrates Life, drew a distinguished body ofAfrican and Oceanic art historians to Bloomington tocelebrate the many accomplishments of Sieber's career.The symposium convened with opening remarks byHistory of Art Chair Eugene Kleinbauer, ExecutiveAssociate Dean of the College of Arts and SciencesJeanne Peterson, and Interim Director of African StudiesBrian Winchester. The keynote opening address wasgiven by International Programs Dean Patrick O'Meara.

The Saturday program featured presentations bymajor African art history scholars. The opening speakerwas Robert Farris Thompson, Master of TimothyDwight College at Yale University, a renowned figure inthe study of the arts of Africa and the African diaspora.Afternoon speakers were: Eugenia Herbert, E. NeviusRodman Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College;Kate Ezra, Associate Curator of the MetropolitanMuseum of Art's Department of the Arts of Africa,Oceania, and the Americas; and Nii Quarcoopome, ofthe University of Michigan's Department of the Historyof Art.

The Sieber symposium concluded with a banquet held inthe IU Art Museum. The highlight of the evening was a seriesof reminiscences by Sieber graduates, who expressed theirespecially warm regard for Roy Sieber and his wife Sophie.The couple was presented with an album of letters andphotographs from the many generations of Sieber students.

In a manner befitting Dr. Sieber's long career in African

Dr. Sieber, with longtime friend and colleague Simon Ottenburg,of the University of Washington

art studies, a special "commemorative" West African factory-print cloth has been commissioned in his honor. The IndianaUniversity History of Art Program is establishing a Sieberfellowship endowment. Individuals wishing to contribute to thefund should contact: Eugene Kleinbauer, Chair, History of ArtProgram, Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, IU-Bloomington; tel: 855-9556.

Quechua Scholar links IU-South Bendto the Andean World

Among IU-South Bend's young andtalented faculty is Julio E. Noriega ofthe Department of Foreign Languages.Professor Noriega's deep commitmentto the eight million Quechua-speakingIndians of South America is rooted inpersonal experience with the discrimi-nation and poverty they have suffered.

Noriega is among only a handful ofscholars in the United States devoted tothe study of Quechua literature, andonly one of two who are native bilingualQuechua-Spanish speakers. What·makesNoriega's research unique is hisdiscovery that Quechua oral-basedsocieties created original written texts intheir own languages.

Noriega's book, Poesia quechuaescrita en el PerU (1993), has been hailed as an indispensableresource because it has changed the perspectives of scholars of

Peruvian and Andean literature. InBuscando una tradicion poetica en elPerU (1994), he explores colonial LatinAmerican literature by utilizing theQuechua concept of tinkuy, "a brushbetween opposing forces." Noriega'scurrent research concerning Quechuaand Spanish mystical poetry is beingsupported by an Indiana UniversitySummer Faculty fellowship.

At IU-South Bend, where Noriegahas been teaching since 1992, hisstudents are being exposed to a uniquelypersonal view of the transcendence ofthe non-Hispanic cultures of LatinAmerica. As NAFTA draws the UnitedStates into closer ties with· Central andSouth America, Noriega's work will

provide an important contribution in shaping our understandingof these cultures.

The February symposium honoring Roy Sieber, African Art Celebrates li.f e, drew a distinguished body of African and Oceanic art historians to Bloomington to celebrate the many accomplishments of Sieber's career. The symposium convened with opening remarks by History of Art Chair Eugene Kleinbauer, Executive Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Jeanne Peterson, and Interim Director of African Studies Brian Winchester. The keynote opening address was given by International Programs Dean Patrick O'Meara.

The Saturday program featured presentations by major African art history scholars. The opening speaker was Robert Farris Thompson, Master of Timothy Dwight College at Yale University, a renowned figure in the study of the arts of Africa and the African diaspora. Afternoon speakers were: Eugenia Herbert, E. Nevius Rodman Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College; Kate Ezra, Associate Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; and Nii Quarcoopome, of the University of Michigan's Department of the History of Art.

The Sieber symposium concluded with a banquet held in the IU Art Museum. The highlight of the evening was a series of reminiscences by Sieber graduates, who expressed their especially warm regard for Roy Sieber and his wife Sophie. The couple was presented with an album of letters and photographs from the many generations of Sieber students.

In a manner befitting Dr. Sieber's long career in African

Dr. Sieber, with longtime friend and colleague Simon Ottenburg, of the University of Washington

art studies, a special "commemorative" West African factory­print cloth has been commissioned in his honor. The Indiana University History of Art Program is establishing a Sieber fellowship endowment. Individuals wishing to contribute to the fund should contact: Eugene Kleinbauer, Chair, History of Art Program, Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, IU­Bloomington; tel: 855-9556.

Quechua Scholar Links I U-South Bend to the Andean World

Among IU-South Bend' s young and talented faculty is Julio E. Noriega of the Department of Foreign Languages. Professor Noriega's deep commitment to the eight million Quechua-speaking Indians of South America is rooted in personal experience with the discrimi­nation and poverty they have suffered.

Noriega is among only a handful of scholars in the United States devoted to the study of Quechua literature, and only one of two who are native bilingual Quechua-Spanish speakers. What · makes Noriega's research unique is his discovery that Quechua oral-based societies created original written texts in their own languages.

Noriega's book, Poesia quechua escrita en el Peru (1993), has been hailed as an indispensable resource because it has changed the perspectives of scholars of

2 \ International Programs, March 1994

Peruvian and Andean literature. In Buscando una tradicion poetica en el Peru (1994), he explores colonial Latin American literature by utilizing the Quechua concept of tinkuy, "a brush between opposing forces ." Noriega's current research concerning Quechua and Spanish mystical poetry is being supported by an Indiana University Summer Faculty fellowship.

At IU-South Bend, where Noriega has been teaching since 1992, his students are being exposed to a uniquely personal view of the transcendence of the non-Hispanic cultures of Latin America. As NAFT A draws the United States into closer ties with· Central and South America, Noriega's work will

provide an important contribution in shaping our understanding of these cultures.