Tom Joyce

Allen F. Roberts

Marla Berns

Henry John Drewal

William Joseph Dewey

Candice Lee Goucher

"The collection of scholarly essays 'Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths' accompanies an international traveling exhibition of the same title organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA. For more than two millennia, ironworking has shaped African cultures in the most fundamental ways. 'Striking Iron' reveals the history of invention and technical sophistication that led African blacksmiths to transform one of Earth's most basic natural resources into objects of life-changing utility, empowerment, prestige, spiritual potency, and astonishing artistry. The contributions of diverse scholars examine how blacksmiths' virtuosic works can harness the powers of the natural and spiritual worlds, effect change and ensure protection, prestige, and status, assist with life's challenges and transitions, and enhance the efficacies of sacred acts such as ancestor veneration, healing, fertility, and prophecy. The publication features full-color photographic reproductions of over 225 artworks from across the African continent, focusing on the region south of the Sahara and covering a time period spanning early archaeological evidence to the present day. These works include blades, currencies, diverse musical instruments, body adornments, ritual accoutrements, tools, weapons, and other important iron objects. Following its presentation at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles the exhibition 'Striking Iron' travels to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., and the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris"--Provided by publisher.

The Art of African Blacksmiths

Striking Iron

George Lipsitz

A Project by Renée Stout

Dear Robert, I'll See You at the Crossroads

Michael Darling

Kurt Gerard Frederick Helfrich

Paul Tuttle

Paul Tuttle Designssurveys Tuttle's 50-year career, primarily as a furniture designer, showcasing more than 60 examples of seating and tables, and highlighting five homes he designed in Santa Barbara early in his career. Paul Tuttle's (1918-2002) impressive oeuvre is noted for its combination of gorgeous woods with materials such as steel, glass, cane, and upholstery. Regardless of how aesthetically beautiful or freshly inventive his creations are, they were always intended to be functional uttle stands out among mid-to-late twentieth-century designers in his avoidance of trends or styles and his commitment to solving design problems in an original way. Working within a modernist tradition, Tuttle's work is distinguished by an elegance of line, purity of materials, fascination with structure, and delight in small details. Although crafted with precision and taste, his furniture often exudes a distinctive quirky playfulness that reflects the designer's belief that a sense of fun should be part of a work's purpose.

Paul Tuttle Designs

Marla Berns

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