On the African continent, images of mothers and children are found wherever the visual arts are, from early rock-art sites in Egypt and the Sahara to the contemporary arts of South Africa. Discovered in a variety of materials, from stone, ivory and metals to beadwork, wood, and even paintings, images of maternity enliven virtually every type of object made in the region.

As one of its Art Matters lectures, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) will present Maternity: Mothers and Children in the Arts of Africa, a talk by Herbert M. Cole, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, in the museum’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St.

Defining maternity as a biological and cultural phenomenon, Cole’s discussion goes beyond obvious notions of fertility to consider the importance of maternity in thought, ritual action, and worldview. Maternity images of all eras evoke deep and significant messages, beyond what meets the eye.
 
Cost to attend is $10 for SBMA members; $15 for non-members; free to students and curators’ patron and above. Purchase tickets at the museum visitor services desk, or online at tickets.sbma.net.
 
Cole is professor emeritus of history of art and architecture at UCSB. He taught African art history, as well as Oceanic and Native American, from 1968-2003. He taught briefly at UCLA, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Cole is author, co-author or editor of 11 books on African arts and some 60 essays and articles. Four years of African field research centered on southeastern Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Cote d’Ivoire. He organized 13 exhibitions of African art at UCLA, UCSB, LACMA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC.

In 2001 Cole received a leadership award from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (the professional body for Africanists), a lifetime achievement honor. He continues to publish, and he has been a consultant to museums and private collectors in the U.S. and abroad. For the past 16 years, as Kofi Cole, he has carved miniature works of African art.

— Katrina Carl for Santa Barbara Museum of Art.