Saturday, February 23, 2019 ● The Gazette 1C

LIVING
UNCOVERING CT scans show this
3-foot-tall Nkishi by a
Songye artist from the

SECRETS
Democratic Republic of
Hospital, art museum Congo contains channels
connecting multiple cavi-
team up to research hidden ties throughout the figure.
Such pathways were
artifacts in African art carved to allow materials
to interact with each other.

C
By Alison Gowans, The Gazette
SEE THE ART
ory Gundlach suspected many l What: Some of the pieces scanned are on display in the
pieces of African art in the Univer-
Stanley Museum of Art’s Visual Classroom
sity of Iowa’s Stanley Museum of l Where: Room 376, Iowa Memorial Union, 125 N.
Art collection might hold hidden
Madison St., Iowa City
secrets. l Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday
Now, with the help of equipment
and Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and noon to
usually used for medical research,
5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
those secrets are being uncovered. l
Online: The objects and other examples of
Teams from the art museum and
African art, along with more information about
the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Advanced
their context and history, can be found on the
Pulmonary Physiomic Imaging Laboratory worked to-
museum’s Art & Life in Africa database at africa.
gether recently to scan 16 pieces of African art, reveal-
uima.uiowa.edu
ing hidden cavities inside them.
Those chambers were created within sculptures and
statues to hold materials meant to imbue the art with “Knowing the precise contents of each ob-
spiritual power. ject takes it one step further,” he said.
“This particular group of objects are important for He said analysis of the images will con-
what’s inside and not visible,” said Gundlach, curator tinue, and he hopes to hold a public exhibi-
of arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas for the tion of the art to present the findings in the
museum. “In terms of their spiritual power, to simplify future. For now, some of the art is on display
things, they’re important for what’s inside as much as at the museum’s visual classroom in the Iowa
what’s outside.” Memorial Union.
Staff in the imaging laboratory used CT Scanning art is an unusual task for the labora-
equipment — computerized tomography — tory staff, who spend most of their time using
to collect X-ray images of the items. the equipment to take images of lungs for
What they found included possible medical research studies.
bone fragments inside a boli figure, “It made it a lot of fun to do these
a sculpture by a Bamana artist artifacts, because it is so differ-
from Mali; cowrie shells em- ent,” said CT research
bedded in a yiteke statue by associate Melissa
a Yaka artist of the Dem- Saylor.
ocratic Republic of She said the scan-
Congo; and antelope ner uses two X-ray
horns inside a divi- tubes set at differ-
nation bundle creat- ent energy levels,
ed by a Chokwe artist which allows iden-
of the Democratic Re- tification of mate-
public of Congo, among rials of different
other things. densities. For
The UI has an extensive col- example, based on the
lection of African art. Fifteen CT scans of this bovine-like boli images, staff can tell
of the pieces scanned for this created by the Bamana people not just the shape of
project originated with various in Mali show what appears items inside the art-
peoples in the Democratic Re- to be bones in the “head,” or work, but whether
public of Congo, and one is from front end, of the object. The they are the den-
Mali. The art dates from the late light-colored patches seen on sity of wood or bone
19th to mid-20th centuries. the outside of the nose suggest or another material.
Gundlach said three people — a client, a it was hollowed out, contents The lab has been called on
diviner and an artist — would have been in- were inserted, and it was in the past to help scan other
volved with creating each of these “power resealed.
non-medical items, including
objects.” Someone with a medical or inter- scanning mummies to see
personal issue would see a diviner — a spiritual healer what was under the wrappings, as well as
— who would send them to commission a piece of art. bones from the UI Museum of Natural His-
The art would be used to hold materials such as bones, tory’s giant sloth and a tyrannosaurus rex
wood, clay, cowrie shells or herbs. skull.
“Power objects contain a variety of materials, sub- “Our lab is available. We’re not just another
stances that animate the object to do what it needs to do hospital scanner. We are a dedicated research scan-
for what is typically a client. The objects empower it,” ner, so we can help out the community, too,” Saylor
Gundlach said. said. “We help out the community as much as we can
Gundlach said the scans will help the museum better if they have projects they want to pursue.”
describe the objects for the public and researchers bet-
ter understand what they were used for. l Comments: (319) 398-8339; alison.gowans@thegazette.com

Tim Schoon/University of Iowa University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art photos

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art staff members Steve Erick- CT scans revealed antelope horns inside this divination
son (from left), Cory Gundlach and Alexandra Janezic use advanced bundle created by Chokwe artists from the Democratic
imaging techniques to look inside a Nkishi for hidden items and cham- Republic of Congo. Antelope horns commonly were used
bers inside the art piece. as vessels for powerful medicinal substances.

CHILDREN One Book Two Book Festival
The daylong event will include a children’s
book fair, live entertainment by Absolute
Science, arts and crafts, face painting, trains
with Dan Daly and more. Children’s book
characters also will be visiting — the Pout
Pout fish, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Clifford
and Mouse from “If You Give a Mouse a
Cookie!”
l When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today
l Where: HotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St., Iowa
City
l Where: Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300
Otis Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids
l Cost: $20 to $25
SPEAKER
Using DNA to Find a German Hometown
Ute Brandenburg, a professional genealogist
who is intimately familiar with German history
and culture, has had success with applying
DNA research to solve challenging cases of
unknown origin. She will present a case study SPORTS Try Hockey for Free
body builder and actor Lou Ferrigno. Ferrigno
was only 21 when he won his first Mr.
Universe title, a Guinness world record that
stands to this day. After retiring from body
building, he played the Incredible Hulk in the
TV series.
l When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. today
l Where: Monticello Berndes Center, 766 N.
Maple St., Monticello
l Cost: $10

THINGS
of how she used both traditional research The Roughrider Hockey Club and Corridor
l Cost: Free
and DNA information to solve a difficult case. Hockey Association invite boys and girls
l When: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. today
ages 4 to 9 to experience ice hockey for the
OUTDOORS Paddle Day l Where: LDS Family History Center, 2730

TO DO
The 13th annual Paddle Day aims to educate
and inspire the community to get out on the
water. There will be breakout sessions by
first time and learn the basic skills in a fun,
Bradford Dr., Iowa City safe environment. No hockey equipment is
l Cost: Free
needed. There will be two sessions: 11 a.m.

TODAY
to noon and 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
© 2019 The Gazette

POWERED BY HOOPLA:
WWW.HOOPLANOW.COM
guest teachers, guided naturalist snowshoe HOBBIES Rod and Custom Car Show l When: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today
hikes (weather permitting) and exhibitor Come see the street rods, custom cars, l Where: Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, 1100
tables. street machines, hot pickups, race cars and Rockford Rd. SW, Cedar Rapids
l When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today custom motorcycles and then meet former l Cost: Free