Think of it as art to go — and on the go.
That’s the theme for the exhibition “Designs for Mobile Living: Art from Eastern Africa” at the Baltimore Museum of Art. There are a mere 28 objects, ranging from brightly decorated shields and glass-beaded belts for carrying spears to finely crafted necklaces and painstakingly carved drinking vessels. But individually and together the objects demonstrate how nomadic cultures in the region of the Great Rift Valley, where Kenya borders Tanzania, imbue even the most functional objects with artistic style and cultural identity.
In cultures that tend to livestock, like the Maasai, Samburu, Somali and Turkana groups represented here, “everyone is in motion,” says exhibition organizer Kevin Tervala. And every possession must be carried along as they go with their animals from place to place.
Heavy or unwieldy art objects — like an enormous brass abstract sculpture he points to in a neighboring gallery — would be impractical in their culture, Tervala says. Instead, he says, “creative drives translate into what people wear, what they use.”
“Even the most humble object,” he says, like a cradle-shaped, curved bowl, has been carefully carved and is attached to a leather strap to carry easily over the shoulder. A shield fashioned out of the wrinkled, rippled hide of a rhinoceros shows an appreciation of texture — and also proclaims the warrior status of the man who wielded it: Although the hides of camel, goat and cow could also be used, hippos and rhinos are harder to kill. In the example in the exhibit, you can also see the tiny holes where spears hit and pricked the surface.

The names of the artists are not known, nor for the most part are the exact years from which each work dates. But the materials, colors and patterns suggest a general timeline approximating when they were made, in what geographical area and by what group.