A taste for spoons: La Jolla resident helps produce book about ‘a refined aspect of African art’

Long before he embarked on a career in science, La Jolla resident Richard Ulevitch had an interest in “non-traditional” art and artifacts from around the globe.

Now, in his retirement from a 50-plus-year career at La Jolla’s Scripps Research, he has published his first book, “A Taste of Beauty: Spoons of Africa,” to showcase some of the artifacts he has accumulated in his life.

With a planned release in September, the 240-page book features more than 100 photos of African spoons from Ulevitch’s collection.

“I have collected African art for 30 years,” he said. “It’s easy to collect artifacts such as masks and figures, but there are lots of fantastic spoons that were carved by the same carvers as those that made the masks and figures.

“They represent a high level of carving expertise. Each spoon is a work of art. The amount of artistry in these spoons is incredible, and there is no room for error for the carvers.”

The spoons often are made of metal, bone and/or wood, he said. “When I started looking at them … I was fascinated by them. They represent a refined aspect of African art.”

Two years ago, Ulevitch started thinking about turning his passion for African spoons into a book.

Having loaned several objects over the years to the Mingei International Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park, he developed relationships with some of the curators and photographers there.

Through those relationships, Ulevitch also connected with a book designer. He approached a colleague about being the book’s author, and his dream team was assembled.

“I collected the spoons and funded the project, but without the team, there is no book,” Ulevitch said. He called the finished product “fantastic.”

“A Taste of Beauty: Spoons of Africa,” written by Bruno Claessens with contributions by Patrick Girard and Tamara Schild and photographs by Ron Kerner, features stories about the role the spoons played throughout history and in various villages.

“Even if you don’t care or know anything about African spoons, you are not going to be able to put it down,” Ulevitch said.

Ulevitch’s interest in global art goes back decades. He grew up in Cleveland, where he spent “a lot of time” at The Cleveland Museum of Art and taking art classes.

“I had an interest in art by great artists, so that was always part of my life,” he said.

He moved to San Diego in 1972, bringing his burgeoning collection of artifacts with him. Once here, he taught classes about what was then called “Oriental rugs and textiles.”

By the 1990s, he had discovered African spoons as collectibles and soon shifted his focus to gathering them.

Now with a collection of more than 100 spoons, Ulevitch said he “wanted to do this book to expose people to these amazing forms of art.”

The book will be released on Amazon, and Ulevitch hopes for a release party in La Jolla or elsewhere in San Diego.