African Art

On October 9, 2015 I went to the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art along with attending the Million Man March down in Washington D.C. The experiences were wonderful and I was very excited to be at both events. While at the museum I took two tours one at 10 am that was led by a woman named Nkechi Obi. She talked about docent African Arts. The next one was shortly after at11 am that was led by a teen ambassador named Nicholas Stewart, who was very intelligent. He talked about numerous pieces throughout the museum that had some significance to younger minds so I found that very helpful. After the tour I spent some time down at the mall in DC in which faced the Capitol. This was the Million Man March that was a very popular event that brought out many people. I would describe both events as lectures that were powerful and time put to good use.

The book is overflowing with powerful images of black art from photographs to paintings to cover the story of black Americans. The book begins with the history and imagery of slavery through the Civil War and liberation, then traces the cultural influences of the civil rights movement, the black power period, and ends with the hip hop era. Through each period, the writer offers historical context for the artistic expressions and examines how more current sensibility shaped remembrances of historical occurrence. She explores the ways that context and historical interpretation influence the artist's perspective and is subject to great difference over time. Although most of the art that were presented after mid twentieth century. it reflect a broader historical period as black

The African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) course has met all of my standards that I have set for it. The professor is interesting and informing me on content that I never heard of or misinterpreted it the first time I heard of it. The Creating Black Americans by Neil Irvin Painter is such a good read because Painter starts with the African tribes and works her way through the history that African Americans made in the western civilization. The three things I enjoyed the most from the first quarter of the course was the influence religion had on slaves, the physical and psychological trauma slaves had to face, and the beginning of rebellion from slaves. Painter hit these topics very well because she goes into details and gives specific names of people who displayed these influences.

Many cultures have a unique art form for representing their identity. These arts trace a history and a set of people. Because of slave trade, many African Americans lost a form of themselves. Like a victim under hypnosis, were instilled the values that weren’t part of their basic nature. Because these values were drained, the fear that cast it way into the hearts of the oppressed only sort a means of survival. Art has influenced many movements African Americans have taken to sort out an array of scrambled identities and mislead truths. Art is the means by forming an opinion of oneself and directing its visuals for personal or cultural influence. However, to start on a journey without an identity; is to

The African exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago is difficult to find. At the end of a shotgun wing consisting of Japanese, Korean, and other East Asian art, and beyond Native American art, sits the one-room gallery for African art. Here, most of the objects could be considered fashions, tools, or domestic objects. There is a bizarre absence of chronology, and the objects seem too similar to speak for Africa at large– as if everything on display arose from the same historical situation and from the same experimental sampling pool. Among this ad hoc assortment of characters, one would find a chest. Actually, a rather bulky jewelry box, which is immediately distinct from the precious, intimate jewelry boxes in many of the visitors’

“The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of form” written by Suzanne Bier, speaks about the different types of art used to dress royal individuals in Yoruba and Dahomey. When the kings must go to important ceremonies they are dressed in royal beaded regalia to appear powerful, wealthy, and beautiful. The height and the cone shape of the crowns brings attention to the king's head, the head representing ideas of destiny, spiritual power, character and beauty in Yoruba. Nowadays the royal beaded regalia is no longer just the crown, and scepters it is also the gowns, leggings boots and the foot rest for the king.

1. The pottery Seated Male Figure from Mali is an example of a non- frontal figure. This Sculpture displays a man sitting with his right leg bent and his left leg pulled up into his chest. He has his right arm over his heart and his left arm across his shoulder. There are many raised bumps on his body. His face id shifted slightly to the left and he appears to be concentrating. The caption explains that he is communicating with the gods.

African Art does not have a particular date to which it evolved due to most early African Art was carved in wood, which perished rapidly (Gascoigne, 2009). This is one of the main reason most art dates starts from the nineteenth and mid twentieth century. Numerous twentieth century artists respected and gathered pieces of African Art because they appreciated the bold color, expression, and structure that created a fresh start in arts history. African Art was generally committed to life, confirming activities, such as, recovering, joy, assurance, and change.

Annotated Bibliography Achebe, Chinua. " An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays, 1965-1987. London: Heinemann International, 1988. 1-13.

The challenges encountered by Africans because of myths and stereotypes created for them can be disheartening, insulting and as well as degrading. People from different race mostly keep to themselves and avoid talking to people, and when other people see them they conclude about the kind of person they are because of their ethnicity and how they believe they should behave or should not behave. Most people believe that Africans sleeps on the mat, lives in clay-built houses, everybody in Africa is miserably poor, depend on well-civilized countries like America and European country to help them, Animals like lions, and elephants are virtually everywhere and most importantly, unsafe to visit Africa.

“Studded Stool with Heart motif Kuba people Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa 20th C. Wood and silver 30.5 W x 6.5 D x 10.5 H inches Item #A0900-164” (Imagawa). African art post-Colonial example they did not use studding or stool making until after the Europeans left. Mostly they did humans and animals pieces. “Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)”

Medical anthropology aims to conduct research and evaluate traditional healthcare practices and within medical anthropology there is the study of ethnomedicine. Ethnomedicine comprises the beliefs and practices relating to the disease. Ethnomedicine is the study of health and healing systems rooted in culturally specific norms and values, but it emphasizes in natural healing remedies that involve herbs/plants, teas/juices, and massage/pressure. All medical systems are formed from a type of ethnomedicine because they develop from and are embedded in particular cultures. Common to all eastern medical practices, physical well-being is an important factor in one’s mental, physical, and spiritual equilibrium like in Chinese and African cultures.

We were asked to research and write a paper about a contemporary artist or piece. Personally I don’t find it very entertaining to talk about the same art piece for 10 pages. I won’t lie, it was a struggle figuring out the topic for my paper, but after Simon Njami’s visit to our class I was drawn African Art and became interested in exploring the Divine Comedy exhibition curated by Njami himself.

Even though historians still struggle today to identify the true meaning of some African art; art, religion and rituals relate in many ways because religion and rituals have been part of Africans everyday life for centuries and art has been used as a communication path for religion and ritual histories for future African generations.

Africana Studies to me is the study of the history, origin and race of the African culture. A journey taken by Africans where through failures, struggles, challenges, disappointments, and discouragements up to freedom, success and independence one can witness the strong uphold of these people. The African nation and its people have witnessed the most gruesome terrible things that many generations combined can undergo through. From slavery to the Trans-Atlantic trade to colonization of the African countries one can unfold a deep history that lies along. I have taken interest in studying and learning Africana studies not because I come for Nairobi, Kenya but because I want to grasp and comprehend the hidden, unknown, overlooked and underappreciated history of the African continent and its people.