Naming The Money

Artwork has been an imperative part of Black culture, and many artist share their inspirations coming from African origins. From the beginning of slave societies to present day, African America artwork has contributed to large parts of United States artistic collection. Beginning in the early 1600 to 1800 “black art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa.” The significance of the

Art is a conveyor of whatever message or story a person wishes to share. As a society, we’ve become accustomed to the abundance of diverse messages and stories stemming from a multitude of cultures and people of varying backgrounds. However, the art scene has not always been this representative of all people. Contemporary artists such as Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, and Norman Rockwell have taken it upon themselves to proclaim the importance and presence of African Americans in history. Using purposeful art composition and meaningful symbolism, these artists address the imbalance power between African Americans and whites in regards to the lack of representation of African Americans in the history of art. By addressing this imbalance

The Nok heads and sculptures of Nigeria are made hallow, life-sized terra-cotta figures with a coiling technique commonly used to make pottery vessels (Thames & Hudson, 2015, pg.451). Nok heads were made with clay and although clay is very durable it is also breakable. However, very few sculpture have been found undamaged. The head of the figures was larger than the bodies because the artists wanted to emphasize the association between the head with knowledge and identity. The Nok head below is from Rafin Kura, sculpted in c. 500 BCE-200 CE. Like many Nok heads, this sculpture has a unique hairstyle, with three buns on top. It also has triangular- shaped eyes with holes in the pupils, nostrils, mouth, and

In many ways, the African culture and experience have an everlasting effect on Adah. The first encounter of the Price family with Africa is filled with misunderstanding and bewilderment of the culture but Adah simply observes and admires the culture. “ And so the Price family passes its judgments. All but Adah. Adah unpasses her judgements” (32).

Through his slave narrative he paints a clear descriptive picture of African culture, including customs of clothing, food and the respect paid to the dead as well as religious customs/ practices. He compares the inhabitants of Eboe or as we know it Nigeria to the early Jews. He also offers his theory that dark African skin is a result of exposure to the hot and tropical climates. In this his also hints that Africans may be the indirect relatives of Christian Europeans because of their Jewish ancestry and argues against slavery. He stands firmly

Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.

It is proposed to show that the ethos of European colonial expansion largely defined and classified Benin art and dictated how it should be interpreted and displayed when first seen in European

The depiction of Africa has been tarnished over time from the colonial reign over its people, and people like Achebe discuss how the cliche of its people are simply just that; their conventional image. Multiple views exist from a great vast number of people, from authors to speakers, who oppose the idea that African stereotypes are its

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

In a freezing class, two brilliant minds unlocked the fiery passion that is their talent one an artist the other a writer. Bringing to light a history long forgotten creating abstract thoughts arbitrary to our own. Komi Olaf the artist and Okey Ndibe the writer not only enlightening the class but also the world with each brush stroke and each word. Every creation stemming from the hands of these masters tell of issues at the heart of Africa from colonialism to existential dilemmas. Thru spoken word, hip-hop, art, music, poems and literature issues close at heart to the artists and to Africa are portrayed. This paper will focus on the art exhibit by Komi Olaf and Foreign Gods inc by Okey Ndibe as spoken by them during their discussion in the class on October 13th. Where the talks focused on the key course objectives being stereotypes, post-colonialism, youth culture, and resistance.

The bronze head to the upper left is the commemorative head of a neighboring leader, the artist of this artwork is an unidentified African it is made of copper alloy, iron. The creation of this sculpture is said to be around the late 15th century to the early 16th century. In 1897 it was removed from the Benin Royal Palace by Captain Guy Burrows, and then sold to Lt. General Augustus Henry Pitt-Rivers it was then passed on to generations of the Pitt-Rivers, then sold to Robert Owen Lehman, in which he then gave to the MFA as a promised gift. The head to the upper right is a commemorative head of a king (Oba), the artist is also an unidentified African, and it is made of copper alloy, iron. The creation of the sculpture is said to be in the late 16th century. The artwork belonged to Armand Rateau in 1932, sold to L. Hope in 1968; it was then kept in the family until it was sold to Alexander Martin, who gave it to Robert Owen Lehman, who promised it as a gift to the MFA. All the Benin artworks at the Museum

As such some differences seen in these two ritual artifacts are the stylistic of the beadings, color, materials, and containers used to make such powerful objects. Furthermore, what these artworks allow for is a consideration of the evolving and changing aesthetics of ritual and religious art coming from Africa into the Caribbean.

The fact that the artist added “$30” after giving information about a name and a location suggests an environment in which humans are commodified, such as in the world of

This chapter in Africans and Their History by Joseph Harris presents some of the roots of the stereotypes and myths about Africa in the past and for the most part are still held today. Harris discusses how the “greats” of history, geography, and literature starting a path of devaluation of Africans that writers after their time followed. Harris also denounced the language that these “greats” used to describe and talk about Africans. He asserts that this language inherently painted Africans as inferior and subhuman.

     Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor’s spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).