Cherishing African heritage: preservers and scholars discuss the historic cultural values and contemporary significance.For decades, many people have visited museums and galleries the world over and have been enthralled en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. by the African art collections. It may seem like an undemanding question, but admiring such exquisite works, reading the tags for insight and meaning, one might ask, "Who's keeping the culture?" Herman Bigham, of Herman Bigham and Associates, African Arts Presenters and Preservers in Philadelphia, assembled a group of scholars to share their expertise on African sculptures as visual representations of our cultural values for Black Issues Book Review. Investing in African Art Dr. Calvin Holder teaches African American Studies African American studies (also known as Black studies and/or Africana studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans. and history at the College of Staten Island History It was established in 1976 from the merger of Richmond College (opened in 1965) and Staten Island Community College (opened 1956). Richmond College had been threatened with closure because of New York City's financial crisis, while the older school, because of its , City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY; acronym: IPA pronunciation: [kjuni]), is the public university system of New York City. . A cursory examination of African art catalogues of Sotheby's, the prestigious auction house, shows that collectors are paying premium prices for African art. In November 2004, for example, one collector paid almost a million dollars for a Bangwa statue. Investing in African art can be financially rewarding, sometimes earning up to five times the initial outlay. Before one invests, however, one should read as much literature on the subject as possible and purchase art from reputable American dealers or their African counterparts with whom one has established a personal relationship. Most of the African art in the Western world has been brought by Africans called "runners." In actuality, these are art dealers who possess an encyclopedic en·cy·clo·pe·dic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an encyclopedia. 2. Embracing many subjects; comprehensive: "an ignorance almost as encyclopedic as his erudition" knowledge of African art and have made possible many of the great collections in museums and private holdings in Europe and the United States. Sadly, their essential role is seldom acknowledged in books and journals. In the Western world, the study, sale and collecting of African art is dominated by non-blacks, mainly Europeans and Euro-Americans. In New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , the premier market for African art in the United States, there are only four black dealers with major galleries: the Michael Rhodes Gallery, the Oumar Keinde Antiquarie, the Merton Simpson Gallery and the Eric Robertson Gallery. Authentic African art embodies the spirit, social values, sweat and tears of African peoples. Thus, when it is in our possession we must appreciate, honor and respect its power, beauty and unique qualities. As it is an integral part of the patrimony PATRIMONY. Patrimony is sometimes understood to mean all kinds of property but its more limited signification, includes only such estate, as has descended in the same family and in a still more confined sense, it is only that which has descended or been devised in a direct line from the of Africans in the homeland and the Diaspora, Africans and their descendants have a responsibility to secure and protect that art. The Phenomenon of Fear Dr. Rosalind Jeffries, African scholar, author and a past curator with the Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Center for African Arts in New York City. In response to the use of African sculptures as decorative pieces, I have heard many exclaim ex·claim v. ex·claimed, ex·claim·ing, ex·claims v.intr. To cry out suddenly or vehemently, as from surprise or emotion: The children exclaimed with excitement. v. in fear or shock, "I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what God or function this object represents." If Africa is indeed the source, and it is, then why are so many blacks in Africa and the Diaspora today afraid of African art? The problem, simply put, is that African sculptures presented as museum treasures are enshrouded with contradictory signals--idolatry, conjuring, and witchcraft--things synonymous with black arts. Anything black is part of the vestiges of a forbidden past, and the word black itself is a loaded term often pejorative pejorative Medtalk Bad…real bad or misinterpreted. Indeed, some blacks are alienated from themselves, full of fear, denial and doubt. African artworks were often created for extreme purposes, such as protection from evil. Congolese sculptures called Nkisi, Nkondi were created to represent fierce powers acting for righteousness and against the atrocities of colonial rape. Missionaries destroyed such sculptures, thereby overturning indigenous law and order and bringing in terror. For Africans to regain the appreciation of African art lost through the pillaging of our culture and minds, we must become educated on African art's relationship with nature, mind, body and spirit. Otherwise, the viewer will revert to the historically programmed sculptures, thereby overturning indigenous law and order and bringing in terror. For Africans to regain the appreciation of African art lost through the pillaging of our culture and minds, we must become educated on African art's relation ship with nature, mind, body and spirit. Otherwise, the viewer will revert to the historically programmed sense of fear for this sacred art. Scholars, Anthropology and Books Haneef Shabbaz, a cultural icon in Wilmington, Delaware who has an extensive collection and wealth of knowledge of African art. You would expect to find a wealth of written materials from African scholars about African art, but sadly this is not so. Why have persons of African descent not contributed significantly to this field of artistic and intellectual inquiry? The answer to that is quite simple. First, Africans never looked at objects used within their life cycle as art. These objects, in their view, were functional and expressed concepts integral to their lives, which gave guidance for the individual and/or the group. Thus, Africans have not been inclined to study and write about these objects using Western artistic criteria. Second, art history and anthropology are Western disciplines that have informed the study of African art yet were conceived as a means of studying native cultures to undermine their stability and to promote European supremacy. African centered scholarship intimidates conventional European scholarship. Noted scholars such as Cheikh Anta Diop Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December, 1923–7 February, 1986) was a Senegalese historian and anthropologist who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. , Dr. Yosef ben-lochannan and Ivan Van Sertima Ivan van Sertima is an American historian, linguist and anthropologist at Rutgers University.[1] He was born at Kitty Village, Guyana, South America on 26 January, 1935. have suffered significant reprisals REPRISALS, war. The forcibly taking a thing by one nation which belonged to another, in return or satisfaction for a injury committed by the latter on the former. Vatt. B., 2, ch. 18, s. 342; 1 Bl. Com. ch. 7. 2. for producing African-centered texts. Africans and their descendants must enter into this field of study, to unleash the meanings locked in our DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. , to interpret the cultural material that has been inaccessible to our community. A Scholar's Inspiration Dan Parker, Professor Emeritus in the African American Studies Department at Olive-Harvey College in Chicago. As people of African descent, we must claim and reclaim that of which the ancestors were the originators. This is the message pronounced in the Akan mythology of Ghana where the Sankofa bird speaks to us "To return and recover it. To go back and retrieve it." Somehow this profound message entered my cerebrum cerebrum: see brain. cerebrum Largest part of the brain. The two cerebral hemispheres consist of an inner core of myelinated nerve fibres, the white matter, and a heavily convoluted outer cortex of gray matter (see cerebral cortex). , and I was compelled to collect. Inspired by the belief that our art constitutes a significant identity reference, and through a sense of cultural imperative, I wrote my book African Art: The Diaspora and Beyond (The Daniel Texidor Parker Collection, 2004), which represents the culmination of more than three decades of reclaiming the legacy of our art and culture. It must be understood that these creations are passed down through a patriarchal lineage where the father teaches the sacred skills of creation to the son. Africans come from a cultural construct, which intellectually dictates that each work evolve within a critical aesthetic system, requiring a creative and intellectual process. Comments on my writing about this presumed "exclusive subject for white writers" ranged from welcomed relief to suspicion. There were those who said that finally someone of African descent has not just written an Introduction to a book on African art, but he has documented his own collection. Others have asked how could one who is not an African (ignorant of the fact that I am an African living in America) or has not "lived" in Africa be capable of documenting African art? But the book is here, and here I am! The Importance of Research Emeka Anonyuo, Ph.D. is professor of African Art, and African American Art African American art is a broad term describing the visual arts of the American black community. Influenced by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas, traditional African American art forms include the range of plastic arts, from , Savannah Savannah, city, United States Savannah, city (1990 pop. 137,560), seat of Chatham co., SE Ga., a port of entry on the Savannah River near its mouth; inc. 1789. College of Art & Design. The major problem with the study and interpretation of African art, especially the authentic traditional works, is the dearth of honest research undertaken principally to unearth complex Theo-centric African practices. To discover Africa, and the African, we must think like him, feel like him and interpret the physical and spiritual universes as he does from his natural and cultural environment. We cannot afford to superimpose su·per·im·pose tr.v. su·per·im·posed, su·per·im·pos·ing, su·per·im·pos·es 1. To lay or place (something) on or over something else. 2. our cultural values, over the African's. Anyone interested in African research must eschew bigotry and master the language of those that they are studying. Interpreting African art objects must emphasize understanding of signs, symbols and motifs. The most reliable sources are oral traditions such as folktales, idioms, proverbs and ethno-graphic literature. Recommended Books on African Art Africa: Mother of Western Civilization by Dr. Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan Black Classics Press, August 1988 $34.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-933-12125-3 African Art: The Diaspora and Beyond by Daniel Parker, The Daniel Texidor Parker Collection, 2004, $70, ISBN 0-974-93670-7 African Art in the Cycle of Life (National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is a museum that is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. Located on the National Mall, the museum specializes in African art and culture. ) by Roy Sieber and Roslyn Adele Walker, Smithsonian Books September 1987, $34.95, ISBN 0-874-74821-6 The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality by Cheikh Anta Diop, Lawrence Hill Books, March 1974 $16.95, ISBN 1-556-52072-7 African Presence in Early Europe (Journal of African Civilization series) by Ivan Van Sertima Transaction Publishers, December 1985 $24.95, ISBN 0-887-38664-4; and Egypt Revisited (Journal of African Civilization series) by Ivan Van Sertima Transaction Publishers, September 1989 $24.95, ISBN 0-887-38799-3 The Arts of Black Africa by Jean Laude University of California Press "UC Press" redirects here, but this is also an abbreviation for University of Chicago Press University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. , April 1971 $21.95, ISBN 0-520-01797-8 Free Within Ourselves: African American Artists in the Collection of The National Museum of American Art by Regenia Perry, with Introduction by Kinshasha Holman Conwill Pomegranate pomegranate (pŏm`grănĭt, pŏm`ə–), handsome deciduous and somewhat thorny large shrub or small tree (Punica granatum , October 1992 $26, ISBN 1-566-40073-2 Yoruba Beadwork beadwork Ornamental work in beads. In the Middle Ages beads were used to embellish embroidery work. In Renaissance and Elizabethan England, clothing, purses, fancy boxes, and small pictures were adorned with beads. : Art of Nigeria by William Buller Fagg Rizzoli, 1980 $29.95, ISBN 0-847-80347-3 |
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