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In Drawing on Culture, artist and ethnomusicologist Dave Kobrenski explores traditional cultures from around the world. West Africa is the first in the series and consists of more than 30 artworks done on location while traveling through villages along the Niger River in Guinée. Through detailed field drawings accompanied by his own notes, Kobrenski provides a glimpse into the lives and culture of a people maintaining their ancient traditions, even as the modern world encroaches.
Over a period of three years' travel, acclaimed photojournalist Margaret Courtney-Clarke has documented the artifacts and traditional art of West African women, particularly their brilliantly colored and dynamic wall painting. "The beauty of African Canvas takes the breath away".--The New York Times Book Review. 181 color photographs.
Take a journey into the heart of West Africa... Artist, musician, and author Dave Kobrenski takes the reader on a musical and visual journey up the Djoliba river in Guinea to explore ancient music traditions, as well as to understand the challenges that face a country "balancing between the world of its ancient traditions and the frontier of modern ideals and influences." Dozens of original paintings and drawings accompany vivid first-hand accounts of the music, culture, and people of Guinea, while scores of rhythm notations make this a unique and valuable resource for musicians, educators, and travel enthusiasts alike. From the author's preface: "Part travelogue, part sketchbook, this is a book about glimpsing in the everyday dust of existence the potential for rich and meaningful expressions of being in the world; of seeing that beyond the tattered common cloth of life hangs a veil of mystery infused with magic and wonder."
We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today is a city-wide exhibition of contemporary art from the region, and the first major collaboration between Manchester Art Gallery, Whitworth Art Gallery and The Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall. It will feature painting, photography, textiles, sculpture, video and sound work from a wide range of internationally acclaimed artists, including Georges Adeagbo, Meschac Gaba, Romuald Hazoume and George Osodi. The exhibition will also be the first major display in the UK of work by emerging artists such as Lucy Azubuike, Emeka Ogboh, Charles Okereke, Nyani Quarmyne and Victoria Udondian. 5 Jun 2012 - 16 Sep 2012"
The art of sub-Saharan Africa reveals the marvelous achievements of unknown artists over thousands of years. Their aesthetic ideal finds form in wood, ivory, fabric, bronze and iron. This illustrated study of traditional African art includes pieces from Western Sudan, the Congolese Basin, the Guinea coast, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and East and South Africa. Each piece is characterized by its own traditions and artistic forms. The earliest works date from the beginning of the first millennium, the most recent from the early 20th century. Unique and rare examples are documented, many heretofore virtually unknown.
Most writers have assumed that the spread of the Islamic faith has tended to weaken and undermine the foundations of traditional African society and culture. In this interesting and original study Professor Bravmann re-examines and refutes the assumption that the aniconic attitudes of Islam, especially the prohibition of representational imagery, have had a detrimental effect on the visual arts in the areas of West Africa influenced by this universalistic faith. The strength and flexibility of West African societies and their art forms is clearly revealed in the major part of this study, which is devoted to a detailed examination of the impact of Islam upon traditional art in the Cercle de Bondoukou and west central areas of Ghana. The text is illustrated with numerous photographs showing a variety of art forms and masquerades in the region.
This ambitious publication centers indigenous perspectives on traditional artworks from Africa by focusing on the judgments and vocabularies of members of the communities who created and used them. It explores cross-cultural affinities spanning the African continent while respecting local contexts; it also documents an exhibition that is extraordinary in scope and scale. The project's overriding goal is to reconsider Western evaluations of these arts in both aesthetic and financial terms. The volume features nearly 300 works from collections around the world and from the important holdings of the Art Institute of Chicago. Although it emphasizes the sculptural legacy of sub-Saharan cultures from West and Central Africa, it also includes examples of artistic traditions associated with eastern and southern Africa as well as textiles and objects designed for domestic, ritual, and decorative functions.00Exhibition: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, USA (03.04. - 31.07.2022) / Art Institute of Chicago, USA (20.11.2022 - 27.02.2023).
African Art invites you to explore the dynamic origins of the vast artistic expressions arising from the exotic and mystifying African continent. Since the discovery of African art at the end of the nineteenth century during the colonial expositions it has been a limitless source of inspiration for artists who, over time, have perpetually recreated these artworks. The power of Sub-Saharan African art lies within its visual diversity, demonstrating the creativity of the artists who are continuing to conceptualize new stylistic forms. From Mauritania to South Africa and from the Ivory Coast to Somalia, statues, masks, jewelry, pottery and tapestries compose a variety of daily and ritual objects springing from these richly varied societies.