Africans have developed diverse “traditions” of sculpture (figures and masks), architecture, furniture, pottery, textiles, jewelry, the
spoken word and of course fantastic hieroglyphs and temple art; Images. Literally, as exemplified in nature; all things in the African
Worldview, are divinely manifest in a created universe, and therefore reflects the supreme inspiration, principals and established order
set forth by its creator. Even body decoration (coiffure and cicatrisation: decorative scarring) paintings (in tombs, on buildings, textiles,
and the human body) function as essential expressions of African Spirituality an artistic heritage; inseparable from cosmic celebration.
[1] Therefore African Art: Signs & Symbols as such are a traditional medium for the transmittal of African values and culture.[2]
Described in the 17th and 18th centuries as a place of powerful kings and lavish courts, Africa came to be looked on far less favorably
in the second half of the 19th century, at the brink of the colonial period. At the conclusion of the period of colonial conquest in the early
1900s, the continent was redefined in maps, scholarly texts, and exhibitions as a place primarily of "tribal" entities that were assumed to
lack sophisticated political and economic institutions. Related works of African Art generally were/are incorrectly referred to as tribal art.
Today scholars no longer use the term tribe in discussions of Africa's cultures and arts. The word is avoided partly because it is
regarded as a highly negative term that would not be used in Western contexts. Few people would speak of the Scottish or Irish as
members of a tribe, for example. The term is also avoided because the idea of tribe carries with it suggestions of sealed stylistic borders
within which little, if anything, changes over time. This notion of each culture having its own distinctive, monolithic style runs counter to
current scholarly views of African culture, history, and African art. As with the term tribal art, the label primitive art—employed to
describe African Art until recently—is also rejected because of its negative connotations and because it is a distinctively Western
invention.
In the Occidental World, African Art was first displayed in natural history museums of Europe and the United States, long before it was
viewed as acceptable to collect and exhibit these works in fine arts museums. Until recently, many of the best collections of African Art
open to the public were those displayed in anthropological and natural science museums. In terms of the “Historical Timeline” the
museums came into being as repositories for the fantastic volume of plundered African Antiquities, signs and symbols which continues
today. The categorization of African Art (antiquities, signs and symbols) as natural history rested on the now antiquated notion that
African people and the art they created was [is] an organic product of the African environment, scarcely different from natural resources
such as a zebra or a mangrove tree, gold or sliver, magnesium, copper or zinc etc. An Environment [collective conscious biosphere]
bound together by a web of interdependent cultural & spiritual unity.
[1] James, George G. M, Stolen Legacy Pp-1, 132
[2] Wright, Joseph E. Hidden Properties Of Matter and Domination: Race to Control Global Resources
Early practices of collecting African Art often dovetailed with colonial exploitation. Scientists from the American Museum of Natural
History in New York City, for example, collected more than 49 metric tons of materials during a five-year expedition to the Mangbetu
Court (in what is now the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC) beginning in 1909. These materials included not only
art works and decorative objects, but also flora and fauna specimens. Although the United States did not colonize the region, this sort of
plundering was very much a part of colonial-era assumptions that Africa and Africans [African People] could be exploited without limit.
Mangbetu Arts—as with those of many other African cultures—thus came to be linked to Western concerns with global dominance and
colonial identity. Today African Art is no longer relegated to natural history museums; both fine art museums and anthropological
museums around the world have important collections and displays of African Art. African Art by the way seems to be the most valued
and highly collected art on the planet for the last several hundred years. The Museums of the Smithsonian Institute U. S., affiliates and
the Louvre of Paris led the packs along with the British Oriental Institute and U of C Oriental Institute of Chicago. FYI in nearly every
major city U. S. Museum collections are extensive. In spite of this phenomena the negative myths and fairy tales about African culture,
African people indeed anything African still abound; too often repeated by people of African descent.
Although works created by African Artists are now viewed in the West as legitimate works of art, African Art still faces barriers to
acceptance in the West on its own terms. People in the West tend to see art as something beautiful or visually compelling but devoid of
function. Such a definition is problematic because it would expunge from the category of art all early and late European religious art,
works of art commissioned for political purposes, and modern architecture. For the same reason that such a narrow definition of
European art would not be useful, African Art is defined broadly to include both functional and purely decorative items.
In Africa, before the European Renaissance (roughly 14th century to 16th century), a number of words for "art" existed. But as with many
of the European examples, the African terms are less concerned with quality as such than they are with the question of skill or know-
how. The Fon of contemporary Benin use the word alonuzo ("something made by hand") to designate art. The nearby Ewe of Togo use
the term adanu (accomplishment, skill, or value) to indicate art, technique, and ornamentation. These terms share essential conceptual
similarities with arts, the Latin word for art, which has its origins in artus, meaning “to join or fit together.” Both the Italian word arte and
the German term Kunst (derived from the verb können, "to know") are also linked to the idea of practical activity, trade, and know-how.
The history of art in Africa covers many millenniums. Among the most ancient of these ancient art forms are the rock paintings and
engravings from Tassili and Ennedi in the Sahara, dating from 60,000 B.C.E. to the 1st century C.E. (see Rock Art, African). Many other
examples of early arts come from what is now Nigeria, including the terra-cotta sculptures created by artists from the Nok civilization
(dating from at least the 5th century B.C.E.. to the 2nd century C.E.), the decorative bronze works found at Igbo-Ukwu (9th century to
10th century C.E.), and the extraordinary bronze and terra-cotta sculptures from the city of Ife (12th century to 15th century C.E.). The
technical expertise and naturalistic qualities of these latter arts led early viewers to assume erroneously that they must have been of
classical Greek inspiration. Today rich African traditions continue, with artists working both within the traditional modes of expression
and in nontraditional genres.
African Artists as such belong to a wide variety of African cultures, each of which is characterized by its own language, traditions, and
artistic forms. Although the immense Sahara serves as a natural barrier within the continent, evidence has shown a considerable
dissemination of influences through trade routes that traversed the continent from the earliest times. In addition, research has pointed to
concurrent influences of all African languages, religions, arts and cultures on a continental basis. The “Classical African Civilization” of
Ancient Kemet (Egypt), certainly is one of the most resplendent [3] of African civilizations, yet the arts of Ancient Kemet can also be
seen as having important ancient artistic and cultural parallels with all African continental civilizations.
The arts of Africa illuminate the rich histories, philosophies, religions, and societies of the inhabitants of a vast continent. African
Artworks, in addition to their inherent significance to the peoples who produced them, have inspired some of the most important artistic
traditions emerging in Europe and the Americas in the modern era. Western artists of the 20th century have admired both the African
Artists' emphasis on abstraction and their freedom from naturalism (a style of art that emphasizes precise, literal depictions of subjects).
In my mind, the nineteen sixties/eighties have marked the beginning of a renaissance in African thought; a renaissance in which our goal
is the liberation of the African mind. It promises to enlighten men and women everywhere through an Afrocentric view of African history
which holds great consequences for the way in which future generations will see the history of the world. Whereas before the condition
of African peoples was expounded in the context of a past slavery and colonization, we now know that the history of European
exploitation of Africa goes back far beyond the slave trade to the time of ancient Greek civilization. And whereas we had previously
thought this exploitation to involve only the plunder of human and material resources, we now know that it also involved the assumption
(appropriation) and deliberate distortion of African cultural and intellectual heritage: especially that of the ancient Egyptians.
More recently, 20th century western art has to a great extent been influenced by traditional African Art, and the western artistic
expression known as ‘Cubism’ is/was in fact derived, through Picasso, from African sculpture.
[3] Resplendent: a descriptive adjective meaning; splendid or dazzling in appearance; brilliant.
Something that is important to note in regard to the above is the racist anthropological theory accepted even by some African authors
that either Africans are incapable of abstract thought altogether or that African thought forms are ‘more concrete than abstract’, thus
implicitly denying Africans the possibility of having been philosophers or inventors. The African Artistic tradition which is in fact more
abstract than concrete in the traditional period in its representation of nature absolutely subverts this idea. On the contrary one finds that
it is traditional European art which, before European contact with the African continent, definitely displays the quality of being more
concrete (plain) than abstract. That is, the work has been more concerned with accurately reproducing or copying nature onto canvass or
into stone rather than using nature as a source of inspiration for abstract ideas as with Classical and Traditional African Art forms. [4]
People thought Picasso was out his mind to study African Artifacts. Picasso looked at African Art, being a great artist, he immediately
knew better; this was not the work of beginners. These folks had been at this for a long, long time. So Picasso kept his mouth shut and
did what he did best. He painted and sculpted. Picasso came out with cubism and the whole world was eager (Full of keen anticipation
or excitement; eager. See synonyms at eager). What an innovator… and Picasso said, you know it. Likewise; mounting research places
Signs, Symbols and the Human Psychic at the heart of modern psychology, yogi, spiritualism, duality etc. and the search for sanity using
techniques first laid down in the three (3) forms of Egyptian i.e. Hieroglyphs - sacred wisdoms; Magical Magic - Mysteries. First it is
necessary to know that "there were three (3) forms, next is to comprehend why three (3) were necessary to be maintained."
Speaking of these kinds of art, I must pause to make a sober point. Of all the great sculptures of the first Golden Age of the Pyramids
none have survived intact because all the noses have been defaced. The sculpture of Amenemhet III (1843 B.C.) has no nose. The nose
has been chiseled or blasted off. The same with the Great Sphinx of Gizeh. The same with Amenemhet II. The Classical Civilization of
Kemet is the world primal leader of culture—artistic, literary, scientific, technological, you name it—up to this time, I know of no other
leading culture whose artifacts were so callously debased and defaced by later visitors, even if those visitors were of a destructive mind
and psychologically bent. "Coincidence? Not Hardly!"
Usually, human beings respect their art even while they are killing each other over it. They respect its power. It was as if whoever
defaced these artifacts believed they could somehow change history or power dynamics, and perhaps they were right, in a shallow
manner of speaking. What they could change was the perception of history. That is all. What was, is and will always be. Any naives (i.e.
persons lacking critical ability or analytical insight) looking at the artifacts of the Shang Dynasty of China (1766—1022 B.C.) can see
revealing evidence of the Negroid (African) features most clearly. Likewise, there is evidence of tremendous Black influence seen in the
giant statues of Easter Island off the coast of Chile and the Bayon of Angkor Cambodia. In what is now known as Mexico, the Aztecs
referred to a preceding impressive group of visitors as the Totonac, “the people of the warm land.” The Totonac were preceded by the
Olmec civilization (150 B.C.) which current Mexican scholars have identified as being greatly influenced by the Egyptian-Nubian
culture. The Tajmn Head figurine of the Totonac (AD. 250) escaped defacement, and exists today in all its marble magnificence. It
looks a little like a rendering of Louis Armstrong, Jack Johnson or Marcus Garvey. [5] Actual photographs can be found in “They came
Before Columbus & The African Presence In Early America” both by Dr. Professor Ivan Van Sertima.
[5] Wiley, Ralph, Why Black People Tend To Shout Pp-39-40 emphasis added
In order to be liberated from: inferiority complexes, the multitude of Negroism’s, Negritude’s and Nigger psychosises, neuroses’ by the
New Philosophy of Redemption; which is destined to destroy the chain of false beliefs and traditions which have incarcerated them,
Black people must face and interpret the world according to their unique new vision and ancient philosophies. Throughout the centuries
up to our modern times, world conditions have been influenced by two phenomena [Iceberg Tips] which have seriously infected human
relations Planet-Wide; holding people of color hostage for two thousand (2,000)+ years.
(i) The giving of false praise to the Greeks: a custom which appears to be an educational policy conducted by educational institutions.
This has led to the false worship of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as intellectual gods in all the leading universities of the world, and in
support of this intellectual worship, these institutions have also organized what are known as Greek letter fraternities and sororities, as
the symbols of the superiority of Greek intellect and culture. These fraternities and sororities actually represent part of what Professor
James called "The Stolen Legacy.”
(ii) The second phenomenon is the Missionary Enterprise whereby the Black Peoples culture has been caricatured in literature and
exhibitions, with such specimens as to provoke disrespect and laughter. Never let us forget (for four hundred years Rome persecuted
Christians terrorized, tortured and killed Christians for sport in the arena) that the Roman Emperors Theodosius and Justinian were
responsible for the abolition of the Egyptian Mysteries: that is the cultural educational system of Black People, and also the
establishment of Christianity for its perpetual suppression. Then suddenly adopted Christianity as the State religion of ”The Holy
Roman Empire.” Excellent: why questions and the answers are far reaching... Wellness - take the cure... Pass It On.
It is also interesting to note that both of Napoleon’s Precursory moves, prior to initiating his objective: of dominating world history,
knowledge and information, were directed against Africans. The 1791 invasion and attempt to recolonize Haiti and the invasion of
Egypt in 1798 were designed to rob Africans of the idea of competence and culture to complement what Chancellor Williams called
“The Destruction of Black Civilization” the title of his classic book. [6]
Imagination Unlimited Gallery Art offers some unique examples of African Ceremonial Masks and many other antiquities;
tastefully rendered reproductions on fine museum quality art media (Giclee) 17 x 22 to 20 x 25. Also this web site offers
tasteful keys and insights into the curative aspects of surrounding ones self with "Things African".
[6] Carruthers, Jacob H., Intellectual Warfare Pp-3,10
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