African Art

African Oil Painting. Village by the sea. 

  Mark Sagnon has created each of the original oil paintings sold at Africa Imports. His love of art is so vivid in his paintings that the ones now sold are some of the best-selling paintings to carry. Mr. Sagnon grew up believing he was blind, and being treated like a blind man, until one day a friendly person gave him a pair of glasses. All the sudden the world became a new universe of color, artwork, and life for him! Mr. Sagnon’s paintings continually encourage the viewer to participate in an adventure that will give them a taste of the African culture, lifestyles, and people. His love of Africa is very evident in his paintings, and gives us something we can treasure for years to come. Mr. Sagnon has developed a layering and bonding technique to work from within the surface of a painting in order to create greater depth and color. The oil paintings sparkle with vibrancy and bright, African colors! This is a perfect gift for you to own, or to give. 

Here is a beautiful African American Art Paintings of Musical Cherubs.  This is a framed print with delicate colors and detailed artistry brings this musical cherubs painting to life. The cherubs are playing a violin and a trumpet amidst roses and ribbons  

Friday’s Proverbs

When a man thinks he is too big or great to fall, it only takes a little thing to bring him down.

Within Africa, there is an indigenous ethnic group known as the Maasai. They are mainly located in Kenya and Northern Tanzania, although they are semi-nomadic people. Their language is known as Maa, and their very distinctive form of dress makes them one of the better known groups within Africa. The group has been receiving continued and increasing pressure from the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments to abandon their nomadic ways, but the group has held onto these customs.

The group has found themselves in the middle of a modern world controversy when it was claimed that their continued nomadic ways are a direct result of global climate change. Since they depend on their ability to farm in both scrublands and deserts, claims are that the group has to continue moving to find suitable farmland. They have also made their way into the modern consciousness by being the focus of many African American figurines. Readily available for purchase, these are a way to honor the group of people and beautifully ornament the interior of your home.

Mudcloth is a traditional African fabric. It is so treasured in other parts of the world that it is also one of the major exports of Mali, West Africa. It is famous for its distinctive look and also for the rich symbolism behind each piece. Each piece of mudcloth tells a story; each symbol and each color has a specific meaning. Mudcloth makes a beautiful display of African Wall Art.

Pieces of mudcloth are passed down from mother to daughter, and are used to celebrate important life events like births, marriages, and deaths. Warriors sometimes wear red mudcloth in battle decorated with leather symbols. Mudcloth is also used as camouflage in hunting.

What the Colors Represent:

Rust - Represents the strong supernatural powers that protect the hunter. It also signifies blood from either the hunt or from warfare and is a useful form of camouflage.

White - Worn by women during ceremonies.

The most typical color of mudcloth is black with a white background. This is the kind of mudcloth most commonly used in storytelling.

What makes the different colors?

Tree bark makes the light brown color, while mud makes the dark brown/black color. White is the absence of mud, and is made by applying a special soap and a touch of bleach (which speeds up the process). Then the fixer, from a tree bark, creates the yellowish color.

Wednesday’s Recipe

Crunchy Cabbage Salad from West Africa

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup diced apples
• 1 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

In a medium sized bowl mix cabbage, apples, cucumbers and raisins. Toss to combine. In a small bowl blend together mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, vinegar and sugar. Pour this blend over cabbage mixture. Toss well to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts and chill.

This rare wood comes from the root of the Thuya tree; found primarily in the town of Essaouria, in Morocco. Due to the limited supply of Thuya wood, the products made out of this wood are limited and will never be made in large quantities. This wood is so valuable that it is only given to the most skilled artisans. Each piece is hand-crafted and hand-rubbed for hours.  Lemon juice and vegetable oils are worked into the wood to bring out a gorgeous luster, revealing Thuya’s natural burled grain. Its beauty will complement any African Decor or atmosphere.

Skilled artisans have used other types of wood for their carvings.  Ebony makes a beautiful figurine like the “Ebony Women Kneeling in Prayer”.

Friday’s Proverb

When a man thinks he is too big or great to fall, it only takes a little thing to bring him down.

Celebrate the circle of life!

Carved out of only one piece of wood, each of the hand-carved unities makes excellent African Home Decor and conversation pieces. The wood for the unity is taken from the roots of different baobab and Blackwood trees throughout Africa. Only the most skilled artisans can create unity carvings, since they have to make it entirely out of one piece of wood. They must do this without breaking the wood or cracking it. The unities are treasured throughout Africa as a symbol of the African struggle for freedom, and as a symbol of family and the unity of the people. Each unity teaches simple lessons of love, life, and harmony. Bring this unforgettable work of art into your home and life today! Each unity is made in Ghana and shows the unity of people within a community.

Wednesday’s Recipe

 Crunchy Cabbage Salad from West Africa

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup diced apples
• 1 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

In a medium sized bowl mix cabbage, apples, cucumbers and raisins. Toss to combine. In a small bowl blend together mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, vinegar and sugar. Pour this blend over cabbage mixture. Toss well to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts and chill.

Massai shields are used not only as weapons in the Massai culture of Kenya. They also express the African Wall Art and culture of the Massai people in Kenya.

Each shield is crafted from buffalo hide sewn onto a wooden frame. The handle is attached at the center back of the shield and wrapped with leather strips. Among the Massai, red paint was traditionally obtained by mixing earth with blood or the red sap of the solanum campylae fruit. White was derived from local clays, and black from the skins of burnt gourds. Younger warriors were only allowed the use of black, white, or gray on their shields, while red shields were for the senior warriors.

A Massai warrior is rarely seen without a spear and shield. Spears are a warrior’s most precious possession and are used for defending herds and the community against predators. Spears are used as walking sticks and staffs, most commonly seen thrust in the ground by the warrior’s side. The metal is kept rust-free by polishing it with animal fat. Wood separates the leaf-shaped blade from the sharpened end. Dark ebony wood is used only among senior warriors, where lighter wood indicates a junior.

In Massai culture, a boy grows into a junior and then senior warrior (mid teens-mid thirties). When a new age set matures to replace them, senior warriors become junior elders, and finally senior elders, or ancients. Warriors are protectors of the tribe. They are the first line of defense against animals such as lions, and outsiders. They are also expected to perform the hard work around the encampment.

Shields remain one of the Maasai warrior’s most important tools. They were used in warfare and hunting as well as practice and training. Outside of the warring context, however, shields were used in rites of passage and also functioned as prestige objects and symbols of identification. Early studies revealed that spear markings and shield designs were once used to tell between some of the Massai subgroups and also hinted at a larger, complex lineage identification system. Shield designs are known as sirata. Different designs and colors represent different things; a red badge signifies great bravery in battle and is only painted with the permission of a high-ranking chief. The intricacy of design and high craftsmanship of Maasai shields extend beyond utilitarianism and convey the sense of honor and status with which their warrior owners were invested.

Friday’s Proverb

At five, my daughter is already struggling with a racial identity and dismisses the Barbies and other Caucasian toys she finds at toy stores.  This is particularly true, however, at our church when the images she sees of angels and Jesus are, again, mainly white.  Not wanting her to feel like there is no ethnic imagery out there, I found some black angel figurines for her to have in her bedroom.

While this doesn’t solve the overall issue that kids of an interracial background are pulled in different directions, it does comfort my child to know that not everything out there has to be white.

Change   ~   Art   ~   Quality

Africa is a truly unique continent. With over 53 countries, and about a thousand different languages; this is a land where diversity is normal. While in Africa, one finds different ethnic living styles within ten miles of each other to be the norm. Even though group loyalties run very deep, people still have long-standing relationships with each other.

Find out the most astounding change in Africa

Africa today is changing at a pace faster than has ever been seen in the history of civilization. Changes that took many centuries to complete in Western Europe and North America have taken place in just a few short decades in Africa.

Where else in all of history have we ever seen people moving so quickly from tribal societies to modern nations? Progress in African nations has been happening at a rate, and in a manner not experienced anywhere else on the globe.

The goals of independence and nationalism among many of Africa’s people, has sped up the process of breaking down barriers between tribal groups. This merging of tribal cultures has further weakened the traditions already made weak from contact with western civilization.

Art is one of the most important parts of any culture

In Africa traditional art is becoming a thing of the past as quickly as the continent changes. With the disappearance of traditions and other aspects of African culture, works of traditional African art are becoming more and scarcer. The art of previous generations was produced to meet religious and social needs that no longer exist within most groups of Africans today.

Quality works of ancient African art are harder to find

The value of African art has gone up accordingly; and much of the traditional artwork has left the continent for private collections overseas. People living in poverty will often give up family heirlooms; some passed down through generations; in order to survive.

Artisans who create African art are also adopting new world views. This makes traditional work of modern vintage somewhat less meaningful and true to the original heritage. Just as the culture of Africa is changing fast, in the same way its art, as a reflection of that culture, also changes quickly.

New African art is not by any means inferior however, just different. Just as modern Western art has taken prominence over older forms, so too, modern African art is replacing the traditional. This brings with it its own new meaning and aesthetic significance. African culture is shown through art in paintings and sculpture, as well as in jewelry and other items of everyday life.

Friday’s Proverb

Once the mushroom has sprouted from the earth, there is no turning back.

(Luo proverb)

The Massai are one of the most famous African ethnic people known today.  Living in southern Kenya and North central Tanzania these tall graceful people dress in many varieties of red and seem to refuse against all pressures to settle down to a village or agricultural life believing it a sin to cultivate land, as it is considered ruined for grazing after cultivation.  They are nomadic and live by herding cattle and goats.  Money is not as important to them, instead they use cattle as a sign of wealth.  Instead of villages the Massai build temporary corrals where the woman construct huts of clay, these are lived in for a little while and then abandoned.  

The Massai are a very communal people, and from a very young age children are divided into age groups to which they remain faithful to throughout their life.  The boys and girls are kept together until the girls reach puberty, at which time they are immediately married off to men at least 2 age groups ahead of them.  Men advance through different divisions in their age group hoping to achieve the status of a warrior.  Traditionally, the only way to achieve this status is to single handily kill a lion with a spear. 

Known for their elaborate beadwork, the Massai seem to be obsessed with red, they rub red dye all over their bodies and also cover themselves in elaborate red beadwork.  This beadwork is very famous and is one of the most common things which they trade.  The patterns of the beads identify different age groups of the Massai and many times young men will cover themselves in beads.  Another art form of the Massai is hair braiding.  Most Massai will spend days doing elaborate hair designs.  Men will sometimes grow their hair into huge braids similar to the women.  Here is some Massai African Art.

Wednesday’s Recipe

Dorowat - Ethiopian Spicy Braised Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz. Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Paprika
• 1/4 Cup Dry Red Wine
• 1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger Root
• 1 Teaspoon Red Pepper
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Clove
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 2 Medium Chopped Onions
• 2 Minced Garlic Cloves
• 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
• 3 Pounds Broiled Chicken, cut up
• 1/4 Cup Dry Red Wine

Start off by making the red pepper sauce first, to do this combine tomato sauce,paprika,1/4 cup red wine, grated ginger root , red pepper, cardamom , nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Set red pepper sauce aside

Next, In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot oil until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in red pepper sauce, turmeric, and 1 tsp. of salt. Add chicken pieces to skillet. Spoon onion mixture over chicken pieces, bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat . cover; simmer about 30 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup dry red wine. Cook uncovered about 15 min.; turn chicken pieces often . skim off fat . Serve with Ethiopian flat bread.

Mme Kounte is one of our mudcloth painters. She has been painting for a long time, and is quite skilled in making the designs. She’s actually from the Bozo ethnic group, which is mainly comprised of fishermen from along the Niger River.  However, her husband, (also from the Bozo ethnic group) became a tailor and she went into mudcloth painting. She has five children, one of whom is shown here with her.  She likes to work on the mudcloth that she makes for us, and if you ever purchase a piece of mudcloth, know that Mme Kounte was probably one of the painters who painted on some of the creative designs in your piece of African paintings called mudcloth.

Friday’s Proverb