Page 69 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 24
P. 69
Art & culture
Demystifying
African “Art”
As A Prerequisite point of 350
years of vile
To Being condemnation;
taboos;
being called
Returned To primitive,
evil, demonic,
African Nations witchcraft,
pagan and
anti-Christian?
Herman Bigham The world’s
hblj2@aol.com two most
dominant
religions have
entrenched in
must emphasize the contemporary value of the cultural the minds of
materials that we have collectively retained in a way that Africans that
demonstrates the wisdom and benefits of our rich historic Africa had
cultural values, morals, and traditions.
no history,
culture, or
Returning the physical African “Art“ A.A. material religion
without restoring its traditional, historical, cultural, of value.
meanings and revealing its contemporary significance is Teaching
a useless exercise. Africans must be reacquainted with the above
AA as a visual means of maintaining our values, cultural while demanding the ACM be brought
traditions, spiritual center and social order. to them to be destroyed while secretly
For African “Art” to be returned to Africa without the being treasured and carried off to
above emphasis only to generate tourism demonstrates Europe’s finest museums, galleries, and
the value that Westerners already have for African collections. The European conquest of
art. Our goal must be to build an appreciation in local Africans required the removal of our
communities of this material’s significance in restoring cultural material, the drum, and the
our values and guiding our future. Many African extinguishing of African languages were
countries like Kenya have some of the most outstanding the precursors to the military conquest
collections that are totally neglected and scorned by the and colonization of The Continent.
masses.
A recent example of the significance
How can anyone expect Africans to accept and embrace of cultural material in conquest is the
African Cultural Materials ACM which has been the focal action of President Trump declaring
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