{"id":662037,"date":"2013-08-07T19:30:06","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T23:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.ted.com\/?p=80679"},"modified":"2013-08-08T16:11:37","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T20:11:37","slug":"5-african-artists-who-are-learning-from-the-past-in-their-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/662037","title":{"rendered":"5 African artists who are “learning from the past” in their work"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"At<\/p>\n

At TED2013, graphic designer Saki Mafundikwa highlights the beauty of traditional African written languages, urging designers to draw inspiration from them. Photo: James Duncan Davidson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Zimbabwean designer Saki Mafundikwa has a powerful vision for the future of African art. As the founder of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIWA)<\/a>, Mafundikwa is working to bring African art back to its roots. ZIWA, the first school of graphic design in Zimbabwe, and one of the first schools to emphasize the use of digital technology to teach the visual arts, places the continent\u2019s rich artistic history at the center of its curriculum.<\/p>\n

\"SakiSaki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets<\/a>This idea sits at the heart of today\u2019s talk<\/a>, in which Mafundikwa encourages African artists\u00a0 to take a look at their own cultural heritage for artistic inspiration, rather than looking to the outside world. \u00a0He sums\u00a0up the concept with the Ghanaian glyph Sankofa, which means literally \u201creturn and get it\u201d \u2014 or \u201clearn from the past.\u201d Says Mafundikwa,\u00a0\u201dWe must go to the past so as to inform our present and build on a future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his talk<\/a>, Saki Mafundikwa celebrates Africa\u2019s creative heritage by surveying the continent\u2019s history of written language. Jumping across nations, Mafundikwa\u00a0describes the fascinating writing systems of societies from the Akan to the Bantu to the Yoruba. He points out that, contrary to popular belief, African writing may date back hundreds of years earlier than the scripts of Mesopotamia.<\/p>\n

In the spirit of Mafundikwa\u2019s call to action, here is a look at a few African artists who are incorporating their heritage and traditions into their work. These artists offer diverse perspectives, putting Mafundikwa\u2019s ideas into conversation as they contest and corroborate them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGlance towards the unknown\u201d by Fathi Hassan. Source: FathiHassan.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Born to Sudanese and Egyptian parents, artist Fathi Hassan<\/a> explores his Nubian heritage through the written word. He imagines scripts inspired by his ancestors\u2019 calligraphy, creating beautiful but illegible text. In doing so, he emphasizes the language loss that occurred under imperial domination and recalls his upbringing in a primarily verbal, illiterate society. Hassan was the first artist to represent Africa in the emerging artists category of the Venice Biennale.\u00a0[Fathi Hassan<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\"\u201cIbiebe<\/p>\n

\u201cIbiebe ABC III\u201d by Bruce Onobrakpeya. Source: National Museum of African Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Nigerian printmaker Bruce Onobrakpeya also places the alphabet at the center of his work. He invented the\u00a0Ibiebe<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>script, a fusion of\u00a0Chinese and Japanese calligraphy with the writing found in the Urhobo groups of Southern Nigeria. Onobrakpeya was educated by the Zaria Rebels, a school of Nigerian artists who emphasized the decolonization of African art from Western influences. Onobrakpeya cites his education as a powerful influence in his use of traditional aesthetics. Onobrakpeya\u2019s art received an honorable mention at the Venice Biennale, and he was honored with UNESCO\u2019s Living Human Treasure Award in 2006. [Wikipedia<\/a>]<\/p>\n