What is art? Do you want fries with that?

February 20, 2003 12:56 PM

For all those who spent hours in the darkness of Introduction to Western Art I staring at slides out of context perhaps you should take a look at African art. In the West, to a large degree, art hangs on walls or resides only in museums, but most "traditional" African art needs to be understood in context. Among my favorites are the linguist staffs of the Ashanti people of the Akan. These staffs are used to tell parables, but they also create a nexus between culture, politics and beauty.
posted by Bag Man (8 comments total)

...What, nobody's commented on these yet? These are cool! It gives new meaning to the phrase "clue stick". This is [good]. This is what MetaFilter is supposed to be about, in my opinion.
posted by wanderingmind at 2:48 PM on February 20, 2003

um... the ashanti people?

ducking now.
posted by grabbingsand at 2:57 PM on February 20, 2003

...What, nobody's commented on these yet? These are cool! It gives new meaning to the phrase "clue stick". This is [good]. This is what MetaFilter is supposed to be about, in my opinion.

I think you're absolutely right, [this is good]. But because this is MetaFilter, it doesn't take a whole lotta comments to prove that.
posted by Wulfgar! at 3:14 PM on February 20, 2003

Wow, a great link!
posted by unreason at 3:20 PM on February 20, 2003

thanks for the insight, Bag Man. nice.
posted by elphTeq at 4:17 PM on February 20, 2003

I visited the home of a wealthy dentist who had decorated it with an African motif, with no knowledge as to what art he had, other than he liked its look. I admired the (probably stolen) carved wooden headstones he had in his dining room...
posted by kablam at 5:55 PM on February 20, 2003

Great post, and I'll obviously have to get me a linguist staff.
posted by languagehat at 6:34 PM on February 20, 2003

With a hat on the end?
posted by wanderingmind at 8:35 PM on February 20, 2003