Summary Of Why Africa By Kwame Anthony Appiah

Art 157 Self Study Writing Assignment

In the essay “Why Africa? Why Art?” by Kwame Anthony Appiah, he talks about basically how Africa is thought to be an uncivilized barren and that’s the stereotypical thing that comes to most people’s mind when thinking about this continent. African art has to look a certain way to be able to be called “African.” It has to be made by a tribe, not just one person which is why he says that most African pieces are signed with a tribe name, not just one name. Appiah gives an example of these Asante gold weights that his mother had a collection of. Their use value was to weigh gold dust, which used to be the method of currency. They were made as a utilitarian product, not for art, but many people started to recognize the aesthetic value. He says, “…in appreciating and collecting these weights as art, we are doing something new with them…” These days art is defined to be a certain way and look a certain way. It can’t just be anything, it has to have an aesthetic value to be considered art and to fall into the “guidelines”.

A dreamcatcher comes from the culture of Native Americans. It is a very popular tradition that has been around for generations. The outer part of the dreamcatcher is typically made from a willow tree, most likely a branch, something strong. The idea behind the webbing inside is supposed to look like a spider’s web. Then the decoration part is made from everyday findings in their environment, like beads, feathers and arrowheads. Mostly items that can be used for any symbolic meaning. Lastly, there are the feathers hanging from the bottom. Depending on what kind of representation is wanted, that is the kind of bird that the Native Americans obtain the feathers from. All the materials have to be natural to create more meaning and