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”.

An object that’s like the gold weights, creative, but not seen as art that I’m choosing to discuss, is a dreamcatcher.

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

symbolism.
There are many iconographic significances represented in a dreamcatcher and many different ways that you can change up the meaning, but I will discuss a typical dreamcatcher. The webbing part represents the weaving or putting together of your dreams and good energy. The hoop symbolizes the belief that all things are a part of us, thus creating a circle of life. There are also various colors that can be represented by the beads. Some examples are the colors blue, representing all that thrives in the sky, spirits and all or green, denoting Mother Nature. Native Americans believe she protects and provides for all they need to survive. Another color is purple, which symbolizes your inner person, including character and personality and yellow exemplifies the direction where the sun rises symbolizing a new beginning. Lastly, the feathers characterize different meanings depending on the type of bird. For example, an eagle is one of the most important animal spirits signifying the ability to fly close to the Creator of all things.
The dreamcatcher is meant to abolish bad dreams because they figuratively can’t make their way through the webbing part. They “get caught” and go away when the first ray of sunlight hits them in the morning, which is why they should be hung above your bed somewhere where the sun comes in and where you sleep. The good dreams can find their way through the webbing and “slide” down through the feather part and into the sleeping person’s head. Its main purpose in general, is to get rid of nightmares. This is the reason why it was made in the first place.
I believe that the reason a dreamcatcher exists outside the standard definition of art is because it actually has a use value. Art today seems to only exist if the piece holds a “beautiful” look or from popularity from word of mouth. I think people really do value dreamcatchers more today from their aesthetics than their use value. So why aren’t they considered art? I think the reason for this is because they have been around for so long that the idea behind them is probably considered “old news.”