I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
By the way this kind o african art had a huge influence on early german expressionism. You can find a lot of similarities between the artwork of "Die Br??cke" (especially Karl Schmidt-Rottluffs, Emil Nolde)and traditional african art.
I'm very un-educated in this field but have heard about this before. Picasso, Gauguin and Matisse supposedly also were heavily influenced by African art.
Don't forget Modigliani.
calling batmon to drop art jewels/critique on this subject.
Hi Frank, truly amazing objects, the fetishes in particular - do you know what they are all for? It's pretty unusual for older masks and artefacts to be passed on to outsiders elsewhere but I didn't realise Guinea was quite so Islamist these days. You're right though, unless they are used they aren't held to have any residual power - just wood, metal, mud, skin, bone and stone.
My wife is really freaked out by some of the objects I have and although my kids love them no-one else does. I would think twice about having any of this beautiful stuff up at a party, if only for the worry that some fucker would trash or steal something. Plus they are probably worth a ton.
I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
LOL. great answer
frank, thanks for the response...very interesting and informative. I was going to suggest in my initial post that you have posters made up instead of bringing the real thing...but it seems like youre on that.
i know youll let us know when things are going down in nyc. i know philly is not as openminded, but i know you got connections down here. you considered throwing down over here too?
peace
finelikewine"ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts
Frank, please do your afro parties in Berlin. You won't regret it, it's no secret that europeans are much more openminded than the americans are.
Frank, please do your afro parties in Berlin. You won't regret it, it's no secret that europeans are much more openminded than the americans are.
And yes, my post is motivated by selfish reasons.
Actually, I did an Afro Funk party in Berlin last summer and it was a bust. Almost no-one showed up besides a bunch of personal friends who I had lured there under the promise of free drugs and free Patron Silver... exactly a week before, I had close to 500 people at my Funk 45 night at the same venue. At NYCs APT the same month I laso had a blast playing a 100% African set.
For the Afro Funk night in Berlin I've had silk-screened cotton posters printed on brown cloth died brown with kola nuts. In sent out press kits including CDs with the mixes from my website, posters and stuff and every single shitty berlin paper decided to ignore me. A whole ton of work for nothing. Well not really for nothing since my friends and I had a blast anyhow...
I think the big problem with presenting African Music in Berlin is that people automatically think of false rastas and drum circles in the park. Plus I'm also afraid that there is quite some more or less concious xenophobia when it comes to African Imigrants in Europe. Funky black men with Afros from the American 70s are one thing but Africans who land on our shores in small fishing boats, looking for a better life, that's a whole other story... not really party-compatible.
I'll be visiting in Berlin for a few days every summer and I'll sure try again though.
I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
LOL. great answer
frank, thanks for the response...very interesting and informative. I was going to suggest in my initial post that you have posters made up instead of bringing the real thing...but it seems like youre on that.
i know youll let us know when things are going down in nyc. i know philly is not as openminded, but i know you got connections down here. you considered throwing down over here too?
peace
I'm definitely going to try to get something going in Philly. I used to do a monthly at the old Silk City from '96 to 2000 but the place since got sold and I don't know what became of it. If you have any suggestions as far as venues go, please let me know. I always loved Philly and often found the crowd a bit more lively than in NY. I'm going to arrive in NYC sometime in July but due to having recods shipped from Africa and Berlin, I probably won't be ready to do anything before around September. Maybe I'll just come down to Philly one day and we can meet for a few drinks and check out some places.
I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
My intellectual and spiritual levels are very, very low so I doubt you would be near them
I was just concerned about heathens violating your artefacts. Glad to see it's just going to be posters - good move. Your African stories have been a great read; keep up the good work and may your god go with you.
I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
My intellectual and spiritual levels are very, very low so I doubt you would be near them
I was just concerned about heathens violating your artefacts. Glad to see it's just going to be posters - good move. Your African stories have been a great read; keep up the good work and may your god go with you.
Thanx! Actually, animist religions as far as my experience goes don't know the term "heathens" or "infidels". Animist religions are based on human interaction and harmony with nature. Christians or Muslims are viewed by many animists as praying to the same god but having lost touch with nature. Vodoun in Benin and Togo for example knows one singular god but worships many different dieties. Every diety represents a certain element like fire, water or iron and so on. Eevery diety or "Vodun" also demands special sacrifices which range from animals to perfume, flowers or alcohol. Some Voduns also favor specific rhythms and dances that are only performed for them. Voodoo or Vodoun has nothing to do with devil worshipping (which would be illogical since Vodoun is much older than Christianity). It's mostly all about beauty, nature, music and dance. I'm starting to sound like a damn hippie but really, it's quite impressive stuff and it's sad to see how in most other West African countries mid-eastern religions have wiped out cultures that were thousands of years old. Since most of sub-saharan African history and cultural information always was passed on oraly, what's lost is lost forever. I have to say though that the form of Islam practiced here in Guinea is quite mild: While almost everyone besides the refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia is muslim, a good 50% of the locals smoke like broken chimneys and beer is quite popular. Veils are very rare and the few women who cover themselves head to toe are jokingly referred to as "Ninjas" by the rest of the population. I had many very open discussions about religion with African Muslims and also with some Christians and I was surprised how in most cases the Christians came across much less open minded and tollerant. Might also be because the Christians around here are often brainwashed by sects like the pentecostal (spell?) church and such. In Ghana I sometimes catch a glimse of this stuff when I have a hotel room with a TV that actually works. Crazy christian dudes hold "Revivals" in Football stadions : Usually there's a manic old white guy in a cream colored suit who's whipping the crowd into a frenzy, then there's a choir of hundreds of people. Strong lights are directed towards the audience which then starts to utter "jesus... jesus...jesus..." while trying to touch the light and having a very absent expression on their faces. Creeps me out more than the weirdest fetish I've ever seen.
is Adebayor the most revered person among the Togolese these days? Or does his Nigerian descent count against? No doubt there are fetisheurs doing what they can to further his powers...
is Adebayor the most revered person among the Togolese these days? Or does his Nigerian descent count against? No doubt there are fetisheurs doing what they can to further his powers...
I don't know anything about football or soccer... the Togolese are actually quite crazy in this compartment... when they lost the African Cup qualification match against Mali, people started hunting down Malian people in Lome, there were machete attacks and other unpleasanties reported. Benin made the qualification but was kicked out of the cup after two matches I think. Maybe the gods just aren't that interested in soccer. Vodoun in Togo and Benin are almost the same as traditional Yoruba religion in South-West Nigeria.
I read Umberto Eco's "Travels in Hyperreality" years ago which schooled me on the Brazilian religion of Santer??a (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santería)
"Those slaves who landed in the Caribbean, Central and South America were nominally converted to Christianity. However, they were able to preserve some of their traditions by fusing together various Dahomean, baKongo (Congo) and Lukumi beliefs and rituals and by syncretizing these with elements from the surrounding Christian culture."
I was lucky enough to study with some Brazilians and that African tradition is still very strong in certain areas. They had some great stories... Plus the women and their food was ...
I can't find one but [imagine a still from Family Guy where Peter finds the Indian skull. And uses it as a bed-pan.]
That is all.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
My intellectual and spiritual levels are very, very low so I doubt you would be near them
I was just concerned about heathens violating your artefacts. Glad to see it's just going to be posters - good move. Your African stories have been a great read; keep up the good work and may your god go with you.
Thanx! Actually, animist religions as far as my experience goes don't know the term "heathens" or "infidels". Animist religions are based on human interaction and harmony with nature. Christians or Muslims are viewed by many animists as praying to the same god but having lost touch with nature. Vodoun in Benin and Togo for example knows one singular god but worships many different dieties. Every diety represents a certain element like fire, water or iron and so on. Eevery diety or "Vodun" also demands special sacrifices which range from animals to perfume, flowers or alcohol. Some Voduns also favor specific rhythms and dances that are only performed for them. Voodoo or Vodoun has nothing to do with devil worshipping (which would be illogical since Vodoun is much older than Christianity). It's mostly all about beauty, nature, music and dance. I'm starting to sound like a damn hippie but really, it's quite impressive stuff and it's sad to see how in most other West African countries mid-eastern religions have wiped out cultures that were thousands of years old. Since most of sub-saharan African history and cultural information always was passed on oraly, what's lost is lost forever. I have to say though that the form of Islam practiced here in Guinea is quite mild: While almost everyone besides the refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia is muslim, a good 50% of the locals smoke like broken chimneys and beer is quite popular. Veils are very rare and the few women who cover themselves head to toe are jokingly referred to as "Ninjas" by the rest of the population. I had many very open discussions about religion with African Muslims and also with some Christians and I was surprised how in most cases the Christians came across much less open minded and tollerant. Might also be because the Christians around here are often brainwashed by sects like the pentecostal (spell?) church and such. In Ghana I sometimes catch a glimse of this stuff when I have a hotel room with a TV that actually works. Crazy christian dudes hold "Revivals" in Football stadions : Usually there's a manic old white guy in a cream colored suit who's whipping the crowd into a frenzy, then there's a choir of hundreds of people. Strong lights are directed towards the audience which then starts to utter "jesus... jesus...jesus..." while trying to touch the light and having a very absent expression on their faces. Creeps me out more than the weirdest fetish I've ever seen.[/b]
good books that deal with the subject of christianity, religion, animism, goddess culture, connection with nature. i highly reccommend
Comments
Bingo.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say here but I guess that's no wonder since I don't watch any television and therefore am most likely nowhere near your intelectual or spiritual level.
Hi Frank, truly amazing objects, the fetishes in particular - do you know what they are all for? It's pretty unusual for older masks and artefacts to be passed on to outsiders elsewhere but I didn't realise Guinea was quite so Islamist these days. You're right though, unless they are used they aren't held to have any residual power - just wood, metal, mud, skin, bone and stone.
My wife is really freaked out by some of the objects I have and although my kids love them no-one else does. I would think twice about having any of this beautiful stuff up at a party, if only for the worry that some fucker would trash or steal something. Plus they are probably worth a ton.
Give them all to me instead.
I keep coming back to this one, just beautiful.
LOL. great answer
frank, thanks for the response...very interesting and informative. I was going to suggest in my initial post that you have posters made up instead of bringing the real thing...but it seems like youre on that.
i know youll let us know when things are going down in nyc. i know philly is not as openminded, but i know you got connections down here. you considered throwing down over here too?
peace
You won't regret it, it's no secret that europeans are much more openminded than the americans are.
And yes, my post is motivated by selfish reasons.
Actually, I did an Afro Funk party in Berlin last summer and it was a bust.
Almost no-one showed up besides a bunch of personal friends who I had lured there under the promise of free drugs and free Patron Silver...
exactly a week before, I had close to 500 people at my Funk 45 night at the same venue. At NYCs APT the same month I laso had a blast playing a 100% African set.
For the Afro Funk night in Berlin I've had silk-screened cotton posters printed on brown cloth died brown with kola nuts. In sent out press kits including CDs with the mixes from my website, posters and stuff and every single shitty berlin paper decided to ignore me. A whole ton of work for nothing. Well not really for nothing since my friends and I had a blast anyhow...
I think the big problem with presenting African Music in Berlin is that people automatically think of false rastas and drum circles in the park. Plus I'm also afraid that there is quite some more or less concious xenophobia when it comes to African Imigrants in Europe. Funky black men with Afros from the American 70s are one thing but Africans who land on our shores in small fishing boats, looking for a better life, that's a whole other story... not really party-compatible.
I'll be visiting in Berlin for a few days every summer and I'll sure try again though.
I'm definitely going to try to get something going in Philly.
I used to do a monthly at the old Silk City from '96 to 2000 but the place since got sold and I don't know what became of it.
If you have any suggestions as far as venues go, please let me know.
I always loved Philly and often found the crowd a bit more lively than in NY.
I'm going to arrive in NYC sometime in July but due to having recods shipped from Africa and Berlin, I probably won't be ready to do anything before around September.
Maybe I'll just come down to Philly one day and we can meet for a few drinks and check out some places.
Peace
Frank
My intellectual and spiritual levels are very, very low so I doubt you would be near them
I was just concerned about heathens violating your artefacts. Glad to see it's just going to be posters - good move. Your African stories have been a great read; keep up the good work and may your god go with you.
Thanx!
Actually, animist religions as far as my experience goes don't know the term "heathens" or "infidels". Animist religions are based on human interaction and harmony with nature. Christians or Muslims are viewed by many animists as praying to the same god but having lost touch with nature. Vodoun in Benin and Togo for example knows one singular god but worships many different dieties. Every diety represents a certain element like fire, water or iron and so on. Eevery diety or "Vodun" also demands special sacrifices which range from animals to perfume, flowers or alcohol. Some Voduns also favor specific rhythms and dances that are only performed for them. Voodoo or Vodoun has nothing to do with devil worshipping (which would be illogical since Vodoun is much older than Christianity). It's mostly all about beauty, nature, music and dance. I'm starting to sound like a damn hippie but really, it's quite impressive stuff and it's sad to see how in most other West African countries mid-eastern religions have wiped out cultures that were thousands of years old. Since most of sub-saharan African history and cultural information always was passed on oraly, what's lost is lost forever.
I have to say though that the form of Islam practiced here in Guinea is quite mild: While almost everyone besides the refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia is muslim, a good 50% of the locals smoke like broken chimneys and beer is quite popular. Veils are very rare and the few women who cover themselves head to toe are jokingly referred to as "Ninjas" by the rest of the population.
I had many very open discussions about religion with African Muslims and also with some Christians and I was surprised how in most cases the Christians came across much less open minded and tollerant. Might also be because the Christians around here are often brainwashed by sects like the pentecostal (spell?) church and such. In Ghana I sometimes catch a glimse of this stuff when I have a hotel room with a TV that actually works. Crazy christian dudes hold "Revivals" in Football stadions : Usually there's a manic old white guy in a cream colored suit who's whipping the crowd into a frenzy, then there's a choir of hundreds of people. Strong lights are directed towards the audience which then starts to utter "jesus... jesus...jesus..." while trying to touch the light and having a very absent expression on their faces. Creeps me out more than the weirdest fetish I've ever seen.
is Adebayor the most revered person among the Togolese these days?
Or does his Nigerian descent count against?
No doubt there are fetisheurs doing what they can to further his powers...
btw, diplomatic bag =
I don't know anything about football or soccer... the Togolese are actually quite crazy in this compartment... when they lost the African Cup qualification match against Mali, people started hunting down Malian people in Lome, there were machete attacks and other unpleasanties reported.
Benin made the qualification but was kicked out of the cup after two matches I think. Maybe the gods just aren't that interested in soccer.
Vodoun in Togo and Benin are almost the same as traditional Yoruba religion in South-West Nigeria.
"Those slaves who landed in the Caribbean, Central and South America were nominally converted to Christianity. However, they were able to preserve some of their traditions by fusing together various Dahomean, baKongo (Congo) and Lukumi beliefs and rituals and by syncretizing these with elements from the surrounding Christian culture."
I was lucky enough to study with some Brazilians and that African tradition is still very strong in certain areas. They had some great stories... Plus the women and their food was
good books that deal with the subject of christianity, religion, animism, goddess culture, connection with nature. i highly reccommend