Art of Africa

Of course Africa is too large to be clubbed into one art group …

But that made a nice title …

The Art of the Yoruba caught my eye recently.

Here is a majestic tunic worn by the royal Shango priests of Yoruba:

The heavy beadwork creates patterns of faces and iconic symbols!

The creative aesthetic in the piece may be described as ‘free’ and ‘unreigned’.  There is some balance and symmetry but to such a  small extent that it is hard to detect – therefore it appears mostly chaotic and full of a wild untamed aesthetic spirit! It exhibits the soul of the artist perfectly!  It is this factor that sets it apart from the other Shango beaded tunics.

How many faces can you count? Front? Back? And creatures/ And geometric symbols?

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Will be spending some time discovering and examining the motifs and symbols in this magnificent piece!

And then more time in figuring out what it all means!

More photos here on wovensouls.com

Much to look forward to!

Oct 2017