African Art Quotes

“Above Constance's desk were nude photographs of women in 1930s France, draped in provocative poses. She had put them there for Bob's viewing pleasure and in return he had placed African art of naked men above his desk for her.”
― Cecelia Ahern, One Hundred Names

“Of all the various peoples of this world, none leaves the human body in the simple state of nature in which it was born.”
― Jacqueline Delange

“Most striking about the traditional societies of the Congo was their remarkable artwork: baskets, mats, pottery, copper and ironwork, and above all, woodcarving. It would be two decades before Europeans really noticed this art. Its discovery then had a strong influence on Braque, Matisse, and Picasso.”
― Adam Hochschild, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

“Elisa Pierandrei's 'Painting, Photography, Drawing. From Africa and Its Diaspora (selected writings)' is a book that pays equal attention to aesthetics, process, medium and the artist as a human in the world (and not only an artist from 'Africa’)”
― Russel Hlongwane

“A dance with the clouds. After this dance what next. When charcoal becomes ambers and fire remind us about sweet melodies. When human emotions stop to sing and we marry our sins. A dance in between fences and living inside furnaces. A million stars had dropped, a million moons spurred hope under our broken shadows. I remain here, I remain dancing with the clouds.”
― Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche, Depth of colour

“It is a book that pays equal attention to aesthetics, process, medium and the artist as a human in the world (and not only an artist from 'Africa’)

from”
― Russel Hlongwane

“Painting, Photography, Drawing. From Africa and Its Diaspora' by Elisa Pierandrei a book that pays equal attention to aesthetics, process, medium and the artist as a human in the world (and not only an artist from 'Africa’)”
― Russel Hlongwane

“you think humans
are better off in war than in peace?
Do you think humans
understand each other or they pretend? Do you think the depth of colour is skin deep? Do you think humanity can ever live in peace? Do you think we are lunatics
who try to sedate the barbarism?”
― Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche

“Hear me now

Right here I should speak
Right here I should cry
Right here I should shout
Right here I should soak
Hear me now ah! The sky of death
Lives parish on the hand of death
People die on the earth without sound
Hear me now ah! Voices fade without hope
Voices fade without an ear,
Voices fade without anyone
Hear me now ah! I should speak!
Hear me now ah! I should cry!
Hear me now ah! I should shout!
Hear me now ah! I should soak!
Speak! The mournful earth is bleeding
Cry! The heavens are dark and dead
Shout! Should we mend?
Soak let the river abide with my soul”
― Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche

“Quindici brevi ma intensi capitoli ognuno dedicato ad un artista diverso, che si racconta con vibranti parole ed opere d’arte innovative. Painting, photography, drawing from Africa and its Diaspora è il nuovo libro, in realtà è un eBook, che ho pubblicato in lingua inglese. Il libro si propone di creare e stimolare una reazione forte nel lettore, spinto a riflettere sull’attuale situazione attraverso i racconti di artisti africani e afrodiscendenti. Energia, colore e un inedito spirito ironico contraddistinguono i profili degli artisti

Bussola digitale | Arte, fotografia dall’Africa del XXI secolo
Medium @shotofwhisky”
― Elisa Pierandrei

“I’m black
that’s what runs deep inside my soul. I’m Nile
that what makes me perennial I’m Okavango
that’s what makes me mysterious I’m the lake Tanganyika
thus what bellows deep inside
I’m black,I’m deep jet
I’m Chinhoyi thus what makes me constant I’m Kalahari thus what makes me amazing I’m black as an onyx
I’m coal
that’s what makes me thermal”
― Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche

“I’m living according to the law of hand outs, I’m living under the law of charity,
I’m living under the law of being used.”
― Tapiwanaishe Pamacheche

“Museums of primitive art are filled with masks, figurines, bas-relief sculptures, all looted from all over the world and robbed of their meanings. For those who created them, life resided not in the object itself, but rather in the spirit that inspired it. A corpse, even one artistically entombed, is still a dead body. They are no longer works of art, but simply objects. They are beautiful, whereas they should be alive, From time immemorial, humans have sculpted to magnify their gods. There is a reason why some religions are against any depiction of their gods while others are committed to the practice. There is some form of highly human insolence in recreating the god that created you, and there is a risk of adoring the tangible representation in itself instead of the discarnate deity. That is what sculpture is: both a tribute and a challenge to the gods. Some spiritualities tolerate this ambivalence, others don't. Others yet use representations to further tighten control over their flock and guarantee their submissiveness. They select the artists and dictate the dogma they should represent.
Sculpture is both the easiest and the most delicate of art forms. It is more than just hewing a form out of a compact block, or reproducing a model: you have to breathe life into It. That is not something you can learn or improvise. There is always some part of yourself that you infuse into the material. In our modern world, where art is a business like any other, techniques are taught, but the magic, on the other hand, is still a gift, midway between bliss and suffering.”
― Hemley Boum, Days Come and Go