Flour Sacks Can Be Beautiful Too!

So... The Radiance of the King.  It's a very interesting article with loads that I could talk about.  Yet, I find that it's taking me a little bit to figure out what I want to say. In reading the article, the big thing I noticed is that there's this notion of power or authority on the different posters.  I'd like to use the word leadership as a general term for it, though.  In each poster there seems to be, generally, someone who has great strength or leadership and they are depicted with even more virtue.

Often times, these types of posters were used to advertise for movies.  They were not depicted as exact replicas of our movie posters but would often be similar.  What I find interesting about these posters is that they are often painted on flour sacks, everyday items, and used as movie posters.  This kind of touches on what I blogged about last week and how things don't need to be perfect in African art.  We mass produce these posters like it's our job(for some it is!) and hang them up everywhere.  I think this causes them to lose their effect because they're so common.  With these flour sacks they become unique and interesting in their own way and I feel are able to draw people in to being interested about the movie in much different ways.


Not only movie posters are painted on to these flour sacks either.  People of political power are often painted on them as well.  President Barack Obama is often depicted in these paintings.  He is a symbol of hope to many people in Africa.  Going back to the power and strength thing earlier, an example is Obama being portrayed as superman or a basketball player.  People have turned to him for guidance and now portray him in heroic manners.  


It's very interesting to me that people in African cultures not only know who our president is but they also look to him for hope and guidance.  Now, I'm not sure if I'm just blind to something I should know, but I have no idea who their leader is.  This week it just made me realize how different our cultures are, even though I already knew it.  It's just another aspect that I didn't think of.  


Another interesting idea to me is the Ghanaian funeral coffins that are created.  As a memory to someone, coffins are created to look like an object that would have been important to that person.  They are elaborately created even though they are buried in the ground.  Examples would be a fish for a fisherman or a paintbrush for a painter.  I really enjoy this idea because I think it's a "small" but special way to honor a person.  Another classmate who has blogged already asked an interesting question: what would your coffin be in the form of?  I'm still thinking about what mine would be because I want it to be just right, but I hope you all take time to think about this question.  How do you think we, in our culture, honor our dead?