Woodcarving is an especially important economic activity for the Makonde of Mozambique, the Makonde of Tanzania, and the Senegalese of Western Coastal Africa, among others. These cultures have developed new forms of wooden sculpture as a direct response to the tourist trade in Africa. Rather than adapting traditional works, they have developed new types of sculpture using … [Read more...] about African Tourist-Trade Figural Art Researched by Cal Wylie
The Maasai, the Kikuyu, the Kamba, and other native cultures of Kenya did not traditionally do figural woodcarving before the early 20th century. The Kamba, for example, limited their woodcarving to medicinal, spiritual, or funerary objects such as medicine staffs, wooden stoppers for gourds, and horn medicine containers. Then, shortly after World War I, a Kamba soldier in … [Read more...] about African Tourist-Trade Animal Sculpture Researched by Ashley McLaughlin and Morgan Davis
The Huichol people are an indigenous culture from Western Mexico, and they are distinctive in that they were never conquered by the Spanish. Because they were not directly colonized, many of their ancient artforms and religious traditions have survived, although like all cultural practices, these have continued to change and develop through time. One type of traditional art … [Read more...] about Huichol Yarn-Painted Art by Alex Bohnert