My presentation on mud cloth
<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/25270181" width="100%" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="max-width:427px;border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/niharakurian/mud-cloth" title="Mud cloth" target="_blank">Mud cloth</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/niharakurian" target="_blank">Nihara Kurian</a></strong> </div>
We each had to do a presentation on a traditional cloth of our choice.
Once I started research, it proved to be difficult picking a particular cloth because they were all so interesting. The culture of the people who made the cloth, why they made it and for who. I found quite a few types in the library and time went by in just trying to pick which one I wanted to pursue. I finally settled on Bogolanfini, the mud cloth of Mali.
I was fascinated by the seeming simplicity of it's design and the earthy colours that were implemented. From earth to earth. The Bamanas people spent half the year working on these cloths in the non agricultural season. The men prepared the cloth itself while the women worked on the design that went on it individually. The bogolanfini served as a sort of timeline, as the artist depicted the events of her life as it progressed on that piece of cloth. Simple dots, lines and squiggles came together to create symbols, motifs that were familiar to them, a language that formed and told only those who could read, what was hidden behind the beauty of these cloths. Do we attempt to see behind that? Should we? Or should it stay theirs to keep and theirs to understand? A secret handed down for families to come.
The Bologanfini also served as identity markers and spiritual items, an important part of their daily lives. At every significant point in their lives a different coloured cloth with different symbols were used. At a time when Mali came forward as an identity of their own, to break free of the chains that slavery had held them down and labelled them with, they used the very symbol and cloth that had marked them down and used it to uplift themselves proudly. As the people who brought these cloths to life were strong so was the cloth.
Artists from Mali came forward and propagated this ancient tradition to the light of the modern world.
Did bogolanfini need to compromise itself to be accepted? It doesn't seem so, even though now we see a lot of representations of the mud cloth in furniture, clothes, even in the decor of appliances.
One thing I would prefer is if instead of the fake mud cloth being propogated maybe pieces of the real one could be made by their people and artisans and designers whether from Mali or Africa itself, or anywhere around the world, could implement them in their designs. I'm an idealist that way, not naive in any sense. This would prevent a beautiful craft and art ,in more ways than one, from being wiped out by their cheap copycats. Anyone outside Mali who really wishes to take up the intricacies of this cloth as their career and inspiration should be invited so that the spark never dies and maybe some different perspectives and pulls will be good for the evolution of mud cloth. Bogolanfini has been described as a progressive tradition, hoping to show future generations the change from life before to how it is now and later. That should mean it must be allowed to remain the same as well as change drastically as it may right?
<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/25270181" width="100%" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="max-width:427px;border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/niharakurian/mud-cloth" title="Mud cloth" target="_blank">Mud cloth</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/niharakurian" target="_blank">Nihara Kurian</a></strong> </div>
We each had to do a presentation on a traditional cloth of our choice.
Once I started research, it proved to be difficult picking a particular cloth because they were all so interesting. The culture of the people who made the cloth, why they made it and for who. I found quite a few types in the library and time went by in just trying to pick which one I wanted to pursue. I finally settled on Bogolanfini, the mud cloth of Mali.
I was fascinated by the seeming simplicity of it's design and the earthy colours that were implemented. From earth to earth. The Bamanas people spent half the year working on these cloths in the non agricultural season. The men prepared the cloth itself while the women worked on the design that went on it individually. The bogolanfini served as a sort of timeline, as the artist depicted the events of her life as it progressed on that piece of cloth. Simple dots, lines and squiggles came together to create symbols, motifs that were familiar to them, a language that formed and told only those who could read, what was hidden behind the beauty of these cloths. Do we attempt to see behind that? Should we? Or should it stay theirs to keep and theirs to understand? A secret handed down for families to come.
The Bologanfini also served as identity markers and spiritual items, an important part of their daily lives. At every significant point in their lives a different coloured cloth with different symbols were used. At a time when Mali came forward as an identity of their own, to break free of the chains that slavery had held them down and labelled them with, they used the very symbol and cloth that had marked them down and used it to uplift themselves proudly. As the people who brought these cloths to life were strong so was the cloth.
Artists from Mali came forward and propagated this ancient tradition to the light of the modern world.
Did bogolanfini need to compromise itself to be accepted? It doesn't seem so, even though now we see a lot of representations of the mud cloth in furniture, clothes, even in the decor of appliances.
One thing I would prefer is if instead of the fake mud cloth being propogated maybe pieces of the real one could be made by their people and artisans and designers whether from Mali or Africa itself, or anywhere around the world, could implement them in their designs. I'm an idealist that way, not naive in any sense. This would prevent a beautiful craft and art ,in more ways than one, from being wiped out by their cheap copycats. Anyone outside Mali who really wishes to take up the intricacies of this cloth as their career and inspiration should be invited so that the spark never dies and maybe some different perspectives and pulls will be good for the evolution of mud cloth. Bogolanfini has been described as a progressive tradition, hoping to show future generations the change from life before to how it is now and later. That should mean it must be allowed to remain the same as well as change drastically as it may right?
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