Fulbright GPA 2008: Mano River Region Timothy D. Brown As I reflect upon my GPA experience in Guinea and Sierra Leone, I recall the visual imagery that either reminded me of my studies in art history or the connections to the South Carolina Lowcountry. What also struck me was the work ethic and optimism of the people there. What follows is a summary of my reflections on that experience. I have organized my thoughts in two parts: (a) the art and how it can be incorporated into my classroom presentations and (b) my impressions of the encounters with the people. My first reflection relates to the art of the region. One of the main objectives, when I arrived in West Africa, was to study and collect art so that I could somehow return home to incorporate it into my teaching of The Survey of Western Art from the Renaissance to the Present (ART 108). ART 108, because it is so broad, provides so many opportunities for me to discuss not only the connections of West African art to the art and life of the Lowcountry but also the affiliation between West African art and non-Lowcountry artists. My discussion of art will pertain to indigo cloth, woodcarvings, baskets, and quilt designs. Regarding African indigo cloth, I became more cognizant of the historical significance of indigo to the South Carolina Lowcountry since I have been living here for a little more than two decades now. I think that my students who are South Carolinians can appreciate the history of their home state when I have a class discussion about the indigo cloth. The history of indigo in the Lowcountry is closely connected to Elizabeth (Eliza) Lucas Pinckney. She is given credit for producing the indigo dye on her father’s plantation. Though there was a trial and error in the beginning for Pinckney, her persistence led to indigo being a substantial export to England by 1747 (Roberts, 2004). Though she receives that acknowledgment, one has to take into account that the labor of the planting and extracting the dye came from the Africans and African Americans (Roberts; Feaser, 2008). Feaser, in a news brief announcing a series of presentations at Clemson University about the history of indigo in South Carolina, emphasized that Pinckney’s success relied heavily on the laborers who had the “skill and sophisticated knowledge of cultivation and dye making.” I can take this history of the participation of Africans and African Americans in the success of the indigo production in the Lowcountry and relate that to what I experienced in West Africa. The Fouta Djalon, one of the regions that we visited in Guinea, is known for its indigo cloth (Africa indigo, 2005). It is not a stretch for me to make that connection between the cloth dyers in West Africa with the African and African Americans of the Lowcountry who contributed to Eliza Pinckney being successful in her production of indigo dye. Labé, the capital of the Fouta Djalon, was one of the places that we visited and is known historically for its production of indigo cloth. The several panels (Fig. 1—example in background) that I purchased are some of the art examples that I can bring into the classroom to show a relationship between West Africa and the Lowcountry. Obviously, when one thinks of the art of Africa, one has to take into account the wooden sculpture, which is the second part of this discussion on the art. I have always been aware of how African wooden sculpture has had an impact on Western European artists like Picasso. In addition, African wooden sculpture also brought to mind the artist Elizabeth Catlett, whose work was the focus of my master’s thesis. During my preliminary research on Catlett, I wrote her to ask her about the African sculpture influences on her work. An excerpt of her responses follows: I saw my first African sculpture in the Howard University Art Gallery when I was a student at Howard around 1932….I think that African wood carvings are the greatest wood carvings in the world….I am impressed by the use of the form to express emotion; by the simplification towards abstraction; by the life and vitality achieved through form relations.(E. Catlett, personal communication, April 23, 1987) When I arrived in Africa, I was not certain of what types of sculpture I wanted to purchase for my collection, but, in hindsight, I think that Catlett’s descriptions must have been on my mind, or at least Catlett’s sculpture was, because I think that I was drawn to the type of sculpture that could have been an inspiration for her. The pieces that I was attracted to were simple forms but also boldly stated ones. African sculpture can be abstract but not to the point of being non-representational. The essence of form is there for the viewer. See the examples of African pieces in Figure 1 and compare with a wood carving by Catlett as illustrated at the Marketplace website (2007). These kinds of visual comparisons help the student to see how African sculpture can influence the works of African-American artists and others. On the subject of baskets, there are very few individuals who are not familiar with the baskets of West Africa and the continuation of that tradition here in the Lowcountry. I was disappointed that I did not buy more baskets, specifically large ones. However, for the baskets that I did purchase, I feel that I got some decent representative pieces. I guess that I had hoped to find larger baskets like the ones that I saw in the film, Family across the Sea (Carrier, 1990). One of my colleagues reminded me that one of the reasons why I was not finding the larger baskets in Sierra Leone could be that Sierra Leone may not have fully rebounded artistically because of its Civil War (Sierra Leone, 1999), which brought so much devastation to the country and also must have had an influence on the absence of the arts. Yet, in the small, rather intimate pieces (Fig. 2) that I purchased, I saw great similarities, not surprisingly, to the basket sewing of the Lowcountry. In class presentations, the craftsmanship and influence of the African baskets can be compared not only to the many baskets illustrated in such books by Vlach (1990), and Rosengarten, Rosengarten, and Schildkrout (2008), but also the works by other visual artists whose works have examples of baskets—for example, Jonathan Green’s First Born of 1988 and S. M-Moss’s commemorative sweet grass basket monument (Fig.3) in the town of Mt. Pleasant, SC. Just as I had made the connections between the baskets, sculpture, and indigo cloth to either the Lowcountry or western artists like Elizabeth Catlett, I also made connections to the quilting designs that I saw and the African American quilting tradition here in the US—especially what I have seen executed by members of my own family. The African American quilting tradition can be traced back to civilizations in Central and West Africa (AAQT). One of those civilizations (the Mande people) was located in Guinea. Apparently, what are prominent in the African quilt designs are large shapes and bold colors. One reason is that it is reminiscent of the tradition for the necessity to recognize “people from far distances” as this was “crucial for [warring] tribes and traveling hunting parties” (AAQT). I saw some of those same kinds of patterns and descriptions in the quilting designs in Guinea. In addition, the quilting designs are not only used for what appeared to be for bed covers (Figs.4-5), but they were are also used in other areas of Guinea life as in the boat sail (Fig. 6). The large shapes and bold patterns can be found in the designs of quilts made by African American women in South Carolina associated with my own family (Fig. 7). Also, traditional African quilt patterns were not “regulated by specific pattern[s].” The quilt maker had a free range to “change and alternate the pattern.” This technique seems to be a continuation in southern African American quilting traditions. As demonstrated above, the art of West Africa definitely had an impression on me, but the hospitality of the African peoples had an impact, too. The first week was quite an adjustment for us. Our first road trip was grueling and challenging, to say the least. I was a little uncertain and just a little anxious of the upcoming four weeks or so left in our study. However, I felt at ease when three of my colleagues and I visited a United Methodist church in Bo, Sierra Leone (Fig. 8). After we introduced ourselves during the segment of the service when visitors were recognized, the congregation sang a song to us, blessing us on our travels while we were in this foreign land. I was so moved by this song, and felt that it really set the tone for the hospitality that we would receive while we were there. I also felt at home at this church when I heard speech patterns and inflections that reminded me so much of the Gullah language of the Lowcountry. It seemed that I was listening to one of the elders from See Wee Road in Awendaw, South Carolina. We felt the hospitality not only in this church and others that we visited but also at a mosque in Kankan, where the men in our group were fortunate enough to meet the imam and other religious leaders. “We so gladi foh meet you,” is what the imam said to us, as recorded by my colleague, Donald West. When we heard that, it felt as though we were talking to a Gullah resident from the Lowcountry. They even invited us to participate in the evening prayer. What follows is an excerpt from my journal on this experience at the mosque at Kankan: The grand mosque was absolutely stupendous. It is the largest mosque in Kankan (Fig. 9). It reminds me so much of the interiors of other mosques that I have attended in the past: the repetitive columns and patterned clean carpet on the floor. We, as dictated by custom, removed our shoes before we entered….. We were also there when the caller did the call to prayer. That was the most, or one of the most, spiritual moments that I have been a part of. His voice resonated throughout the entire building after each sound left his lips. We also participated in the prayers as well. That was the first time that I had participated in a worship experience at a mosque. I was very quiet after the prayer when we left the mosque: I contemplated that although we (Christians and Muslims) are from different religious faiths that we worship the same God. Intellectually, I always knew that, but tonight, I really felt it. I guess that I was very moved by this experience because I felt so honored to receive this invitation to be a part of evening prayer. While I am on the subject of our visits to churches and a mosque, I want to interject that I was just amazed at the coexistence of the two major religions: Islam and Christianity. One of the things that I commented on in my journal was that I like “that sense that the Christians and the Muslims exist without friction in this community.” I felt the hospitality no matter what setting we were in, and many of us commented on that. In addition, another impression that I have of the West African peoples is that they are proud of their history. In Guinea, this pride was demonstrated in the impressive collection of artifacts at the National Museum in Conakry and an archival collection of materials at a museum in Boké. One of the guides in Boké said something that was quite profound, and I recorded it as it was translated to us: “If you are culturally rich, but materially poor, you [still] have something to hold on to.” I think this philosophy exemplifies the Africans’ desire to preserve their history. Unfortunately, what we noticed is that, though there is the wish to preserve one’s culture, there is a dearth of funding to provide climate control facilities and proper archival storage material to preserve the artifacts. I commented on that in one of my journal entries after we visited the museum at Boké: Though the Guineans know the significance of preserving one’s past, the facility to preserve those items was just heart wrenching! The museum was pretty much open to the elements; there is no climate control. We went to one floor of the museum that just had stacks and stacks of documents just piled on top of one another—again open to the elements with no climate control, no archival system, no hint of cataloging or even an attempt at it. One match and those documents would be lost forever (Fig.10). In addition to the desire to preserve one’s culture via the collection of artifacts, there is also the preservation of culture through the oral tradition. For example, while we were also in Boké, we went to a presentation by the mayor. He read from a very detailed, thick, handwritten document that was based on historical facts and the oral tradition. Though the presentation was for us, many people from the community were also in the audience. We understood that they were there and would also participate in the “lecture” and add to what the mayor shared with us. To me, it seemed as though this was the oral tradition in action. This reflection, thus far, has been about the art and my general impressions. A final thought is this: I am still overwhelmed by how this experience has had an impact on me—not just as an educator but as a person. I think that I will carry the memories of Africa with me forever. This was my first time ever on the continent. I hope that it will not be my last.                   References African American quilting traditions [AAQT]. Retrieved on March 29, 2009 from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/quilt/atrads.html. Africa indigo cloth-dyeing in Labé, Guinea (2005. September 8). Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.tntindigo.com/index.htm. Africa Carrier, T. (Director).      (1990). Family Across the Sea [Television broadcast]. South Carolina ETV. Feaser, A. (2008, March 26). History of South Carolina indigo to be presented at events. Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from      http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2008/march/indigo.php5. Marketplace (2007, July 27). L.A. company to put black art up for bid. Retrieved on April 8, 2009 from      http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/07/27/la_company_to_put_black_art_up_for_bid/ NCCU Art Museum (1988). Gullah life reflections: A      traveling exhibition of the paintings of Jonathan Green. Durham, NC: North Carolina Central University. Roberts, C. (2004). Founding mothers: The women who      raised our nation. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. Rosengarten, D., Rosengarten, T., & Schildkrout, E. (2008). Grass roots: African origins      of an American art. New York: NY: Museum for African Art. Special report: Sierra Leone’s Civil War (1999, July 8). Retrieved on March 29, 2009 from      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/01/99/sierra_leone/251251.stm. Vlach, J. M. (1990).The Afro-American tradition in decorative arts. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. T.D. Brown Fulbright GPA 2008: Mano River      Region 5