Observations on Art and Identity

Artistic Expression

Paintings/art work

1. I was fascinated by the artwork at the National Museum… some disconcertingly European in styles, other poignantly expressing Ethiopian experiences protecting independence and dealing with famine.
2. There didn’t seem to by much traditional art at the University, what does this mean for the future of traditional art?
3. Most of the recent drawings and painting (or at least what I have seen) seems to be taking western standards and styles.
4. The school of arts at AAU was very cool, and seemed to have a broad range of different types of art.
5. Yesterday I saw Goshu Gallery, his artwork was religiously themed and included lots of light, suns, etc.  Some of this work was clearly Ethiopian, one painting of an Axumite obelisk.
6. The art in Asni gallery mostly depicted African scenes, not non-descript ones
7. The biggest pieces of art in our living room appears to be a print of the middle pane of the stained glass mural on Africa Hall
8. Religious figures hang in many homes as the primary artwork
9. The images of Jesus and other biblical figures that hang in homes and in some churches are the same Caucasian images and statues in the US
10. The only art in my family’s house is pictures of Jesus or St. George
11. Crosses seem to be on a lot of the artwork, gold and silver and even on clothes.
12. In many of the pictures of Jesus (Lalibela, St. George’s, etc) he is white, why?
13. The subjects in paintings are always Africans – even in religious ones. 
14. Strong religious influence in many paintings and other works of art.
15. There is a lot of medieval style Christian art with Madonna and baby Jesus.  It seems to lack depth and shade but it uniquely Ethiopian and pretty.
16. Churches hold some of the most prized artwork
17. Many paintings in churches are covered with white cloths to help protect from the dust.
18. It seems like I don’t see any expressions of art unless I visit a museum.
19. The only art I’ve seen in the past day was a drawing my little sister made
20. You don’t see much artwork displayed here
21.  Ethiopian painting don’t seem to vary all that much.
22. The painting styles don’t seem to have changed all that much over the years.
23. Western style mass produced prints for religious expression at Lalibela…
24. Eyes seem to be very important in traditional Ethiopian art.
25. In some paintings some people have two eyes showing which others only have one eye showing
26. The visual art apparent in houses and restaurants is all cheap copies of western art
27. War has stunted and influenced a lot of art, ruining what has been made and taking away many artists, yet it has also created deep rooted feelings to be expressed in art.
28. The paintings in churches contain many bright colors
29. The work I’ve seem so far by Afework Tekele doesn’t seem to be united by a certain style, like most artists I’ve studied/observed elsewhere
30. A lot of art here expresses Ethiopian tradition or culture – is there any art that expresses something different?

Dance/Media

31. Each tribe or ethnic group has their own traditional dance.
32. ETV is always showing dances and fashion from different ethnic groups, dresses are always very colorful
33. In the MKC prayer is seldom independent of one’s body.  Instead movement, dance and noise are an essential part of the prayer itself, as natural to praise as air is to the lungs.
34. Most MKC members reject artistic expression in the form of traditional dance but are very expressive with their bodies in worship instead.
35. The games we play in my family all take no props and involve movement and chanting, they remind me of dances.
36. Videographers here aren’t very talented at all, just watch the new on ETV
37. Ethiopian-made movies and TV shows are really poorly done compared to Hollywood, but Ethiopians don’t seem to mind or be embarrassed – Ethiopian pride?
38. People love to dance.

Music

39. The music that my family plays at home is always Christian
40. My family has many cassette tapes of Christian artists and listens to them frequently.
41. My family may speak English and wear western clothes but they never listen to any music but the uniquely Ethiopian Evangelical praise songs.
42. To me as an outsider, all the music sounds exactly the same.  Why does no one have their own musical style?
43. A lot of people still listen to the cultural music.
44. Most Ethiopian popular music seems to involve a synthesizer and lots of repetition
45. Music videos on TV are a mix of western songs and Ethiopian cultural songs/dances which Ethiopians can name by region and ethnic group.
46. Popular Ethiopian music still uses a lot of traditional Ethiopian instruments

Arts and Crafts and Food

47. It looks like the art here is all created by hand, making them all different, they take pride in the art that is not mass produced.
48. Making injera is a kind of art.  One takes pride in being able to make a nice round, evenly spaced piece of injera.
49. The art of making fruit juices, the beauty of the “mixed juice.”
50. There is a large difference between where you see the fine art and the practical art, they don’t exist side by side
51. I wonder at the difference between art and craftsmanship – things that are part of everyday life, like woven cloth or the stones broken for the foundation of the gazebo being built at the church and are artfully done.

Dress/Hair/Body

52. It seems that no two cultural dresses are the same, each has a unique design and cut
53. My family’s maid wears a different combination of two shirts, pants, skirt, and scarf every day.
54. The different styles of braided hair are really cool and surprisingly complicated
55. The national dress is very simple but at the same time its beautiful
56. Many unique tattooing designs, especially Orthodox
57. Tattooing on the face and neck
58. Women will sometimes tattoo their forehead and chin as a sign of beauty.  I think only Amhara women do this. 
59. Men on the streets wear hats of yellow, green and rad to show their Ethiopian heritage
60. A lot of the traditional clothes have crosses in the design, they are very beautiful
61. People express themselves often subtly through their clothing, braided hair, etc

Homes/Streets

62. People’s compounds are often artistically finished as opposed to outside the compound, giving their personal touch
63. Ethiopians that can afford it have artistic gates around their homes.
64. Artificial flowers are considered to be high style in my house
65. It is very important to have “nice” furniture, carpet, wall decorations, tableware, etc.
66. Many outside walls and some inside walls are painted with bright colors and even stripes.  People also seem to pay a fair amount of attention to landscaping within their compounds.
67. Close to my house there’s a large mural painted on the gate of Teletubbies
68. A lot of the crafts displayed in the household are religiously based.
69. Bright colors shown through outfits and buildings
70. Some Ethiopians show their artistic talents by decorating their taxis in their own special ways
71. Walking in the city is an art, you have to be graceful, dodging people, holes, cars..
72. Caskets are brightly colored

Identity

Gender

1. My host father wears suits all the time.  My host mother changes into sweats as soon as she comes home.
2. Young girls wear more modern clothes/western clothes than the older women, who wear more traditional dress.
3. Traditional dress is still worn by many women of the older and younger generation on a daily basis.  Women seem to hold traditions more compared to men.
4. Men almost always wear a suit even to do construction, they are very well dressed even to work in the garden.
5. There were actually more males than females in the dance club I went to on Saturday night, this never happens in the US.
6. In a café there seem to always be a room full of men just sitting there relaxing.
7. There are never any male servants, which isn’t too surprising to see because servants do things that only women are supposed to do.
8. Only men are taxi drivers, maybe its one of those jobs that make a lot of money.
9. Women are not allowed to make more money than a man while in a married relationship.  Sometimes the couple will become poorer than before because the women may have to quit her job for a worse job.
10. I was definitely propositioned for sex today on the way to school… by two donkey herders.
11. One’s hairstyle and headdress, for women, is very important to one’s pride, self-confidence and identity.
12. My mom drives the nicer of the two cars in my host family… and parks it under the only roofed parking spot.

Religion

13. For many Ethiopian Orthodox it is important to wear a string around their necks to signify that they’ve been baptized. X2
14. The Lalibela crosses have begun to represent Ethiopia, not just Lalibela, you see them everywhere.
15. I see a lot of crosses tattooed on the foreheads
16. An old lady who drinks buna with my mother has religious tattoos on her face and chest.
17. Book says mourning is expressed intricately through clothing…
18. Is the National Dress that W/ro Tsion taught us about just an Orthodox thing or do Ethiopian Muslims wear something similar for their holidays?
19. A person’s religion is very important to who they are/their identity.
20. Protestants know the cultural dances and where they come from, but reject them as part of their identity.
21. Evangelical homes have things like Bible verses and images of Jesus on the walls.

Ethnicity

22. My mom introduced me to all of our neighboring women by the area they were from – Oromo, Tigray, etc.
23. People know which dances belong to which cultural group, and which groups their friends are from, and there doesn’t seem to be hostility towards other ethnic groups.
24. Every group seems to have a dance that classifies them as a group
25. ETV has a program in 3 languages, each portraying different cultures.
26. The news is broadcast in several different languages so Ethiopians can listen to the news in their tribal language
27. My mom is very proud of the picture of her mother in traditional Tigrinya dress and hair style and tells me anytime someone is singing in Tigrinya on the TV or radio.
28. I think the original Tigrays wear the national dress and a lot of gold jewelry, they are a very proud people
29. People are always dancing for you at gatherings and want to teach you, afterwards they want you to show what you learned.
30. Identity shown through regional dances that everyone seems to be able to differentiate.
31. My family is entertained by watching cultural expressions from different groups around the country – they laugh and it makes me somewhat uncomfortable because they don’t seem to be very respectful of the different cultural expressions.
32. People seem to feel tied to one ethnic group even if they are a mixture of two.
33. My mom still believes strongly in traditional home remedies.

Individual/Community

34. Here identity is not at all dependent on what one’s home is like.  On the contrary it is determined by the amount of hospitality you show and your connections to other people whether family, friends or strangers.
35. Taxi drivers identity shown by the way they decorate their taxis
36. Personal identity of especially young boys shown through what soccer team they support.
37. Compounds have a personal touch, people decorate it in a way to give it identity.
38. Emphasizing community by eating around a mesob.
39. The importance of names – all seem to have meaning behind them, perhaps marking their identity.

National

40. Flag and flag colors are all over – prominent in many forms of cultural expression, clothes, painting, buildings, etc.
41. Everyday my maid asks me how do I like Ethiopia – and everyday I reply “betam konjo”, but she always asks.
42. Most Ethiopians I have met ask me how I find the country, it is almost as if their country is their “house” and each of them takes responsibility for being a good host/hostess.  Our comfort in and love of their country seems almost as important as our comfort and love of their actual houses and families. 
43. So many posters for the Bob Marley concert – it is interesting how it seems Ethiopia has claimed him as he claimed Ethiopia
44. People are always proud to show cultural things to guests even in restaurants
45. Artistic expression revolves around the Ethiopian colors
46. Lots of cars and especially taxis have flags or “I love Ethiopia” stickers on them
47. Ethiopians make distinctions between themselves and other Africans, it is interesting, then, to notice the Bob Marley posters which say “Africa Unite.”
48. Interesting that the symbols of Ethiopian national identity have been adopted by the Rastas… while many Ethiopians try to distance themselves from that group and scoff at their Ethiopian-ness. 
49. Injera is something unique to Ethiopia
50. Clothing says a lot about your national identity here
51. Ethiopians are very proud of their runners and other athletes.  My family points out their pictures to me whenever they see them. 

Foreign or Global

52. It is hard to see artistic expression in people who in many ways are copying Americans
53. The mixture of western culture and Ethiopian culture is interesting.  My sister hates Ethiopian music and loves American hip-hop.  My host brother, on the other hand, becomes excited whenever a Tigrayan song plays and starts doing the Tigrayan shoulder dance.
54. I saw a taxi driver with two pictures of Bob Marley in his window.  Man, Ethiopians love Bob Marley.
55. My mother makes a point of declaring before every meal whether this is “your food” or “our food.”

Class

56. Some beggars wear dark green color, does that have any significance?
57. Even Ethiopian beggars have pride, they will not allow anyone to take pictures of them.
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