This course offers an introduction to the visual languages with which the people from West and Central Africa have contributed to the politics, culture, and thought of the Americas, with a particular focus on urban hubs as Port Au Prince, Havana, New Orleans, and New York. We will study the graphic writing systems, ideograms, and symbolic practices of Afro inspired spiritual traditions like Vodou and Santeria. Product of the convergence of Yoruba, Fon, Efik and Kongo expansive bodies of knowledge, these highly syncretic practices have been performed in secrecy or disguised as baroque Christian rituals. However, we will examine how Afro inspired spiritual practices expand beyond the scope of religions and beliefs. Through in-depth studies of the work of artists as Hector Hypolite, Wilfredo Lam, Belkis Ayon, and Ana Mendieta, we will examine the contribution of these aesthetic practices to contemporary discourses about art and performance.
- Teacher: Fernanda Villarroel Lamoza