For my third blog I choose to write about a Spirit Spouse from African culture. This is from chapter 28, picture 28-11. Spirit spouses are small statues that are cared for like real people. The are carved from wood and decorated with beads. The owner keeps it in there house, dresses it beautifully, and gives it jewelry and will 'feed it.' People who get spirit spouses are unmarried and believe that there soul mates have not came down to the natural world to be with them yet. I think that the figure is stunning and all of the details are so precise. It also shows what African culture values in a spouse. I also think the thought process of caring for a figure of your spirit spouse until your real one comes down to be with you is so different yet sweet and caring at the same time. One thing I noticed about the figure is how much it actually resembles a real person, and it really shows what they believed in and shows you a lot about there culture. This was definitely the most interesting thing I learned about in chapters 23-28.
It certainly shows us a totally different side of how we view art. Here in the Western hemisphere, we purchase it at Target, hang it on a wall and never think about anything other than what it looks like. This sculpture makes art such an integral part of the person's life - they care for it, love it, hold it as something of great value. I wonder if we would care more about art if we took the time to tend it this way as well.
ReplyDelete