Behold: Part 2 - The Intellectual and Functional Essence of African Artifacts

The idea that "the single story creates stereotypes" is powerfully articulated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her insight highlights the danger of a one-dimensional narrative, especially when it concerns the historical fullness of African culture and design. In reflecting on my journey as a design consultant and futurist, I've come to understand the profound impact that African artifacts have on our identity and not just that but also on how we perceive the world and how the world perceives us. The impact this has on us consciously and subconsciously must go beyond these objects being seen as mere decorative pieces; they are embodiments of intellectual design that deserve recognition beyond the reductive labels often assigned to them.

Minimalist art paintings in response to my interrogation of African artefacts (furniture) and design history. Pictured is Vol. 1 of my collection, "The Future Is Ancient" featured at the gallery Hey Hey Collective.

African Artefacts and Intellectual Design

Consider the intricacies of African beading, woodwork, metalwork, textiles, and basketry. Often dismissed as mere decorative items, these artifacts are steeped in intellectual and cultural significance. They showcase sophisticated design thinking, technical mastery, and high skill and creativity. Yet, these pieces are frequently undervalued. Historically, while Western craft is celebrated as furniture, African equivalents are relegated to the status of art and craft, terms that diminish their intellectual design contributions.

The Impact of Colonial Narratives

With colonial narratives having long dictated the value and classification of African artifacts, leading to a preference for Western objects as furnishings and relegating African creations to the status of mere decorations or trendy accessories, this has resulted in a cultural disconnect for the contemporary African to the depth of their ancient and contemporary traditional crafts. Further, the commodification of African culture, where even artifacts can be seen with "Made in China" labels, being mass-produced by non-indigenous artisans dilutes their significance and authenticity. This has profound implications for cultural remembrance, preservation, and practice.

This disconnect can be traced back to the historical atrocities of colonization and apartheid. Homeplace, a space where a family unit can find solace, rest, and a sense of peace and be affirmed in their humanity often still carries the legacy of the dehumanizing effects of colonization and apartheid through design. By reframing artifacts as intellectually designed furniture, we can begin pulling together a key component to healing.

In his book, "You Are What You Love", James KA Smith puts forward that the things we love, see, and do aren't simply things that we see, love, and do but rather, as we set our affections on these things, they, in turn, do something to us.

Without regular exposure to African design either in a visual or an intellectual sense through education, a vast majority of the people of Africa are deprived of the opportunity to see their full historical and human potential reflected in their surroundings affirming their humanity and, in turn, when these objects are out of plain sight, their potential to inspire and inform design language, philosophy and elements needed for contemporary African design diminishes. This lack of visibility hinders the flourishing of Afrocentric design practice and aesthetics and prevents the full expression of African thought and design principles as a cohesive and dynamic body of work.

African artifacts represent more than cultural heritage; they embody a unique intellectual legacy and a typology for how the home is formed and how it functions, a typology that has been overlooked and undervalued. In short, by re-contextualizing these artifacts within the broader framework of intellectual design, we open up new avenues for understanding their role in shaping personal and collective identities through the plurality of design typologies.

Conclusion

We behold things every day. If what we behold does not affirm our humanity the things we do behold will inform us of whatever identity and narrative it so chooses and in turn, eventually do something to us. By taking a closer look at the design heritage and legacy from the African context, we move beyond colonial narratives that our artifacts are mere art and craft, we will begin to recognize them as integral components of a rich and sophisticated design tradition that forms part of global design history.

Further reading:

• hooks, bell. (2020). Homeplace: A Site of Resistance. 10.4324/9781003058885-4.

• Iyamah, J. (2024). Interior Race Theory: Using Interior Objects to Resist Harmful Racial Conditioning. Journal of Interior Design, 49(1), 12-16.