#ulist

∆Nwa Uli "READ" Uli is a traditional and indigenous visual art forms, motifs and symbols that are used by the Igbo people of South Eastern region of Nigeria to achieve the desired psychological and aesthetical satisfaction. Uli was also used by the women to decorate their bodies during traditional festivals and other special occasion. Very few colors such as Brown or Red, White, Black :and Yellow(also known as earth colours), which are sourced locally, are used. Most of these colors come from different shades of clay from the ground and black color prepared from the kitchen sooths or grinded charcoal from burnt fire wood. The forms are always a means of channeling a message or communicating aesthetic and other cultural information that are easily decoded by the recipients. The revival of interest in Uli painting within the contemporary art practice began with Uche Okeke, a professor of painting and one of the founding fathers of the Nsukka Art School (Department of Fine and Applied Art, University of Nigeria Nsukka). He is said to be the bridge between the traditional and the modern Uli painting practice. Other artists who followed these Uli transformations include Prof. Chike Aniako, Prof. Prof. El Anatsui and Prof. Obiora Udechukwu. The second generation of modem Uli artists, who were taught by these professors of Uli painting, includes Tayo Adenaike, Chika Okeke, Ada Udechukwu, Sylvester Ogbechie, Bathosa Nkurumeh, and many others who easily adapted and totally identified their paintings to Uli. Its a special feeling for me, finally to get to create my own uli piece in the same studio where they created theirs. After learning so much from students of the aforementioned great names who are now tutors themselves in the Nsukka Art School, I feel like a fresh initiate, an official "Nwa Uli"(Uli child); I'm feeling BLESSED! I'll unveil the full piece on the next post. #ulist Life is a Maskurade. #keeplovingyours . . . #nsukkaartschool #obi #artschool #lifeofanartmajor #conceptualart #student #art #artlife #igbo #artist #mmanka #universityofnigeriaNsukka #youngafricanartists #Nsibidi #igbobinnansb #artschool #2021 #africana #life #photography #artschool #Uli (at Faculty of Art study UNN) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXayiJejpPZ/?utm_medium=tumblr

 The political messaging in hip hop can be more subtle too. One way of doing this is portraying life in the inner cities as accurately as possible. Here, the artists can make a compelling story based on their real life. But, they can also show the injustices of white people on Black America, as were pointed out in the Perkinson article. White people have trapped black people unsafe inner cities ridden with unhealthy living conditions. In 1982, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five made “The Message […] a chronical of the tension and despair of ghetto life that rips at the innocence of the American Dream.” This type of storytelling is still happening today! Look at Kenrick Lamar’s Good Kid Maad City album for instance. This concept album tells the story of a night in Compton through Kendrick’s point of view. He robs a house, gets mugged, faces the death of a friend, and eventually accepts Christianity as a way of salvation. The stories are incredibly compelling, but also show the difficulty of life in the inner city. I live in LA county, and yet I have never seen any of the horrific things mentioned on the album. It showed me the injustices fellow Americans are facing only a couple miles from me. The political aspect of Hip Hop has been critical in developing my understanding of the unfair economic disparity in our country. Rap may be considered the “Black America CNN,” but it allows outsiders a glance into the culture, and establishes the empathy necessary for our country to one day overcome these issues.