Ghana’s Copyright Law for Folklore Hampers Cultural Growth

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Ghana’s Copyright Law for Folklore Hampers Cultural Growth

Ghana has a rich folkloric tradition that includes Adinkra symbols, Kente cloth, traditional festivals, music and storytelling. Perhaps one of Ghana’s best known folk characters is Ananse, the spider god and trickster, after whom the Ghanaian storytelling tradition Anansesem is named.

Ghana also has some of the world’s most restrictive laws on the use of its folklore. The country’s 2005 Copyright Act defines folklore as “the literary, artistic and scientific expressions belonging to the cultural heritage of Ghana which are created, preserved and developed by ethnic communities of Ghana or by an unidentified Ghanaian author”.

This suggests that the legislation, which is an update of a 1985 law, applies equally to traditional works where the author is unknown and new works derived from folklore where the author is known.

The rights in these works are “vested in the President on behalf of and in trust for the people of the republic”. These rights are also deemed to exist in perpetuity. This means that works which qualify as folkloric will never fall into the public domain – and will never be free to use.

The 1985 Act only restricted use of Ghana’s folklore by foreigners. The 2005 Act extended this to Ghanaian nationals. In principle, this means that a Ghanaian artist wishing to use Ananse stories, or a musician who wants to rework old folk songs or musical rhythms must first seek approval from the National Folklore Board and pay an undisclosed fee.

This is deeply problematic.

Why Blackface? A Scholar Weighs In On Why Blackface Is Part of American Culture's DNA

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Covington Catholic High School Students carry on blackface tradition at 2012 basketball game.

Why Blackface? A Scholar Weighs In On Why Blackface Is Part of American Culture's DNA

By Michael Millner, Associate Professor of English and American Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell . First published on The Convervsation

Blackface is part of American culture’s DNA.

But America has forgotten that.

For almost two weeks, conflict has raged over the use of blackface by two current Virginia politicians when they were younger. The revelations have threatened the men’s jobs and their standing in the community.

The use of blackface is now politically and culturally radioactive. Yet there was a time when it wasn’t.

I teach the history of blackface in the United States. Like much of America, my undergraduate students suffer from a kind of historical amnesia about its role in American culture. They know little about its long history, and they haven’t considered its prevalence and significance in everyday American life.

Most of all, they’ve never asked themselves, “Why blackface?”

Kendall Jenner In PC Trouble For Her Curly Hair In CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Ad

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Kendall Jenner In PC Trouble For Her Curly Hair In CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Ad

The fashion pc police were out in full force this week, and I’m not sure just how many people are offended. All I know is that my first response to seeing Kendall Jenner’s solo photo in the November 2018 issue of American Vogue was that she reminded me of my grandmother — my British grandmother.

I hope that the same people who are accusing Vogue and Kendall Jenner of cultural appropriation make it their business to vote in November. Like PLEASE stand up for the rights of people of color because America is in a terrible mess and you are worrying about Kendall Jenner’s clearly Gibson girl image. This is insane.

Believe it or not, millions of white women worldwide have curly, even frizzy hair. Every curly hairdo is not an attempt to rip off an Afro. Good goddess! Many, many Jewish women have curly hair because — ahem — when early humans migrated out of Africa, guess where they traveled? Into what is now known as the Levant and home to the Jewish people. Those early humans took their beautiful, curly hair with them and as a result, many other cultures ended up with lots of curls and even frizzy hair — NATURALLY. They are not fashion models and they were not ripping off Black women’s hair.

So we’ve got Trump trying to totally divide the country with his white nationalism and we’ve got Vogue magazine and Kendall Jenner once again having the audacity to think they can use Kendall in a Gibson girl look. Can we agree that Kendall’s outfit doesn’t look like it’s ripping off Afro fashion?

With all the pain and suffering on this planet, with Trump and the Republicans trying to take away voting rights for people of color in states all over America, this is the fashion industry crisis. I actually thought the editorial was very cool. Black women are everywhere in magazines right now — as they should be. As someone who tracks this topic every day, let me say that there is an abundance — and if we were counting — probably a statistical over-representation of models of color in fashion editorials right now. To that I say AMEN! It’s about time.

But then I read this kind of crap, that Kendall Jenner is accused of trying to cop an Afro — I can only say P-L-E-A-S-E give me a break.

"The image is meant to be an update of the romantic Edwardian/Gibson Girl hair which suits the period feel of the Brock Collection, and also the big hair of the '60s and the early '70s, that puffed-out, teased-out look of those eras," the Conde Nast publication said in a statement to E! News on Tuesday. "We apologize if it came across differently than intended, and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone by it." 

These two images from the editorial were used in a promotion for the publication’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. And it’s not the first time. Vogues are always in trouble for some offense with the pc crowd. Kendall is also in trouble for the second photo below, where she posed with model Imaan Hammam, who wore a beyond words fabulous afro in another image. So Is Imaan in trouble for her straight hair??? Surely you jest. She’s just doing what models do. The offense in this case is strictly Kendall’s white girl oppression of women of color.

"FOR YEARS WE have been penalized about our looks and especially our hair, It is a slap in the face when non-Blacks try to imitate our look," one Instagram user wrote in a comment on the initial photo.

"I like Kendall but why didn't they use an ethnic model who has hair like that," another wrote of the initial photo.  via The Hollywood Reporter

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wears Maori Cloak To Queen's Dinner At Buckingham Palace

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Wears Maori Cloak To Queen's Dinner At Buckingham Palace

New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, made quite the style statement, attending the Queen's Dinner at Buckingham Palace Thursday evening. Ardern was in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and arrived at Buckingham Palace wearing a traditional Māori cloak (or Kahu huruhuru).

 The Guardian explains that the cloaks are traditionally "bestowed on chiefs and dignitaries to convey prestige, respect and power."

Mark Sykes, an expert on the Māori special collection at the National Museum of New Zealand, further explained the garment's significance to the publication, stating: "Cloaks are worn for warmth, protection and to symbolise your status and mana [power]."

He continued, "I think it shows how she is portraying herself as a leader of Māori, of all of New Zealand, of everyone."

Rujeko Hockley & Jane Panetta Named Curators Of 2019 Whitney Bienniale

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RUJEKO HOCKLEY (LEFT) AND JANE PANETTA. © 2017 SCOTT RUDD. COURTESY OF THE WHITNEY MUSEUM.

Rujeko Hockley & Jane Panetta Named Curators Of 2019 Whitney Bienniale

The Whitney Museum announced Wednesday that Jane Panetta and Rujeko Hockley will co-curate the 2019 Whitney Biennial. As current curators of the Whitney’s staff. the two women are “two of the most compelling and engaged curatorial voices of the moment,” according to a statement from the Whitney’s chief curator, Scott Rothkopf.

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Panetta joined the Whitney in 2010 and has curated solo presentations by Willa Nasatir and MacArthur “Genius” Njideka Akunyili Crosby. Hockley, who was came to the museum in March 2017, co-curated the highly acclaimed Brooklyn Museum show “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85.” At the Whitney, she has so far co-curated “Toyin Ojih Odutola: To Wander Determined,” , on view at the Whitney until February 25, 2018, as well as the ongoing group show “An Incomplete History of Protest.”

The news comes at the end of a year marked by intense controversies around cultural appropriation in the art world. Among the most divisive arguments was the public maelstrom around Dana Schutz's painting of Emmett Till, Open Casket. The painting prompted open letters calling for the removal and even destruction of the painting, silent protests in front of the work, and demands that other works ALL of Dana Schutz's paintings be banned from a show in Boston as punishment for her offense of the Emmett Till painting.

 

 

Turner Prize Winner Lubaina Himid Explores Black Identities In The Web Of Global Prejudice

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Turner Prize Winner Lubaina Himid Explores Black Identities In The Web Of Global Prejudice

Zanzibar-born Lubaina Himid is the first black woman to ever win the Turner Prize. She’s also the oldest at age 63. Himid's artistic focus is the "forgotten creative legacies of the African diaspora", writes Vogue UK. 

The politically-charged images that comprise her Turner Prize exhibition drill deeply into prejudice. In 'Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service' Lubaina takes the traditional British crockery of history’s elite and, by painting over it, reveals the mostly invisible stories of the servers. By leaving the intricate detailing of the original china around the edges, Himid reveals the complex framework of prejudice that Western society stands on cannot be erased. 

In Burkina Faso, French President Macron Addresses Restitution Of African Heritage From Museums

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In Burkina Faso, French President Macron Addresses Restitution Of African Heritage From Museums

In a speech delivered on a visit to the West African republic of Burkina Faso, French president Emmanuel Macron has promised to make the restitution of French-owned African heritage a priority over the next five years.  Saying that he wants “the conditions to be met for the temporary or permanent restitution of African heritage to Africa”, Macron also spoke to the audience of about 800 students at the University of Ouagadougou about his desire to promote the mobility of talented people between Europe and Africa.

Notably, Macron's comments are at odds with a formal request made in March 2017 to then French President François Hollande, writes artnet News. Lawmakers and civil society groups from Benin wrote an open letter asking for the return of a host of "colonial treasures" 

Eye: Rihanna Channels Queen Nefertiti As Cultural Appropriation Cries Mount Against Vogue Arabia

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Eye: Rihanna Channels Queen Nefertiti As Cultural Appropriation Cries Mount Against Vogue Arabia

Mega star Rihanna covers the November 2017 issue of Vogue Arabia, channeling Queen Nefertiti. Riri loves the ancient Egyptian queen with such passion that she even has a Queen Neferti tattoo on her torso. Vogue Arabia writes:

Ruling over Ancient Egypt next to Pharaoh Akhenaten almost 3 500 years ago, Nefertitiis still one of the most beloved icons of the Middle East. Known for her unmatched beauty, the queen had a very active role in the country’s political sphere, giving mankind an early lesson in women empowerment. Although her death is still shrouded in mystery, Nefertiti’s myth took on a new dimension at the beginning of the 20th century, when German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt and his team discovered a painted limestone bust of the royal in Amarna. It was found in the ruins of the workshop of court sculptor Thutmose, and was described by Borchardt as “the most alive Egyptian artwork.”

The expected claims of cultural appropriation from the Twitter-universe are proliferating social media. Some loud voices in social media demand that only a model of Egyptian or Arab descent is allowed to channel Queen Nefertiti. The cultural appropriation police are further pounding the drums, demanding that black and African models not be used in an interchangeable manner. A black model -- or presumably an African American model of Kenyan descent cannot channel a Kenyan woman because she is technically American. You get my drift. The rules about who can model what and where are increasingly governed by a very, very tight noose of allowable creativity by the cultural appropriation police. It will be interesting to see how all this ends up in our melting pot world. It seems that the cultural appropriation police do not permit intermixing of racial identities and heritages, or being inspired by cultural influences. They are total purists about intermarriage, color mixing, and any other attempts to water down purity. Sounds pretty white nationalist to me. 

Fake Letter Requesting Removal Of Dana Schutz' 'Open Casket' Emmett Till Painting Dials Up Protest Temperature

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The controversy around artist Dana Schutz' controversial painting 'Open Casket' and the horrific death of Emmett Till continues at the Whitney Biennial. This shocking image above appeared in Google Images and is from former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos' website. 

The debated work is based on a photograph from the funeral of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black American who was murdered in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman. 

Schutz shared her perspective about the painting with ArtNet News, saying:

You’ve said in the Times that you approached the painting as a mother, and as a way to explore a mother’s pain. Would there have been no way to address the subject without, as your critics would have it, appropriating black experience?

It was the feeling of understanding and sharing the pain, the horror. I could never, ever know her experience, but I know what it is to love your child. I don’t know if there would be a way to address the subject without some way of approaching it on a personal level.

Could you have foreseen that you were stepping on a third rail by treating this explosive subject? If so, what made it necessary to paint Emmett Till specifically?
Yes, for many reasons. The anger surrounding this painting is real and I understand that. It’s a problematic painting and I knew that getting into it. I do think that it is better to try to engage something extremely uncomfortable, maybe impossible, and fail, than to not respond at all.

Will the reaction to the painting change anything about your practice in the future?
I’m sure it has to.

On Thursday morning several new outlets including Artsy, Frieze, and Out Magazine published parts or all of an open letter alleged to have been written by the artist Dana Schutz, requesting that the painting be removed from the exhibition. Shortly after, the letter addressed to Whitney Biennial 2017 co-curators Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks was declared to be a fake by  Stephen Soba, the Whitney Museum’s director of communications.

Queer artist Parker Bright has maintained a vigil in front of the painting, blocking its view. Bright met with Lew and Locks to express his views, and he was assured that Schutz would not sell the painting or profit from it in any way, writes Out.

Artist Hannah Black sent a letter earlier in the week to the curators, requesting that the painting be moved and destroyed. AOC will revisit this story after digesting a number of essays and thoughtful pieces about the controversy.

Read AOC's original story, including the full text of Black's letter to the Whitney and new details around Emmett Till's death: Dana Schutz' Painting Of Emmett Till Creates Controversy At Whitney Biennial 2017 AOC The Wokes

Dana Schutz' Painting Of Emmett Till Creates Controversy At Whitney Biennial 2017

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Karlie Kloss Apologizes For Vogue Geisha Cultural Appropriation Fashion Editorial

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Karlie Kloss Is 'Spirited Away' In Mikael Jansson Images For Vogue US March 2017

Supermodel Karlie Kloss apologized Wednesday afternoon for her controversial March 2017 Vogue US photoshoot, in which she is dressed in stereotypical Japanese geisha garb. The photo spread created a social media firestorm over accusations of cultural appropriation. 

Photographer Mikael Jansson shot the editorial in Japan, reportedly as an homage to a 1966 Vogue shoot by Richard Avedon of German model Veruschka.

Fashionista has plenty to say about this editorial, which we published yesterday. Dhani Mau really let's it rip. 

When Vogue released its March 2017 cover featuring a group of models — diverse both racially and physically — we were honestly thrilled. It seemed like Vogue finally "got it," "it" being that the world isn't full of white, skinny, blonde chicks and that the magazine should make some effort to represent its readers. But if Vogue took a step forward toward inclusivity with that cover, it took about a million steps backward with the total bullshit that is this Karlie Kloss editorial inside the magazine.

Shot by Mikael Jansson and styled by Phyllis Posnick in Japan's Ise-Shima National Park, "Spirited Away" features Kloss — a white lady from Missouri — dressed up as a Japanese fashion Geisha, engaged in a variety of confusing activities, like carrying a basket of cherry blossoms, looking solemn in a forest and being assisted with what is likely some trendy fitness innovation that involves water and, um, human beer koozies? The spread also includes one of fashion's favorite set-ups when it comes to shooting in other countries: using, as a prop, a decidedly unglamorous, often stereotypical human cultural symbol wearing traditional garb — in this case, a sumo wrestler — posed next to the beautiful white supermodel wearing designer clothing.

For her part, Kloss apologized on Twitter, writing: “These images appropriate a culture that is not my own and I am truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive. My goal is, and always will be, to empower and inspire women. I will ensure my future shoots and projects reflect that mission.”