Map Marathon: David Adjaye

David Adjaye’s 15 minutes gave a quick run through his research, which was recently exhibited at the Design Museum as Urban Africa. As I’ve already been over the exhibition I wanted to go over his explanation of it here.

As I mentioned in my last note about the exhibition, I really liked the casual display as well as the large number of pictures displayed. So hearing him explain that the exhibition works as a sort of archive for the public was very satisfying. Plus I just really liked the idea.

He went over the topography of Africa, the north and south are desert while the middle area is pretty much forest. But as a premise to how he explains the architectural influences of the continent, he noted that he prefers to break it down based on the nature of human habitation on terrain rather than border identity politics. That makes very practical sense, so I really like that too.

From there on he explained the differences of the different areas of Africa looking at how to map the vernacular relating to the topography and their influences on architecture. But of course, today, it is difficult to leave out colonial influences, French, English, etc.

more on the exhibition: article & podcast from Dezeen

Map Marathon: Kader Attia

Relating directly to my interest in urban anthropology, for me, this was one fast 15-minutes! Kader Attia's talk related the Mzab architecture of Ghardaia, in his native Algeria, to the modernist architecture of Europe. This research is what eventually culminated into his own installation piece, a replica of Ghardaia made of cous cous. This run through of his talk will be a bit choppy because, as I said, it was 15-minutes I definitely wish I could have slowed down.

Attia started out with the idea of ‘concrete globalization’ within modernism. With that, Attia states his interest in the 'archeology of modernity'. His ideas on ‘concret globalization’ first went into how concrete, the material, is fixed and structured and how it has led not only to homogenization of the globe, but also the hegemonic rule. A physical, geography altering material, concrete is now found everywhere and was the main material used by modernists of the 20s and 30s Europe.

Then Attia discussed his installation projects where he constructed the old Algerian town of Ghardaia out of cous cous. The way he put it really illustrated the cycle of the colonized and the colonizer power relations, particularly in the context of spatial control, as well as spatial design, ie the landscape. The cous cous project was a direct remark on Le Corbusier, known to be the father (or grandfather?), pioneer – anyway - of modern architecture. Le Corbusier, as Attia showed us, was very influenced by the shapes and functionality of the Mzeb town formations in southern Algeria. Upon his return to France after his travels, Le Corbusier was among the first to be called in to create social housing schemes. Attia also showed us that a lot of that was also an influence of the so-called vertical cities of Yemeni architecture. (Attia remarked about Yemen’s 2,000-year-old 9-story buildings, pretty much the original skyscrapers of the world.) But the cyclical element of the Algerian-French relationship through architecture came in where after he completed making the social housing in France, Le Corbusier was also sent to Algeria to build housing there. Attia’s project, subject of his presentation, was the cous cous installation, a ‘subtle gesture of re-appropriation’ in response to this architectural history: the modernists’ direct influence from Algerian tribal architecture.

I was so glad to have been able to hear this story. For a while now, I have been wanting to learn more about the Mzeb, who – as it was explained to me – were a tribe who took into the structure of their daily life the allocation and use of space and built environment. I am very interested in this tribe because of the deeply set anthropological value of their use and formation of space. Today, the Ghardaia village, the capitol area of the Mzeb region, is a UNESCO heritage site. But I believe, in my look at the study and questions of urban anthropology, that this town’s formation, a direct relationship between the people, their nature, their environment and their daily culture, is a place that can teach us, in this day of major re-urbanization, many things about pasts that we should still respect.

Attia’s talk had a lot more, but if you can imagine that he spoke of this plus another 2 or 3 themes within 15 minutes, you can imagine that neither my brain nor my pen was fast enough to pick it all up. I would definitely like to have a copy of his paper, because he does go deeper into ‘colonial modernism’, Oscar Neimeyer, more about AfroArab aesthetics, he mentioned a book by Pouillain that seems to talk about Maghrebi architecture, and an interesting seeming collective of some sort that he referred to as Team 10.

more about the Mzab: The Changing World of Mzab

New African Stories

As someone not so familiar with the entire of Africa, I’ve been on the look out for media from or about the continent that does not dwell on war, poverty, famine, or safari. So my first event at the London Film Festival was an education screening of 3 short films: New African Stories. They consisted of a fable, a sci-fi and a musical. No mix could be as eclectic – no matter what its geographic origin was.

The fable: Lezare: was a 14 minute story from southern Ethiopia. It is a fable about the world. In a time of combating world catastrophes of global warming and eco devastations, this film tells us all to pull together, not to be selfish because the smallest problems of today are the big problems of tomorrow. The simplicity of the film put me back in that prophetic idea that Africa is the central mother of our world. It was not by any proclamation of superiority, but the opposite; by addressing the global issues of the threat against nature by portraying it inclusively and addressing the world with it; the old, the young, rich and poor all set in the vivaciously coloured backdrop of the grand and lively Ethiopian mountainous fields. The symbolic and bold imagery was nicely animated by the Ethiopian Debo Band (I recommend a listen.)

The sci-fi: Pumzi: was visually rich and definitely took us to another world. Written and directed by Kenyan Wanuri Kahui, but produced in Cape Town, South Africa, it was the second film to address global warming and the eco devastation plaguing us. It takes place 35 years after WW III, it is a world where water is so scarce that people rely on their own sweat and other bodily fluids to recycle and rehydrate. Needless to say, there isn’t very much alive in this world. The ideas were interesting: mandatory exercise to induce sweating; people don’t speak, only type to communicate (seems kind of contemporary); and extreme control in a world that takes place under ground.

By now, having come to watch films to escape depictions of problems in Africa, I feel ashamed of that general media portrayal. Two of the first films are direct addresses to world problems, where the world focuses on the negative issues from Africa, these two filmmakers representing the BFI’s implication of “new African stories” are addressing the world through a united image, that we are all together against what may be a harsh reality to come for everyone. These films address ideas and possibilities, there was a universal maturity to these voices from the region the rest of the world refers to as ‘under developed’.

The musical: Saint Louis Blues, a feel good road movie that takes place in a car traveling from Dakar to Saint Louise. About 7 travelers and a few others, young girls, boys, men and women, each sing their own song introducing themselves telling their story of love, loss, hopes and all. This film was noted to have comparisons, or at least influences, from Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg. While there are key points that are similar, Saint Louis Blues will only bring tears of love for feel good movies (yes, I’m a sucker) – rather than Umbrellas’ tears for the drama of lost love. So, a French inspired Senegalese musical? I like the fusion.

So how satisfying was that? I went in to escape the dismal shadow the media has cast on the continent of Africa through film from different parts of the region, and came out with a renewed love for film. I blamed it on the setting – the BFI really powders us with love for the magic of cinema. But that’s just it – these three short films were so cinematically awe inspiring that their regional origin really was inconsequential by the time I left the screening. So, in short – it worked. My escape was positive. I saw three upbeat and serious films with amazing music scores, visuals and special effects and humour, and now I can’t wait to see more films from the continent, hopefully features next time!

Watch out upcoming London African Film Festival!

Les Maitres Fous

Les Maitres Fous, a Jean Rouch film made in 1954, still stands today as one of the earliest and most groundbreaking cult films in both areas of cinema and anthropology. In terms of ethnographic filmmaking, it is the first to explore a culture that is growing with urbanity, rather than the usual subjects of study: disappearing, rural cultures. It was also a turn for Rouch himself where he begins to incorporate imagination with his ethnography: the first ethnofiction, a genre that Rouch himself developed. So – having achieved a lot with this one film, I am so excited to have been able to see the original cut off the 16mm roll, a rare version with English narration by Rouch himself.

The films starts out with a run through the city of Accra, the various jobs people keep, the evening fun at the bar where one can hear calypso music through the night, and the weekend festivities. In his Rouche-esque style, still new in this early movie, he recounts with some imagined exaggerations who and what we are seeing on the screen. As we are getting familiar with the city, we are slowly shifted to an area 25 miles away, between a few trees. Soon enough, a cult of men and one woman all come together in the name of the spirit of the Hauka. There is an alter and a small icon, a man made of wood with glasses and a moustache. Rouche’s ominous voice still leads blurring the line between the reality of the situation and his humour in explaining it.

He introduces each person within his or her role in the upcoming ceremony. The ‘general’ (leader of the cult) wears a red sache around his chest. As the scene progresses we see the ceremony begin and continue. Their bodies convulse, they stand in awkward positions with legs stretched out and toes pointing upwards, they are foaming at the mouth making loud sounds and shouting. But most importantly, their actions resemble those of colonial military. They put on helmets and march with wooden guns, collecting them and putting them back on the alter. They are all clearly in a trance having walked with sticks of fire burning their chests but not reacting to it at all.

The voice over explains that a dog is now to be introduced into the séance. Eventually, they slaughter the dog, drink his blood, lick his blood, and then decide to cook it and send its meat to those who couldn’t attend the ceremony.

Once the ritual ends, the viewers are taken back to the city streets of Accra. We are then re-introduced to the member of the cult. We see them in their daily routine, at work, selling at the market, digging for the water works company, and finally, the military where the ‘general’ is a guardsman. Images of all the men and one woman we saw yesterday with foam and blood at the mouth are today people working in sunny Ghana, faces bright and smiles wide. They are soft and look friendly in contrast to the violent possession lead ceremony of the night before.

For various (and somewhat clear) reasons, the film was considered quite controversial. Most importantly, people in the Anthropology field felt it might be used as a push towards racism showing African men in a situation seen out of the ‘norm’. On the other hand, some were worried that that type of depiction of colonial figures may invite some kind of reaction. Ghana at the time was a British colony and some people found it may be offensive to the Queen and her representatives. But overall, many found it (and still do) to be a disturbing film, particularly the scenes with the dog.

The film however, is extremely rich, from the title to the commentary that Rouche spins with serious respect for his subjects, yet with a humour that puts you in a place that is light hearted despite the gruesome images audiences are witnessing.

The title Les Maitres Fous has been a source of long debate. The term ‘maitres’ in French meaning both ‘master’ as opposed to ‘servant’, but also refers to the head of a cult, a rather respectable spiritual position. The word ‘fous’, meaning ‘mad’, in that case would refer to either the mad masters they are impersonating – making a strong statement about the colonial leaders, or a comment on simply the madness of the cult itself. Rouch ends his commentary within the film by noting that perhaps the men of Accra have found a clever way to fight the madness: we are not sure which madness then, he is speaking of. Taken by those in the region of Ghana and Niger as a strong anti-colonial piece, it is left to each person’s interpretation.

The question still goes on to what extent the activities of the Hauka were indeed reactions to colonial powers of the time. According to the visual anthropologist, Prof Paul Henley, Rouch himself was contradictory about his own reflection, and eventual recollection, of what the cult were actually engaged in.