Beyond Wide-Eyed Angels Contemporary Expressive Culture in Ethiopia

Peri M. Klemm ur intention in this issue is to present new research 1 Leah Niederstadt on Ethiopian expressive culture that illuminates how some of the complexities of the modern experience, particularly within the post-Social- ist period, influence art. To use a popular form of Amharic2 rhetoric as metaphor, we hope to get at the seminna werq, the “wax and gold” of art making in Ethiopia (LevineO 1972).3 This term, which refers to the lost-wax casting pro- cess, is commonly found in Amharic poetry and song and in his- torical and contemporary discussions of politics. The “wax” refers to that which is obvious; the “gold” to that which is hidden. The “wax” is the fact that Ethiopian artists produce objects despite lim- ited access to material and financial resources. In what is one of the world’s lowest ranked countries on the human development index, people from more than seventy ethnic groups struggle to meet life’s basic needs (United Nations Development Program 2007/2008:247). As we write this, thousands of Ethiopians are at risk of starvation due to famine. In a landlocked country with approximately eighty million people (the third highest popula- tion on the continent after Nigeria and Egypt), some of the hottest temperatures on earth, and great geographic diversity, droughts are inevitable (Pankhurst 1985/6). This paucity resonates among all of the country’s cultural groups and shapes, to some degree, their material and performance-based expressions. It is also obvious that specific types of artistic practices, namely those associated with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), 1 Winged angel ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie Church. Gon- have come to be equated with “Ethiopian art,” a status quo per- dar. The Church of Debre Birhan Selassie was built during the reign of Emperor Iyasu II in the second half of the 17th century petuated by academic and popular texts alike and by museum in Gondar. Its interior is covered in frescoes. The ceiling depicts displays in the West. As Raymond Silverman has argued, the many angel faces with wings sprouting from their heads while country’s myriad other “traditions of creativity” are often ignored more naturalistic images of stories of saints, Christ, and the Devil 4 line the walls below. The angels have been reproduced in count- (1999:3). For example, in 1977 Stanislaw Chojnacki wrote, “Ethio- less postcards and travel books and have come to signify historic pian art is almost exclusively religious and essentially Christian” Ethiopia in print. (1977:44). Thirty years later, the Walters Art Museum toured Photo: Peri Klemm, 1996 “Angels of Light: Ethiopian Art from the Walters Art Museum,” (opposite) an exhibition focused exclusively on objects related to the practice H2 otel wall featuring Pepsi advertisement and reproduc- of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity despite the seemingly more tion of Meskel Flower. Jimma. Throughout Ethiopia, many small hotels, restaurants, and tej baitotch feature painted walls. The inclusive title. The “gold” we hope to reveal is twofold. This issue images often represent scenes of daily life, the Ethiopian coffee presents three articles that address some of the multiple forms of ceremony, or advertisements for products such as Pepsi. One artistic expression that exist beyond the EOC and by extension, image that is frequently reproduced is that of the Meskel Flower, one of Maître Artiste Afewerk Tekle’s most famous paintings. art practices that address non-Christian traditions. The other four Reproductions of the painting have been found decorating hotels articles offer new approaches to the study of Ethiopian Orthodox in Adama, Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and Jimma. Christian art. By joining secular and sacred artforms and perfor- Photo: Leah Niederstadt, 2001

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 6 11/21/2008 10:47:29 AM mance-based expressions, fields that have rarely been examined within the same tome, we hope to offer the reader a fuller appre- ciation of the diverse cultural expressions of Ethiopia within the broader framework of African art.5 When we began to formulate this special issue, we asked our- selves: what do readers of African Art know about the artistic prac- tices and traditions of Ethiopia? Many enjoyed the first major US exhibition by an Ethiopian Orthodox church painter when “Paint- ing Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw” opened at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Many may also have wandered through “Continuity and Change: Three Generations of Ethiopian Artists” at the University of Florida’s Harn Museum during the last ACASA Triennial. And Ethiopian artists such as Zerihun Yet- mgeta (who won the grand prize at Dak’art in 1996), Wosene Kos- rof, and Skunder Boghossian have been featured in this journal. Yet the majority of artists who have graduated from what is now the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Art and Design (SFAD; for the history of this institution see Achamyeleh Debela 2007) and the rural artists working throughout the country continue to cre- ate beyond our sphere of academic attention and certainly beyond the international market for African art. focuses on circus performances throughout Ethiopia as a means Herein, seven scholars examine some of the emerging prac- of disseminating information about social challenges such as tices and the cultural structures that support artistic activity early marriage and HIV/AIDS. While contributions on dance, within Ethiopia but that are little known to the outside art world, drama, music, and ritual are admittedly lacking in this special whether academic or commercial. All of them examine shifts in issue, her discussion of children’s circuses pays homage to the art production and consumption, particularly with the advent country’s important performance arts traditions (Plastow 1996, of the post-Socialist regime (1991–present) during which Ethio- 1998, 2004) and alerts readers to the need for future study in this pia has experienced an opening-up to the West and a significant direction (see Shelemay 1980, 1982a, 1982b, 1991). increase in tourism. Elisabeth Biasio’s contribution provides a These contributions share a number of themes surrounding the comprehensive overview of the transition from church-based creation and production of Ethiopian expressive culture, themes painting to the production of canvas paintings with increasingly that are useful for discussions of contemporary practices through- secular themes for foreign clients. She refers to this latter genre out the continent. These themes include the process of commer- as “contemporary painting in traditional style” (Biasio forthcom- cialization of artistic practices, including the establishment of a ing). Neal Sobania and Raymond Silverman address the role of capitalist art market; the effects of new materials/practices and patronage and the art market in the production of innovative foreign aesthetic preferences on art production and use; the emer- Christian painting and sculpture in Aksum, former capital of the gence of middlemen; and the role of art as a means of commu- Aksumite empire and now a major tourist destination in north- nicating the social condition. These themes have been explored eastern Ethiopia. Makda Teklemichael6 highlights the lives and through careful analysis of the local, national, and global influ- works of six women painters and sculptors who work as aca- ences on artistic transformation. In all of the cases considered by demically trained artists or within the EOC tradition. Despite our contributors, we see the emergence of new art forms and, in the challenges they face, these women artists continue to create the case of the circuses studied by Niederstadt, performative prac- and survive in highly competitive male-dominated markets. Bri- tices. As artists challenge or build upon established rules and tra- ana Simmons explores the consumption and display of imported ditions, new material and performance-based expressions develop Christian chromolithographs, today increasingly used by Ortho- that hold the essence of older forms but are sometimes radically dox practitioners to construct simultaneously a religious and a altered in appearance so that, to foreign eyes at least, their connec- modern identity. While these contributors study traditions that tions to the past are not always obvious. Our contributors, then, are historically rooted in the EOC, Peri Klemm examines three have largely looked beyond the visual in order to understand why, new body arts made and worn by Muslim Oromo women near how, and for whom these transformations occur. the Islamic center of Harar. She explores how these forms satisfy When we set out to present contemporary expressive culture women’s fashion sense while reinforcing and communicating in Ethiopia, we cast a wide net: from female academic artists to cultural values. In another article on Muslim arts from Harar, young circus performers; from religious paintings produced for Belle Asante Tarsitani demonstrates how changes in economic the tourist market to imported images used by Orthodox Chris- wealth and imported materials have impacted the production tians; from beaded fashions to baskets. As artistic acts that rely and consumption of Harari basketry, which continues to serve on established traditions to express current ideas, the art these as a key marker of Harari ethnic identity. She demonstrates how papers address is work “of the time”. This is particularly impor- younger weavers are constantly reinterpreting their art as mean- tant because Ethiopia is often thought of only in terms of its leg- ings and materials shift through time. Lastly, Leah Niederstadt endary, ancient, and Christian past. This association takes visual

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 7 11/21/2008 10:47:32 AM Art Production within the Modern Historical Period As the topics covered by our contributors attest, contemporary expressive culture in Ethiopia consists of a range of forms and practices. Many of these urban and rural-based practices have been significantly influenced by socio-political events and by the influx of new ideas, aesthetic inspirations, and materials over time. We examine some of these events through the lens of three dis- tinct periods (see Nagy 2007): the imperial regimes of Emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie I (1889–1974); the Derg8 government (1974–1991); and the post-Socialist period (1991–present). Located in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is surrounded by Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia/Somaliland, and the Sudan. This territory has long been a crossroads for trade and cultural exchange between sub-Saharan and northern Africa, the Mid- dle East, and beyond. From 300 bce into the eighth century ce, the Aksumite empire dominated trade in northeast Africa and 3 Ethiopia-Cuba Friendship Memorial Park. Churchill Road, Addis Ababa. the southern Arabian peninsula; its administrative and politi- Looming in front of Black Lion Hospital, Ethiopia’s largest government hospital, cal center Aksum remains important today as the holiest city of the Derg-era monument honoring fallen soldiers was erected in 1980. In 2007, the monument was incorporated into the memorial park, which honors Cuban Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. Christianity arrived in Ethio- soldiers killed during the 1975 conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia. pia around 330 ce when the Aksumite King Ezana adopted the Photo: Leah Niederstadt, 2008 religion; Islam arrived a few centuries later. The country is home to numerically equal Muslim and Christian populations with a form in the images of wide-eyed, winged angel heads that pro- small percentage of followers of Judaism—now nearly all moved liferate in guidebooks and exhibition catalogues (Fig. 1). We to Israel—and local religions; a small, but growing, number of wanted to communicate instead how Ethiopian artists today Christians belong to Evangelical, non-Orthodox churches. Both think of themselves as contemporary actors actively engaged Christianity and Islam have been important factors in the con- with their local communities and the wider world. In order to tinued exchange between Ethiopia and the rest of the world, with make sense of the contemporary objects and performances these Portuguese missionaries, European and Asian artisans, and Mus- artists create, each of our contributors has also considered the lim traders and educators visiting various kingdoms and emir- historical precursors from which these artworks and/or practices ates in what is now Ethiopia. have emerged. Art During the Reigns of Emperors Menelik II and Haile Selassie Further, many of the contributions highlight the complex I (1889–1974). Until the nineteenth century, the Christian regions nature of contemporary expressive culture in Ethiopia, dem- of Ethiopia were ruled by a series of rival kings, princes, and the onstrating that simple explanations of artforms, behaviors, and occasional queen. As Makda Teklemichael and Elisabeth Biasio practices overlook the reality of artists’ lived experiences, the both mention, artistic production within the EOC was long work they produce, and the people who consume it. Our contrib- fostered by the desire of the aristocracy to gain political favor utors affirm that “artistic traditions are not static, but dynamic with the ecclesiastical elite and to demonstrate power, piety, and processes” (Tarsitani) and that “as objects … change through devotion to the church. When Christian monarchs of the north- time and place, meaning also fluctuates and shifts” (Klemm). ern highlands were challenged by Muslim rivals in the east and In order to make sense of the dynamic nature of art from the Oromo kingdoms in the south, the EOC became a central vehicle traditional to the post-traditional and to describe it to the reader, for the unification and mobilization of the Christian population. our contributors draw on familiar and often problematic terms By the mid-nineteenth century, the foundations of a centralized in African art history to discuss art styles and types: traditional, state power began to emerge with the rise of Emperor Tewodros contemporary, folk, popular, and tourist art, artifact, and com- II (r. 1855–68). During his reign and those of his successors, the modity.8 To her credit, Biasio provides a clear explanation of her government came to be dominated by the culture of the north- use of “popular art” and “folk art” and her conception of “con- ern Christian highlands, and even more particularly by the art, temporary painting in traditional style” while acknowledging culture, and language of the Amhara (Levine 1972). Independent the fluid nature of these categories, whereas Sobania and Silver- chiefdoms, kingdoms and, in the case of Harar, an emirate were man consciously avoid such classification. A detailed discussion incorporated into the Ethiopian empire, which defeated Italian of semantics and the applicability (or lack thereof) of Western attempts at colonization at the Battle of Adowa in 1896 and again categorization of contemporary African art is beyond the scope following occupation from 1935–41. of this introduction (see Flam 1992, Kasfir 1993, Oguibe 1993, As part of their efforts to consolidate social and economic Pellizzi 1993). While categories often have more to do with our power, particularly with regard to the periphery, Ethiopia’s nine- disciplines and approaches than with indigenous Ethiopian con- teenth and twentieth century emperors built churches and mon- ceptions of objects and practices, we feel our contributors have uments throughout the country and Emperor Haile Selassie (r. utilized terms that best help them communicate the structure of 1930–1974) erected museums and theaters in each provincial cen- specific art forms and practices. ter. He also enabled the establishment the SFAD, the Yared School

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 8 11/21/2008 10:47:40 AM of Music, and what is now the Ethiopian Tourism and Trading Enterprise. Increasing numbers of foreigners visited Ethiopia, which was often at the forefront of international news due to the Emperor’s famous speech at the League of Nations in 1936, his position as the key icon of the newly emerging Caribbean religion Rastafarianism, and Addis Ababa’s role as the base for the Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commis- sion for Africa. Recurring droughts and the growing economic disparity between the wealthy elite and the subsistence-farming majority became cause for social unrest. Reacting to what many saw as imperial neglect during famine, university students, intel- lectuals, and some members of the military began questioning the Emperor’s regime and in 1974, he was overthrown. Until the Derg regime, paintings depicting scenes of daily life, the legend of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, and warrior saints on horseback decorated public spaces like hotels and tej baitotch (honey wine bars) and were for sale in numer- 4 mulugeta Gebrekidan’s studio. Addis Ababa. A 1992 graduate of the Fine ous galleries throughout the capital (Fig. 2). Beginning in the Arts School, today Mulugeta works as a freelance graphic designer while also creating abstract paintings, many of which reflect his beliefs as a practicing early 1960s, galleries in Addis Ababa sold contemporary fine Bahá’í. Like most young studio artists, Mulugeta rents the rooms that serve as art painting and sculpture produced by graduates of the SFAD, his studio, gallery, and living space. He often shares these with sculptor Assefa who regularly traveled abroad for further study or exhibitions Gebrekidan (no relation), a colleague from the art school. Photo: Leah Niederstadt, 2008 (Achamyeleh Debela 2007, Heran Sereke-Brhan and Shiferaw Bekele 2007). Meanwhile, the capital’s tourist shops overflowed with baskets, jewelry, beads, coins, textiles, and objects made structures along roads throughout Ethiopia and depicted in from wood, horn, ivory, and bone as well as the wood panel icon murals which have since been painted over. Today, several of the paintings described in Sobania and Silverman’s article, all for sale Derg-era monuments have been appropriated and re-imagined to the increasing number of foreign tourists, expatriate residents, in support of regional state governments (Fig. 3). and Diasporic Ethiopians eager to explore the land of wide-eyed The widespread famine of the mid-1980s created worldwide angels and “thirteen months of sunshine.”9 media attention and generated a public image of Ethiopia as a Art During the Derg (1974–1991). Under Colonel Mengistu country of starving, impoverished people dominated by a cor- Haile Mariam, the Derg regime’s social and economic reforms rupt government, in need of assistance from the international and ideological restructuring dramatically affected the art scene. community, that persists to this day. An insurgency began Tourism to Ethiopia rapidly declined, causing further disruption almost immediately and in May 1991, revolutionary forces led of the country’s already unstable economic and political situa- by the Tigrai People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo tion. Many artists and theater practitioners defected to the West Liberation Front (OLF) overthrew the Socialist regime. Their and those who remained were forced to produce propaganda for success can be attributed in part to the fact that the Derg’s land the Socialist state (Geta Mekonnen 2007). The government pro- and property reforms failed miserably while the regime’s mili- moted the production of mural art and monumental sculpture tant and brutal nature alienated the very peasants, students, and as well as graphic design for innumerable political posters. As intellectuals who originally supported it. Since August 1995, the Makda Teklemichael mentions, women were prominently fea- Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) tured in such propaganda, as were peasant farmers and student has governed Ethiopia under a policy of ethnic federalism. activists, depicted as strong, committed Socialists working toward Art During the Post-Socialist Period (1991–Present). Since 1991, the downfall of the land-holding elites and proclaiming the slo- artistic practices and traditions have experienced a renaissance. gan “Land to the Tiller.” Fine art painters were encouraged to The opening up of Ethiopia to the West ended nearly two decades generate work in a socio-realist style, which was discarded when of orientation toward the former Soviet Union and its Socialist the regime fell in 1991, while church-trained artists returned to allies. Investment capital from the Diaspora and foreign corpora- producing almost exclusively for the EOC, which continued in tions began to flow into Ethiopia, accompanied by a similar resur- tandem with anti-religious communist ideals. Many fine art gal- gence in international aid. Both the commercial and nonprofit leries and boutiques closed. Dramatic arts prospered, however, sectors grew markedly as did the number of expatriate residents as theater was used to disseminate government propaganda and and Ethiopians staffing them. Therefore, the number of people Ethiopians attended en masse to demonstrate their allegiance to supporting the art community in Addis Ababa grew, as both Ethi- the regime (see Plastow 1996, 1998a, 1998b). Interestingly, few opians and ferengi (foreigners) began to patronize azmeri baitotch of the imperial-era monuments were defaced or torn down, (folkloric performance venues), contemporary fine art galleries, although many Socialist monuments were also erected, includ- and restaurants-cum-galleries. Government restrictions on the ing massive arches over the roads entering what was then called importation of goods and media were eased, allowing Ethiopi- Abiot (Revolution) Square in Addis Ababa. Images of Lenin, ans to view television programs and movies from North America, Stalin, and occasionally Marx were affixed to bridges and other Europe, and India and thus become aware of and imitate global

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 9 11/21/2008 10:47:47 AM ing as the Ethiopians who make and use them. Thus, one finds gourd containers decorated with pen tops, keys, and zippers, and radios protected and adorned with popular cloth covers and buttons. Similarly, wooden headrests, commonly used through- out southern Ethiopia to protect men’s elaborate hairstyles, are often ornately carved and include handles braided from leather or wire. New types of novelty objects made of sorghum stalks, cornhusks, mud, feathers, and cloth have been creatively con- structed specifically with the tourist art market in mind, which caters both to visiting ferengi and Diasporic Ethiopians (Fig. 5). Anyone driving along Ethiopia’s new asphalt roads is certain to see painted billboards welcoming tourists or offering educational 5 Camera and dump truck made from sorghum stalk. Konso ethnic group. Konso special wereda (administrative region), SNNPR State, Ethiopia. 2003. messages to those who pass by (Fig. 6). Dump truck: Sorghum stalk, thorns, plastic thread; Camera: sorghum stalk, thorns, green thread, black lace women’s underwear, yellow fabric. Collection Approaches to the Study of Ethiopian Orthodox of Leah Niederstadt. Models of cars, dump trucks, churches, houses and even cameras are made out of sorghum stalk held together with thorns. These objects Objects and Non-Christian Art are then sold to visiting foreigners and Ethiopians. Christian Traditions. Although historical manuscripts, icon Photo: Jessica farrell Kuszaj/Shania (Art) Mason panel paintings, metal crosses, and personal healing scrolls from Ethiopian churches and monasteries began leaving the country youth culture. Tied to all of this was the return of foreign tourists, with the advent of European visitors in the sixteenth and sev- whose numbers have steadily increased since 1991. enteenth centuries, such objects largely came to the attention With the return of foreigners and Diasporic Ethiopians, sev- of foreign scholars and collectors in the late 1960s, when EOC eral art galleries were reopened or established, including Goshu artworks began to generate considerable recognition and to Gallery, run by artists Worku and Barbara Goshu, Asni Gallery, circulate as objects of aesthetic appreciation in European and which was founded by Konjit Seyoum, and Zoma Contemporary American museums and private collections. These works were Art Center (ZCAC), established in 2001 by Meskerem Assegued. not, however, easily posited among the common museum hold- In addition, dozens of young SFAD graduates run individual and ings of African art at the time, which were comprised mostly of group studios and travel abroad for exhibitions and workshops, abstracted, three-dimensional, wooden masks and sculpture. or attend those offered by Asni Gallery and ZCAC. A few artists, Further, Ethiopia’s popular image as an ancient Christian empire including Engdaget Legesse, split their time between Europe and lacking the shared history of a colonial experience and the post- Ethiopia, while others, such as Mulugeta Gebrekidan, are based colonial conditions of its African neighbors placed—and still full-time in Addis Ababa (Fig. 4). A strong cohort of senior art- places—the country as an “other” in relation to the body of expe- ists, several of whom teach at the SFAD, continue to exhibit at rience that has shaped what most African art historians study. home and abroad while a few artists in exile have returned from Certainly it can be argued that Ethiopia’s unique history, written abroad to live again in Addis Ababa. Many of these artists were languages, and Orthodox Christian faith are atypical within a featured in the exhibition “Continuity and Change,” while Dia- broader African context. Taking this argument one step further, sporic Ethiopian artists, including Mickaël Bethe-Selassié, were however, and considering the artistic feats of Ethiopia as “non- the focus of “Ethiopian Passages: Contemporary Art from the African,” as evident by the way that Ethiopian art is classified in Diaspora” at the National Museum of African Art in 2003. many major museums, comes dangerously close to falling prey to Along with these exhibitions, “Painting Ethiopia” was pre- the same colonial-era Western arguments that Great Zimbabwe ceded by several exhibitions of EOC art, although none of these and ancient Benin bronzes were not made by Africans. While focused on the work of an individual artist and many curators ethnographers began documenting the rich and varied architec- exhibited the artworks within the context of Byzantine and/or tural and liturgical arts in Ethiopia before African art emerged as Medieval art. Several of these shows originated from the Wal- a discipline in its own right in the US, their findings, particularly ters Art Gallery in Baltimore, MD. Notable exceptions have been the analysis of the historic Christian painting tradition, were exhibitions organized by Girma Fisseha, formerly curator at the largely ignored by Africanists as “too different.” Instead Ethio- Staatliche Museum für Völkerkunde in Munich, Germany, and pian devotional images were couched in the historical genres of Jacques Mercier’s 1992 exhibition “La Roi Salomon et les Maîtres Coptic and medieval Christian European traditions. du Regard: Art et Médecine en Ethiopie.” A number of commer- Most historical investigation of artistic religious practice has cial exhibitions have also been held, including several organized been via a Western art historical approach rooted in Panofskian by London-based dealer Sam Fogg (Niederstadt 2007). iconographic analysis and explained in light of its formal rela- Aside from contemporary painting and sculpture produced tionship to European church painting. Scholars have attributed by academically trained artists and those created by artists like the motivation for the diverse assortment of intact illuminated Qes Adamu Tesfaw and others mentioned in Sobania and Silver- manuscript, religious icons, and architecture that pre-date the man’s contribution, an increasing variety of indigenous art forms eighteenth century to Paleo-Christian, Byzantine-Greek, Coptic, have been modified and commodified for local and, increasingly, Nubian, Arabic, Armenian, and Portuguese models (Bosc-Tiessé tourist consumption, for visitors find such objects as interest- and Wion 2005; Chojnacki 1983, 1989; Di Salvo 1999; Heldman

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 10 11/21/2008 10:47:57 AM 1994, 1998; Perczel 1983; Ramos with Boavida 2004). Twelfth century codices with small vignettes written in the ancient script Ge’ez are discussed in relation to their affinity to Syrian, Egyp- tian, or Armenian bibles (Perczel 1983:27). Certainly by the mid-sixteenth century, Italian paintings of the Virgin and Child were found in monasteries, with stylistic affini- ties to Ethiopian paintings and their presence affirms that Italian devotional images were incorporated into the body of Ethio- pian church relics from then onward. Iconographic similarities are also discernible in paintings from the mid-sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, known as the Gondarene Period. But 6 hIV/AIDS Educational Billboard. Jijiga. Throughout Ethiopia, painted the generalized and geometric style of Ethiopian painting, which billboards are used to present educational messages or to welcome visi- tors—particularly tourists—to various regions or historic sites. This billboard emphasizes dark contour lines, flat planes of paint, patterning, was seen in Jijiga, capital of the Somali Regional State, in early 2003. The and folds, is also unique (Fig. 7). By employing a Western art his- upper caption, written in both Amharic and Somali, reads “Protect your torical construct concerned with issues of connoisseurship, ico- family from HIV/AIDS,” while the lower text recognizes the regional state office that erected the billboard. A modern Muslim Somali family is depicted nography, stylistic innovation, and artistic genius and focusing with two sons, one holding a toy airplane, and a daughter, holding hands on “borrowed” Christian themes from Western and Byzantine with their father and mother. sources, scholars lose sight of any sense of a unique Ethiopian Photo: Leah Niederstadt, 2003 aesthetic, and by extension, the inherent African identity of the work produced by painters trained within the traditions of the to present a holistic review of Ethiopian diversity due to sev- Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is our hope that an assessment of eral factors, including the government’s agenda to acknowledge local and regional inspirations and methods drawn from Ethio- material culture as part of national heritage, the diverse ethnic pian systems of thought and aesthetics will figure more promi- background of the museum’s staff, expatriate curatorial ideas nently in future scholarship of Ethiopian Orthodox art. and, of course, the interests of the donors. Relatively few Ethi- Non-Christian Art Traditions.10 With the exception of a opians visit Addis Ababa University or ever see the exhibition, short period in the 1960s and early 1970s (when artists such as especially those from the ethnic groups most represented. For Skunder Boghossian and Gebre Kristos Desta were active in the example, the visual presence of the Oromo and other peripheral international art world), prior to the mid 1990s, contemporary groups as a living, modern people is spatially marginalized on Ethiopian painters had not received significant recognition on the campus grounds, just footsteps away from their representa- the international modern art scene. Beginning with publications tion within the IES museum, revealing the inclusive/exclusive such as Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa (Deliss 1995) nature of higher education in Ethiopia. Likewise, when Klemm and the 2003 solo exhibition “My Ethiopia: Recent Paintings curated an exhibition of Oromo, Somali, Harari, and Argobba by Wosene Worke Kosrof,” academically trained Ethiopian art- women’s costumes in this space in 2000, few students and com- ists have taken a more prominent position in the contemporary munity members from these ethnic groups saw the exhibition. African art field. Furthermore, the exceptional exhibition “Ethi- The problems of accessibility, due to limited access to higher edu- opia: Traditions of Creativity” and its follow-up publication at cation and cultural institutions, the lack of transportation, and a last brought named, contemporary, male and female Ethiopian vast and varied terrain, often limit Ethiopians’ exposure to artis- artists of various cultural groups and religions to the attention of tic practices outside their regions and by other ethnic groups. scholars in African art history and elevated Ethiopian “craft” to a The texts and exhibitions mentioned above have drawn atten- fine art standard in the process. For the first time, Tabita Hatuti, tion to Ethiopia and, in many instances, enabled a fuller appre- a rural female potter, and Amina Ismail Sherifa, an urban basket ciation of the varied creative expressions practiced throughout the maker, were paired alongside Zerihun Yetmgeta, an academi- country. While the main body of literature devoted to the study cally trained artist, and Qes Adamu Tesfaw, a now internation- of Ethiopian art continues to focus on the sacred expressions of ally recognized church painter. the Christian highlands and research on non-Christian traditions A permanent exhibition that features the material and expres- tends to be regarded as “material culture”,11 the articles by Klemm, sive culture of underrepresented ethnic groups like the Sidamo, Niederstadt, and Tarsitani contribute to a recent surge in revision- Gurage, and Oromo is now on display in Addis Ababa. The rein- ist scholarship drawing attention to the aesthetic expressions of stallation of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies Museum of eth- traditionally subordinated peoples throughout the country. In nographic objects at Addis Ababa University took place late in this scholarship, the great feats that Ethiopian school children 2002. The old ethnographic museum, installed in 1963 on the sec- study of Yohannis IV (r. 1872–89), who spread the Abyssinian ond floor of Ras Makonnen Hall, part of Emperor Haile Selass- empire northward, and Menelik II (r. 1889–1913), who expanded ie’s former palace complex, currently displays cultural objects the empire southward and defeated the Italian imperial forces at from dozens of ethnic groups in a thematic display strategy of the Battle of Adowa, have begun to be recast as a form of internal the human life cycle; the previous exhibition loosely organized colonization by scholars sympathetic to the voices of the periph- objects according to their cultural group (Saurat et al. 1989). ery. Ethnic groups such as the Anuak, Gurage, Oromo, Sidamo, Funded primarily by foreign embassies and cultural centers in Somali, and Wolaita make up a sizable portion of the Ethiopian Addis Ababa, the exhibition resulted from mounting pressure population but have not yet received equal access to political,

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 11 11/21/2008 10:47:59 AM 7 Abraham Berhane adding detail to paintings produced by his father Haleqa Berhane Gebre Iyasus. Aksum. A church-trained painter, Haleqa Berhane Gebre Iyasus is training his eldest daughter Selam and his sons Abraham and Danielto paint. In doing so, he is following the apprentice-based system discussed by Biasio and by Sobania and Silverman (this issue). In 2005, Selam and Abraham were both allowed to add details to paintings produced by their father, while Daniel prac- ticed sketching. The dark contour lines, patterning, and folds so characteristic of Ethiopian Orthodox Church art are clearly visible in the works depicted. Photo: Leah Niederstadt, 2005

whitewashed of white influence (Beckwith and Fisher 1999, 2002; Beckwith, Fisher, and Hancock 1990). A body of literature on representation and political con- sciousness in Ethiopia has crystallized around two opposing forces: those in the ruling Abyssinian core of highland Christian Ethiopia and those on the periphery. Important texts devoted social, and economic power. Asafa Jalata views Oromo national- to the latter have brought to light a wealth of material on cul- ism, for example, as “a program of national liberation” grounded tural and socio-political institutions, the development of politi- in “the common experience of colonial oppression” (1998: 27). cal consciousness, and the experience of these marginalized In the popular imagination, however, Ethiopia carries with it groups within the Ethiopian empire (Donham and James 1986; the image of a unified African monarchy that defeated multiple Lewis 1983; Fukui and Markakis 1994; Baxter, Hutlin, and Tri- attempts at European colonization and “offered a resplendent ulzi 1994; James 2007; Freeman 2002). Scholars are now docu- symbol of Black Power” (Lewis 1983:4). When Ghana gained menting the challenges faced by underrepresented groups who independence in 1957, Nkrumah and his council modeled the are not predominantly Christian, who do not follow the culture new Ghanaian flag with the red, yellow, and green stripes of the of the northern Christian highlands, and who have been largely Ethiopian flag in an attempt to create a pan-African symbol. Ras- ignored or stifled by the EPRDF in their struggle for self-deter- tafarianism, especially in the Caribbean world, advocates Ethio- minacy (Freeman and Pankhurst 2003). pia as the biblical center of African civilization and a symbol of Yet, with relatively few exceptions (see Freeman 2002, James unity and strength against colonial supremacy. For the broader 2007), this research has paid little attention to related artistic African Diaspora, Ethiopia, as a country free from Western manifestations. The articles in this volume on the Oromo and political domination, has become an image of hope and free- Harari and on the multi-ethnic representations of Ethiopia’s chil- dom. During the Italian Occupation (1936–41), for example, dis- dren’s circuses extend recent challenges to the representation of placed Africans worldwide organized public protests and tried to the country as a homogenous ancient Christian center and of its enlist in the Ethiopian army. Beyond serving as a symbol of Black material heritage as a product only of the EOC. The remaining Power, Ethiopia has also become the model of “authentic” Africa contributions explore artistic practices of the EOC from a new through the photographic gaze. In the pages of African Arts and perspective that considers these as contemporary expressions with elsewhere, many of us have engaged in critical debate concern- a strong emphasis on the effects of the art market and on personal ing the most widely disseminated images of Africa’s people in the agency. In a single issue of African Arts it is, of course, impossible coffee table books of Carol Fisher and Angela Beckwith and the to cover the variety and vibrancy of forms and practices of expres- photographers they have inspired, some of whom are of Ethio- sive culture in Ethiopia. This special issue is but a step in the right pian descent (Appiah 1999; Klemm 2007; Roberts 2001, 2008; direction and, ironically, a return to the early days of the journal Turton 2004; Viditz-Ward 2000). They have done more perhaps when numerous articles focused on Ethiopian art, albeit that of than any of us in establishing an image of Ethiopia that consists the EOC.12 It is our hope that all of the contributors—to whom we largely of the coy smiles of exotic, lip-plugged young women in extend our thanks for their efforts—will continue their research opulent beadwork and body paint, virile, semi-nude young men into contemporary expressive culture in Ethiopia and that, per- with hair mudpacks and feathers, and innumerable rural scenes haps, others will be inspired to join them.

Notes using diacritical marks and into a form that renders them Silverman 1999. 1 We use “expressive culture” here to refer to aesthetic easily readable and that approximates as closely as pos- 6 For the large majority of Ethiopians, their second practices in the broadest sense: the visual and invisible, the sible the way in which they would be pronounced in their name, what we would consider a surname or family name, secular and the sacred, the material and performative. original language. The exception is proper names, which is that of their father. In Ethiopia, individuals are referred to 2 Under the current regime, regional state govern- are often transliterated differently, depending on personal by their title, if applicable, and their first name. Therefore, ments operate in the dominant language of their region. preference or historical precedent. For example, the name throughout this issue, contributors have referred to Ethiopi- Ethiopia’s national language, however, remains Amharic, “Mariam” may also appear as “Maryam.” ans by their first name, sometime with accompanying title, the language of government and education during the late 4 It has now been over a decade since Ray Silverman along with their father’s name or by their first name alone. nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. curated “Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity,” which opened at 7 In their forthcoming article, “Ethiopian Traditions 3 A number of systems have been developed for the Michigan State University Museum in 1994 to accompany of Creativity: ‘Art’ or ‘Handicraft’?” Silverman and Sobania transliterating the Ge’ez script, commonly referred to as the Twelfth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. explore the usefulness of the terms “popular” and “folk” fidel, into the Latin alphabet, but no standard yet exists. 5 Work that addresses both Ethiopian Orthodox when discussing Ethiopian art. We have chosen to transliterate these languages without Christian and non-Christian art include Perczel 1983 and 8 An Amharic word meaning “committee”, Derg is

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10A17_AMM401_p6-13.indd 12 11/21/2008 10:48:05 AM the popular term used to refer to the Socialist regime. ______. 1989. “Notes on the Ethiopian Traditional Art: Oguibe, Olu. “Book Review of Africa Explores.” African 9 The slogan, which was coined by Ethiopia’s first The Last Phase.” In Proceedings of the Eighth Interna- Arts 26(1):16–22. Minister of Tourism Habte Selassie Tafesse in the early tional Conference of Ethiopian Studies, ed. Taddese Pankhurst, Richard. 1985/86. The History of Famine and 1960s, refers to the fact that Ethiopia operates on an annual Beyene, pp. 52–72. Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Epidemics in Ethiopia Prior to the Twentieth Century. Addis calendar of twelve months of thirty days each and a thir- Studies, Addis Ababa University. Ababa: Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. teenth month of five or six days. Deliss, Clémentine. 1995. Seven Stories about Modern Art 10 We recognize that we fall prey to some of the same Pellizzi, Francesco. 1993. “Book Review of Africa in Africa: An Exhibition. Paris: Flammarion. problems of categorization we discussed earlier by dividing Explores.” African Arts 26(1):22–26, 28–29, 95. our discussion of contemporary Ethiopian art into “Chris- Di Salvo, Mario, ed. 1999. Churches of Ethiopia: The Perczel, Csilla Fabo. 1983. Ethiopia: Folk Art of a Hid- tian” and “non-Christian.” We are not, however, attempting Monastery of Närga Selläse. Milan: Skira Editore. den Empire. La Jolla: Mingei International Museum of to indicate a distinction between sacred and secular. As Donham, Donald L. and Wendy James, eds. 1986. The World Folk Art. Biasio and Sobania and Silverman have shown, Christian Southern Marches of Imperial Ethiopia: Essays in His- painting can be used in sacred and secular contexts depend- Plastow, Jane. 1996. African Theatre and Politics: The tory and Social Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge ing on by whom, for whom, and for what reasons artworks Evolution of Theatre in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zimba- University Press. are commissioned or purchased. The same can be true for bwe, a Comparative Study. Amsterdam: Rodopi. non-Christian traditions and artforms. Thus, as we use Flam, Jack. 1992. “Exhibition Review of ‘Africa ______. 1998. “Making Theatre for Change: Two Plays them, the categories of “Christian” and “non-Christian” are Explores.’” African Arts 25(2):88–90. of the Eritrean Liberation Struggle.” In Theatre Matters: intended to reflect differences in artist training and subject Freeman, Dena. 2002. Initiating Change in Highland Performance and Culture on the World Stage, eds. R. matter, rather than a distinction between sacred and secular. Ethiopia: Causes and Consequences of Cultural Transfor- Boon and J. Plastow, pp. 36–54. Cambridge: Cambridge 11 At the 15th Conference of Ethiopian Studies in mation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. University Press. Hamburg in 2003, art historian Klemm’s paper on Oromo women’s personal arts was placed within the Anthropol- Freeman, Dena and Alula Pankhurst, eds. 2003. ______. 2004. “Dance and Transformation: The Adugna ogy panels while Sobania and Silverman’s paper on patrons Peripheral People: The Excluded Minorities Of Ethiopia. Community Dance Theatre, Ethiopia.” In Theatre and and artists in the Highlands was placed in the Arts section. London: Hurst. Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage, eds. R. Boon and J. Plastow, pp. 125–54. Cambridge: See Sobania and Silverman (forthcoming) for a critique of Fukui, Katsuyoshi, and John Markakis. 1994. Ethnicity Cambridge University Press. conference categorization. and Conflict in the Horn of Africa. London: James Currey. 12 Jeremy Coote, personal communication, July 2008. Ramos, Manuel João, with Isabel Boavida eds. 2004. The Geta Mekonnen. 2007. “Beauty and the Beast: Art Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art: and Dictatorship in Socialist Ethiopia, 1974-1991.” In References Cited On Portuguese-Ethiopian Contacts in the Sixteenth-Sev- Continuity and Change: Three Generations of Ethiopian enteenth Centuries. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing. Achamyeleh Debela. 2007. “The Addis Ababa Fine Arts Artists. ed. Rebecca Martin Nagy, pp. 30–35. Gainesville, School: A Critically Important Institution in the History FL: Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. Roberts, Allen F. 2001. “Review essay, African Cer- of Ethiopian Art.” In Continuity and Change: Three Gen- emonies (1999) by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.” Heldman, Marilyn and Roderick Grierson, eds. 1993. erations of Ethiopian Artists. ed. Rebecca Martin Nagy, African Arts 33(3):10–12, 93–94. African Zion: the Sacred Art of Ethiopia. New Haven: pp. 8–17. Gainesville, FL: Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. 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