YINKA SHONIBARE, MBE. “Black Gold Toy Painting 6,” 2006.Acrylic paint on Dutch wax printed cotton canvas. 38 1/2 X 41 inches.

Unfortunately, many Americans’ knowledge of African culture and society extends only as far as “Oh, it’s that place that Bono went to right?” and such enlightened familiarity. “The Global Africa Project” at the Museum of Art and Design (on view through May 15, 2011) sought to remedy this ignorance of Africa’s great and diverse artistic influence by exhibiting not only works and artists of African origin, but also works influenced by traditional African style and art. The exhibition featured many examples of different varieties of visual artwork, from wonderful paintings to professional, stylistic photographs to installations with sight and sound factors. Fashion and design projects were also prevalent, with innovative chair and table designs positioned carefully throughout the gallery, bright colorful dresses adorning figurines, and brightly lit lamps and chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.

Yet out of all these wonderful pieces of art, several works stood out above all. A painting by African-born and UK resident Yinka Shonibare, “Black Gold Toy Painting”, was a canvas drowned in a sea of thick, black acrylic paint, with big gold swirls jutting out from the edges. Toy soldiers and airplanes impaled on wooden sticks bordered two sides of the painting. In the artist bio, Shonibare explained that the painting expressed his viewpoint of our world’s dreadful dependence on oil, as well as presenting influences from both his African and English backgrounds.

Although Africa is not riddled with war and brutality as many people think, civil wars have happened, most of them spurred on by the search for freedom. The Mozambican Civil War raged in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992, resulting in the deaths of 900,000 people and displacement of 5 million more. Gonçalo Mabunda attempted to erect a sort of memorial to these fallen souls, and to remind us of the real inhumanity of war, to make us-the general population-face the truth and realize how disgusting it all is, with his “The Hope Throne”. This work’s name seems sort of ironic at first, as it is very much a throne, but at first glance it looks to be a throne fit for Ares rather than a hopeful, peaceful king. A large throne made of deactivated, rusted weapons and armament welded together to create an iconic and an impressive piece. The items that are included in this giant chair’s construction are for the most part separated rifles and rows of bullets, but a ragged, torn up, combat boot encircled in rifle rounds and even an RPG round can be seen as well. The work’s purpose is to show the gruesome weapons of war and warn future generations against taking such measures against fellow man; its aim is to promote peace through presentation of the cruelty that war demands. “The Hope Throne” is a beautiful and powerful piece, with a strong message.

The exhibition presented countless fantastic examples of African artistic influence from all around the world and really showed how important the African culture is to the workings of the world. It put Africa and its people up on the pedestal that it truly deserved, and showcased fantastic works of art at the same time. The “Global Africa Project” was an amalgamation of eye-catching art, and it also acted as an eye-opener for both the well-informed and familiar individuals, and the more ignorant and unaware museum-goers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.