Dark patterns are UX design techniques surreptitiously employed to rob you of your time, attention and money. But these days, it seems like the interface has become all media whose intention is to siphon off every last drop of agency, sanity and hope.
But I’ve been noticing brighter patterns, increasingly gravitating toward defiantly vibrant African expressions of art and design.
These three HelluvaNotes weave between a startlingly relevant South African art show, a brilliant Black quilt artist and an iconic who-knew-it-was-European print redefined by African culture.
The Art of Disruptions:
African Art & US Upheaval
“I felt an urgency to do this project because I started seeing these Casspir vehicles showing up on the streets of America, in the news, in protests such as Black Lives Matter. I wanted to tell our joint history with the Casspir”
- Ralph Ziman
In 2017 I saw The Art of Disruptions at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town. The landmark show, coinciding with activism milestones, featured artists' varied, powerful commentary on racism, migration, sexism, inequality and the environment.
Quilting for the Culture - Bisa Butler
"If people walk away with one thing when seeing my images, I want them to see a reflection of humanity and realize that this was always there—if you take the time to look."
- Bisa Butler
Bisa Butler is a trailblazing fiber artist whose work uniquely embodies Black Community through quilts crafted from iconic African fabrics.
I instantly connected to Bisa's stunningly vibrant and poignant art. Portraits that feel entirely new, if not prescient, yet eternally familiar at once.
African Wax Prints:
A Colorful & Controversial History
You may have heard them referred to as ‘African wax prints’ or ‘tribal’, but what you may not know is that the fabrics are usually neither made in Africa nor designed by Africans. They are actually European-made textiles certain African countries have embraced and made their own.
- Mazuri Designs
We recognise that wax print today is definitely a reflection of our own ideas, symbols, conversations, histories, many of the fabrics canonised important moments in our history as African countries
- Amma Aboagye, Afropole
We've been using wax prints for several projects with the African diaspora arts collective I’m a part of. So I put together some resources on this fascinating fabric.
I hope this was a splash of hopeful color across the stark black and white newsprint of your day. I encourage you to use HelluvaNote to share positive, inquisitive ideas with those you’d like to uplift.
Live in color,
Greg