12 June 2015
As the 19th turned to the 20th century, an Italian invasion force in northern Ethiopia hid under the cover of darkness. They were camped in an open steppe, strategically sound, except for a high plateau that rose sharply to the north. Nonetheless, they stirred uneasily at their posts. Scouts reported the area was secure, and that any hostile force would have to march all night and half the ...
01 May 2015
As dawn broke over the crests of the Andes, the silhouette of a lone traveler navigating a high ridge was no more than a speck. An alpaca followed at his heels bearing several packs, blankets and wedding gifts. Slowly, the pair descended deeper into a valley dotted with plowed fields and windowless houses made of thrush. The year was 1808 and unrest was growing in many areas of colonial So...
20 March 2015
In a small nameless village among the grasslands of southern Burkina Faso, farmers were already hard at work in the fields while the morning sun was still low in the sky. It was planting season; and every available hand was busy plowing the earth, sticking seeds in the ground, and working in unison on what everyone agreed was back breaking work. Even young children helped by chasing away p...
09 January 2015
You’re in a cave and it is pitch black. There is no sense of direction, distance or boundaries. You’re alone with yourself and your imagination. You can’t decide if it’s comforting or terrifying. You light a gas lamp and suddenly you spot small white dots in the blackness; first one, then more, some round, others oval. Are they shells? You reach out and touch one,...
02 January 2015
During the early 20th century African art began impacting the western art world when a group of artists known as the School of Paris friends began incorporating certain elements into their works. Their names and artworks are now promoted by first rate auctioneers across the world: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Joan Miro, Constantin Brancusi, among others. It’s no s...