Customer Reviews

African Canvas: The Art of West African Women

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The most striking feature of AFRICAN CANVAS is the close up detail and large pictures of exterior and interior West African mud house design. Some pottery design is also featured. Colors are mostly earth toned because natural pigments are used. A close-up and personal look at this beautiful art form, and a good resource for folks interested in ethnology and in African design.

Margaret Courtney-Clarke takes you into the compounds and into the dwellings of African village women. The colors and forms are exquisite. The book is beautifully produced with images that bleed to the edge of the page. The subjects are depicted in naturalistic settings and Courtney-Clarke has the technical skill to capture close-ups and groups of women equally well. The book serves as a textbook of healthy human structure and movement and is all the more valuable because the way of life it depicts and the body language that goes with that way of life are becoming increasingly rare. Very highly recommended.