African-American wall art can reflect the closeness of your family.
African-American home decor can reflect the rich, earthy colors of the African continent, as well as family traditions and memories that are of special significance to black families. The wall art for rooms in an African American home can serve as both artistic attractions, like masks and photos of Africa's farm or desert landscape, and educational tools, like portraits of notable black figures, that lend inspiration and visual appeal to the space.
Generational Photos
Purchase some antique-style picture frames and fill them with sepia or black-and-white reprints of older members of your family. For instance, select an oval bronze frame to house a professional photo that your grandmother took when graduating from high school. Or use a series of silver square photo frames to adorn the candid shots of your father and his brothers and sisters as children. Contact your relatives to try to get access to pictures that are 60 and 70 years old of family members you didn't have the opportunity to meet. Try to find out whether any of these individuals participated in civil rights events, owned businesses or were direct descendants of slaves, so you can pass this information on to your children. You'll see how much you resemble some of them, and can copy the prints to place in the mahogany frames you've selected.
African Masks
Purchase African masks to hang on the wall that are specific to certain tribes to add cultural significance to an African-American home. For instance, the barkcloth chikunga masks from the Chokwe tribe are traditionally painted with white and red when they are used to initiate a king or chief, and the Chihongo mask, a wooden item with a sunken or caved-in look at the cheeks, was worn by chiefs or their sons for protection from evil spirits. These masks are dark in color, as they are painted with black resin after being carved, and will stand out against a white or light tan wall. Masks worn by those in the Punu African tribe are lighter in color, and often carved to resemble a female face. The masks that are used for festivals and celebrations are often adorned with red dots on the forehead and cheeks, and can serve as the signature piece in a room with gray walls.
Historic Black Figures
Purchase prints of notable African-Americans and house them in elegant frames before placing them on the walls of your home -- in the most fitting location. For instance, hang a print of Mary Mcleod Bethune in your home office to motivate you to study. Bethune was an educator who opened the school that is now known as Bethune-Cookman University, and was an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt, an extreme rare position for a black woman to hold during the 1930s. Or, frame a poster of author Countee Cullen for your living room if you love to read there. Cullen was a poet during the Harlem Renaissance who avoided saturating his poetry with "black" themes and focused on showcasing his talent as a writer. Choose red, black or green frames for the prints, as these are traditional hues of African pride. Red is a sign of the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, black represents the color of the African race and green is a sign of the African continent's agricultural fertility.
African-American Writings
Framing a poem or short excerpt from an African-American author who inspires you is the perfect way to include black art in a room with limited wall space. For instance, choose a frame in your favorite color to house the words of Sadie Delany after you've scribed on stock paper with a calligraphy pen: "Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." Or, print this quote by civil rights leader Andrew Young for your child's room and place it on his accent wall, inside a frame in the shade he likes best: "My hope for my children must be that they respond to the still, small voice of God in their own hearts."
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