dark times

In the dark times

Will there also be singing?

Yes, there will also be singing.

About the dark times.

-Bertolt Brecht

ethiopian artists i love

i had the pleasure recently of sitting in the parlor of my aunt's fabulous ladera heights home in los angeles one evening, listening to my dad and aunts and uncle talk about contemporary ethiopian art. i learned some pretty interesting history, along with learning about some new artists. here's a selection of some of my favorites, both new and old, working across mediums:

aida muluneh

"a strong light"

"spirit of sisterhood"

"divine comedy"

wosene worke kosrof

"speaking of time"

"we the people"

"coltrane's notebook"

"house of sheba"

elias sime

michael tsegaye

"ethiopia seen outside the box: ankober 2007"

"rainy season in addis"

"northroad"

gedewon makonnen

alexander "skunder" boghossian

kahlil gibran :: pity the nation

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, 

and that deem the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream,

yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice

save when it walks in a funeral,

boasts not except among its ruins,

and will rebel not save when its neck is laid

between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,

whose philosopher is a juggler,

and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,

and farewells him with hooting,

only to welcome another with trumpeting again.