African art, with its striking and imaginative themes, has had a tremendous influence on contemporary art and design. The motifs in this rich collection of traditional African designs reflect the vigor and spirit of this dynamic and expressive art form.
Stylized lions, birds, fish, alligators, and other animals; totemic figures; and abstracts, geometrics, zigzags, and border configurations are just a few of the subjects carefully adapted by artist Gregory Mirow from shields, masks, jewelry, textiles, wall paintings, carved panels, fans, rock paintings, leather work, gourds, and other sources. Over 200 designs, boldly rendered in black and white, include authentic motifs and art from many different African countries, among them Dahomey, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, and others.