Ivory Coast & N. Korea JEWELRY/ILLUSTRATION World Cup Month!


Another 2 countries! One from Africa, one from Asia.
Otros dos países! uno de África, otro de Asia.

Ivory Coast:  Traditional Jewelry (Côte d'Ivoire)


Once again I came up with traditional jewelry, in this case from Ivory Coast. I would have loved to share some insight about these pieces but I couldn't find anything about their background... I can only wonder who this gentleman and this lady are, and how is it that they ended up wearing such amazing jewelry! Are they attired for an special ceremony? What do these jewels represent? Do they have any magical/protection power? The only thing that I can clearly see is the silhouette of an elephant, the strongest and largest animal in their fauna, who is also in their Coat of Arms.
Una vez más! Me topé con joyería tradicional, me encantaría hablarte más de éstas piezas, pero no sé de sus costumbres, me pregunto quienes serán este caballero y esta dama que portan semejantes joyas!? están vestidos para una ceremonia especial? que simboliza su atuendo? tiene algún poder mágico? lo único que distingo claramente es el perfil de un elefante, el animal más fuerte y grande en su fauna, y que también está presente en su Escudo de Armas.

I found all these pics in Georges Courreges' Flickr Gallery, if you are curious like me you have to take a sneak peak and watch them all! You'll find beautiful photography from his amazing trips all along Africa.
Encontré estas fotos en la Galería de Flicker de Georges Courreges, si eres curioso como yo tienes que echarle un vistazo! verás hermosas fotografías de sus impresionantes viajes por África.

North Korea: Propaganda Illustration
 
"Let's smash them in a single blow!" (1)
"Aplastémoslos de un solo golpe!" (1)

“Let’s drive the US imperialists out and reunite the fatherland!” (2)
 "Saquemos a los imperialistas estadounidenses y volvamos a unir nuestra patria!" (2)

“Let’s extensively raise goats in all families!” (2)
"Criémos cabras con abundancia en todas las familias!" (2)

"In families let's save even a single drop of water!" (1)
"En familia ahorremos hasta la última gota de agua!" (1)

Ok, this had been the toughest one, I couldn't find any jewelry! Hmmm... I almost didn't find anything at all! I suppose it's because of the strict political system they live in, that isolates them from the internet.
Bueno, este ha sido el país más difícil hasta ahora , no encontré joyería, mmm... más bien casi no encontre nada! supongo que es por el estricto régimen en el que viven que los tiene aislados del internet.

But what I did find was their propaganda Illustration! Which I found very interesting: with powerful images, bright colors (many of them in blue and red, the national colors) and clear messages used to educate/manipulate the people.
Pero lo que encontré fue su Ilustración de Propaganda, la cual encontré muy interesante!
Con imágenes, colores llamativos (muchos de ellos conlos colores nacionales, azul y rojo), y mensajes claros usados para educar/manipular a su gente.

This should not be surprising at all since we, "free and democratic" countries are also constantly manipulated by direct or disguised propaganda. But I don't want to get political, at all! And I hope nobody gets offended by these illustrations. Let's just respect and appreciate their culture, and by doing so, their art!
Esto no es para sorprenderse, ya que nosotros, los países "libres y democráticos" también estamos estamos a diario bajo gráficos que nos manipulan directa o maquillada mente. Pero no quiero hablar más de política! Espero que nadie se sienta ofendido por estas ilustraciones. Simplemente respetemos y apreciemos su cultura, y por lo tanto, su arte!

(1) Pictures taken from Your New Reality blog
(2) Pictures taken from California Literary Review

Comments

  1. That jewelry is amazing! It's hard to imagine one person wearing so much gold. I love your blog! You have very cool pictures of jewelry from all over, my favorite.

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  2. Wow, beautiful! They are definitely royalty and I bet it's for a ceremony of some sort. As for the North Korea illustrations...haha, they really want to punch our lights out!

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