Special Edition in Honor of African Art Exhibit OPE COLLEGE anc or OLLAND, MICHIGAN LXXIII—15 Hope College — Holland, Michigan February 14, 1961 Show Brought by Rolf Italiaanden Famous Exhibition Author, Traveler, Lecturer, Art Connoisseur T h p ®" Rolf Italiaander was born in 1918. He is a Dutch national hut atUyuled high school and universityv in various European countries. AC the age of 15 he was the World's youngest glider pilot. When he was 19 he visit- ed Africa for the first time and made an adventurous trip all over the Sahara dessert (1938). Since then he has carried out eleven major expeditions through Africa. His experiences in Afri- ca range from visits to Dr. Schweitzer in Lambarene to the fighting of Mau Mau in Kenya. He knows most of the important African personalities such as President Bourguiba (Tunisia), President Nassar (Egypt), Tom Mboya (Kenya), Dr. Banda (Nyassaland), Lumumba (Bel- gian Congo), Dr. Olympio (To- goland). Dr. Nkrumah (Ghana), Sekou Toure (Guinea) and the Nigerian Prime Minister, etc. He was exploring in the high- forests in Central Africa and lived with the pygmies. His trip in 1958-59 took him through West and Central Africa until Timbuktoo. In 1960 he returned to Africa for a visit to the Sahara dessert. Italiaander is one of the few men who have been travelling in Africa for more than 28 years. He knows about nearly all African countries. Because he lived and worked there, he is one of the few outstanding experts with long experience to his credit. The Author: Italiaander has written more than thirty books, seventeen of them about Africa. His writings mark him as a prolific and high- ly individualistic author. His book about Dr. Schweitzer is a best seller in the Netherlands and in Germany. His book "The Restless Con- tinent" is the standard work about the history and economy of Africa in Dutch and German speaking countries. His newest book, "The New Leaders of Africa" will be published in June 19()1 by Prentice Hall in New York. He also made rec- ords of African music and fairy tales, which are published by record clubs. The Lecturer: Rolf Italiaander is famous as a lecturer in the Netherlands, in Germany and in Austria. His lectures are well attended and he is one of the few lectur- ers in those countries who is able to attract large audiences. The press and public praise his platform manner, his humor, and his excellent command of the subject matter. His Collection of Contemporary African Art: During 28 years of travelling in Africa, Rolf Italiaander has collected a wealth of material providing information about the artistic achievements of the present-day African population. A selection of the most interest- ing pieces from the fields of painting and etching and some ceramics will be shown in an exhibition. Italiaander's collec- tion has been exhibited in the best museums of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, in the the Museum of Ethnology in the Castle of Vienna and the Gallery of Linz, in Paris and Moscow and in many placds in Germany, for instance in African Art Exhibit, held now in the Commons Room of Westsern Theological Seminary, is being shown for the first time in the United States. The The birds in the air you can not cook into your vegetables. exhibition, brought here by pro- fessor Rolf Italiaander, visiting Professor of African History, is open from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. today through Thursday, Febru- If you have 5 women you have 5 tongues. ary 1(5. Admission is free for students. Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.. Professor Italiaan- der will deliver a lecture on Contemporary African Art to If you have bad friends you are bad yourself. Professor Rolf Italiaander examines an old piece of sculpture made in former French Guinea. the I. R. C. This lecture will be primarily concerned with Italiaander's art collection and his experiment with African artists. Witches are no virgins. Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Solingen etc. His collection will be available from January until June 19G1. The collection is aa suitable for exhibitions in Museums of mod- ern art and Museums of Eth- nology as in Universities and Art Clubs. Africa Must Be Understood Why try to understand Africa? The answer to this question is, not only, to teach "those poor heathen savages the good life". No, the motive is much more selfish. Tt could be stated bluntly as the preservation of the white race. As can be seen all over the United States, race relations are not at their best. Here in Ameri- ca this fact does not really alter the white man's security. After all the white-black ratio is 9-1. There is safety in numbers. How- ever, as we all know, the world is very small today, and when we look at the white-color ratio of the world we find it 2-8. It is not possible to rationalize ourselves out of this situation by saying that the majority of these people are backward and have little to say about the world situation. They are busy finding food to eat. A quick look at the United Nations will refute this idea. Forty-four out of the ninty-nine votes are controlled by the Asiatic-African bloc. Africans Step Toward Independence For centuries the white man has controlled and exploited the black. This can not continue. Professor Italiaander says, "The African people 'woke up' during World War I owing to the many errors committed by the white man. During the Second World War they started their steep upward way with the aim of absolute inde- pendence from the white man, and nothing will prevent them from going this way to the very end." Relations between the white's and colored can improve only through mutual understanding. Because of the many errors the white man has made in the white-black relationship, it is the white man who must take the first step toward this understanding. This step toward understanding is also a step toward universal Christian brotherhood. The African art, now being shown, developed along with the independence movement in Africa. The paintings are "expressions of a continent which entered a decisive new epoch of its history". Italiaander stated, "Art is always the mirror of the soul of a race and of a people." L. H. Chief ftbafemi Awolow, leader of the Parliamentary opposition in the Federation of Nigeria, and Professor Italiaander discuss Italiaander's "History of Africa". If you are against the egg you are also against the chicken. t