Who needs bananas in New Guinea?
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Material Information

Title:
Who needs bananas in New Guinea?
Series Title:
Hassan Musa Mail Art Collection
Creator:
Musa, Hassan, b.1951, contemporary visual artist
Musa, Hassan
Donor:
Court, Elsbeth
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Materials:
brown paper envelope ( medium )
Measurements:
23 cm x 32 cm

Notes

General Note:
Collection name: Hassan Musa Mail Art Collection
General Note:
Reference: MS 381333/42
General Note:
Acquisition: The donation was made to SOAS Library in June 2018 by Elsbeth Court, an academic who teaches African Art on the IFCELS course at SOAS, with the support and agreement of the artist Hassan Musa.
General Note:
Mail Art. The background is a photocopy of Musa’s well-known series of textile paintings Who needs bananas in New Guinea? with his own photo in front; both of their faces have stamp collages. The main figure is that of the entertainer Josephine Baker based on an iconic 1929 photograph. Bananas refer to Baker’s costume of fake bananas with their implied, racist, second class metaphor. Musa often reinterprets Baker who stood her ground in the 1920’s Parisian nightlife through satirical humour; he also used this rendering of Baker to revisit the parable of Suzanne and the Elders.
General Note:
VIAF (name authority) : Musa, Hassan : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/9338079
General Note:
VIAF (name authority) : Elsbeth Court : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/31767556
General Note:
Extent: 1 item
General Note:
Medium: work of art

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS, University of London
Holding Location:
Archives and Special Collections
Rights Management:
Copyright in the artwork of Hassan Musa assigned to SOAS by the artist, 2018. Copyrights persist in other images and texts. The user is advised to investigate copyrights before making any re-use of this material.
Resource Identifier:
MS 381333 ( Order with )