Pido Design Space Publications (26)
African Art in Movies
Authored by Donna Pido
African Art in Movies http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=lx&list=h-afrarts&user=&pw=&month=0603 View the h-afrarts Discussion Logs by month View the Prior Message in h-afrarts's March 2006 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] View the Next Message in h-afrarts's March 2006 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] Visit the h-afrarts home page. From: "Donna Pido" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>; List Editor: "Michael W. Conner" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>; Editor's Subject: QUERY: African art in movies Author's Subject: QUERY: African art in movies Date Written: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 Date Posted: Sun, 18 Mar 2006 08:47:32 -0500 This is a bit off the subject of African art in Man Ray's photos, but I always take note of African art objects that appear in the background in Hollywood films. My collection covers the 30s to the 80s. If anybody is interested I can put a list together. -- H-AfrArts H-Net Network for African Expressive Culture E -Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. WWW: http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~artsweb/ View the h-afrarts Discussion Logs by month View the Prior Message in h-afrarts's March 2006 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] View the Next Message in h-afrarts's March 2006 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] Visit the h-afrarts home page. From: "Suzanne Gott" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>; List Editor: "H-AfrArts [Conner]" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>; Editor's Subject: African art in movies: REPLY Author's Subject: African art in movies: REPLY Date Written: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 Date Posted:…
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- Publication Year 2020
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Categories
Authored by Donna Pido
1. Design history - including historical material and narratives that have design significance 2. Design criticism and critique (what's the diff between criticism and critique?) 3. Design comment - should be different from critique and criticism - like factual instead of opinion? 4. Design process 5. Archaeology 6. Cinema 7. Design related series - TV or other 8. Friends Posts - pubs and comments
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- Publication Year 2020
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Abstract This paper examines the ethical implications of integrating virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in educational settings. It highlights the transformative potential of virtual environments in creating immersive learning experiences while raising crucial concerns about privacy, data security, and the impact on educational values. The discussion focuses on the moral dilemmas posed by these technologies and emphasizes the need for careful consideration before their widespread implementation in classrooms.
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- Publication Year 2020
- Citations
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Stanley and Livingstone
Authored by Donna Pido
Very important for the history of EAst African Design. Tells about Stanley pitching the story to Americans and Brits that stimulated them to donate 35 minutes in -talks of Hongo 40 minutes. Slaves marched to coast 42 early 20th Kikuyu hat ff lots of Kikuyu and Maa extras 45 min Turkana shields 55 St meets Liv in Ujijii – Onward Xtian Soldiers playing in the background. Extras are Kikuyu 57 St explains the promo to Liv 1 hr – chorus singing Onwaard Xtien solds – all Kyukes 1 hr 8 min – source of the Nile 1 hr 8 min 40 sec ‘Never heard one single syllable of kindness or hope’ 1 hr 10 in Eve Kingsley’s Egret
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- Publication Year 2020
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Pido Khamala and Pido bios
Authored by Donna Pido
Martin Khamala spent his early childhood in England. He completed primary and secondary school in Kenya and earned a degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Nairobi. He taught himself animation and opened his own company, Mank and Tank gaining success in production of animated cartoons. Since 2011 he has taught animation and interactive media design, in the Department of Design, Technical University of Kenya (TUK). Martin pioneered virtual classrooms in Kenya, developing a platform of digital multimedia content delivery. He has experimented with Virtual Reality completing his Master’s Degree at the University of Augsburg, Germany in 2017. He is enrolled in a split site PhD degree program at the University of Manchester, England and TUK and is conducting field research on classroom culture in Western Kenya. Odoch Pido is the Eminence Grise of design education in Kenya having taught and influenced over 1000 Kenyan designers over the last 50 years. His profession work has focused on exhibition, product and graphic design. He is also a noted voice in the elucidation and analysis of East African culture. Many of his writings are critical looks at his own Acholi culture in the face of war and upheaval. Professor Odoch completed…
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- Publication Year 2020
A Critique of Publication Viscom in Kenya
Authored by Donna PidoAdditional Info
- Publication Year 2024
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PKP analysis of the cartoon on K and M book cover. it shows faulty understanding of indigenous knowledge
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The Brain Gyre
Authored by Donna Pido
Different circumstances have introduced us to concerns with brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation. Over ninety percent of East African secondary school teachers, from the end of the 1950s to mid 1960s, were Europeans and North Americans. The schools were cornerstones of human development in East Africa. In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Tom Mboya conceived the idea ‘American Education for African Students.’ The idea led to the first Student Airlift to the United States of America for higher education, including Barack Obama Sr., President Obama's father (JFLibrary 2024 and Google Arts & Culture 2024). Carolina said that in 1963, the Royal Society defined "brain drain" the exodus of British scientists to USA, seriously jeopardizing the British economy. The term was used much earlier than that and is still in use. Logan and other scholars say the contradiction is "reverse technological transfer" (Logan 2024) while other scholars think it is "brain mobility" since the Word economy in largely dominated the free circulation of capital, merchandise and jobs. All of these omit the simple material and professional advantages of living in a ‘developed’ country. In this paper we use ‘brain gyre’ to decribe the moblity of expertise around the world. …
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- Publication Year 2020
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Odoch Pido and Donna Pido Abstract This article arose from a series o accidental and unrelated events in the preparation and for conference on AI and ….. at the Technical University of Kenya in November 2024. The original focus on Visual Culture was diminished by the arrival of Artificial Intelligence as an overwhelming new factor in all academic disciplines. In addition, the massive retirement of academic staff at all Kenyan public universities has left a lot of curious people asking for more information on AI that no one seems to have. Our concentration on VisCult and AI have been modified to include the hot topics in the Development Field today. These are sustainability of any and all development efforts and a general, urgent concern with the development of livelihoods for an ever-growing, perhaps out of control human population. Here we try to grapple with the concepts of AI, sustainability, livelihoods and development in general in relation to our professional discipline, Design, focusing on Visual Culture. We approach this complex and dynamic mix of subjects from the perspectives of two very experienced designers, one, an experienced educator/administrator and the other a research Anthropologist. One is an East African from both…
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- Publication Year 2024
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Abstract: Designers seldom write elucidating statements about their work other than the ‘stories’ that go into the promotional press. Here the author describes how her first two quilts were made. The first was prescribed with a very definite brief - to honor Barack Obama after his first election. It was exhibited in a massive show of quilts in Baltimore and other venues across the US. The second just grew in an ‘evolutionary way starting with a small center scrap of embroidery and building organically with other scraps acquired from Nairobi’s used clothing markets. At each step in the process, new ideas and associations were made leading to a work that may appear planned but was not. It was this second quilt that won an award from the East African Women’s League for best quilt of a year in 2014. The processes of designing each quilt is described in detail including its fabrics, colors, forms, history, ideology and meaning
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- Publication Year 2020
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PKP Website Features
Authored by Donna Pido
This is a list of features we would like to include in our website. Please have a lok and let’s discuss. Our Website Free Put our publications in pre-pub form Other people pubs – links and/or summaries Visitors’ comments Put other interesting stuff- links to design related films and websites, also full docs Monetize our site – make money by pubs and products DESIGN SPACES Webinars on Design – Design Discussions Recording capability The Website should be a platform for making our articles, drafts and publications to the public Free of charge for us and viewers Put our publications Other people pubs Visitors’ comments Put other interesting stuff Monetize our site – make money by pubs and products Webinars on Design – Design Discussions Maybe Recording capability
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- Publication Year 2025
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- Publication Year 2025
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- Publication Year 2025
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- Publication Year 2025
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archaeology article A B S T R A C TIn this paper the new excavations at Klasies River main site are introduced and the first results presented andlinked with previous work, establishing a baseline for future reporting. Data from the earliest phase of the SASmember, comprising the basal SASU and SASL sub-members from caves 1 and 1A are discussed. A new U-Th dateof 126.0 ± 1.5 ka on flowstone associated with fallen tufa material within the base of the SASU sub-memberprovides a maximum age for this part of the sequence. The lowermost SASU sub-member formed most likelyaround 100 000 years ago during a period associated with increased precipitation whereas the age of the underlyingSASL sub-member is uncertain. The SASU sub-member contains in situ deposits that include hearths, incontrast to the underlying SASL sub-member that was subject to post depositional disturbance. Despite thedifferent site formation processes the lithic industry of both sub-members is similar although quartz utilization issomewhat more prominent in the SASL sub-member. The main reduction strategy involves a parallel unidirectionalconvergent method to produce quartzite blade and point blanks with rare retouch. Relatively morebrowsing fauna and riparian species, indicating more closed environments, occur in the SASU layers. The olderSASL sub-member,…
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- Publication Year 2025
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archaeology
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Ascent of Man and Connections
Authored by Donna Pido
Links to Tv series about design and human history
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- Publication Year 2025
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Turkana Design: A Roomance with Conic Sections The Turkana people are camelcattle and goat people living in North Westen Kanya. They are belived to be connected to the Karamojong Cluster of ethnic communities. Most of the Turkana's material culture is based on and or decorated with hyberboloiids in one and two sheets and with hyperbolic parabolioids, all in 2 or three dimensions. . Having studied this material culture for several decades, the author describes it and her efforts to find meanings and Turkana understandig of why they make everything from conic sections including non functional surface decoration. A small sample of baffled Turkanas have pointed our that they never noticed the phenomenon until it was pointed out to them. A great deal of research remains to be cone on the subject.
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- Publication Year 2025
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Colour, Pattern and Ethnic Identity in 20th Century Kenya By Donna Pido, PhD. Associate professor, retired, Department of Design and Creative Media, The Technical University of Kenya Abstract This article focuses on the trickle of brightly colored, durable, modular glass beads that became a tsunami by 1902 and enabled highly creative Kenyan women (and a few men), driven by the constant frenzy of change we call ‘fashion’ to develop visual statements of their own beliefs, history, ethnicity and intragroup social status. By the mid 20th century all of the many ethnic communities including the Europeans and Asians in Kenya had voluntarily and spontaneously assorted themselves with defining colour and pattern codes. There is inadequate published information on this subject. In this article/chapter, the author cherry picks what she has learned, observed and experienced through structured and unstructured research over 53 years from the Maasai, Kisii, Luo, Mijikenda, Kamba, Tharaka, Kikuyu, Kalenjin and Turkana communities. It all points in the direction of much needed further research on this definitive period in the history of Kenyan visual culture and the details of its many trajectories.
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- Publication Year 2023
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East African Art in the Fusion Period
Authored by Donna Pido
`` East African Art in the Fusion Period By Donna Pido, Associate Professor, Department of Design and Creative Media, The Technical University of Kenya, Nairobi During the 19th Century, as the colonial incursion gained momentum, three great artistic traditions began to interact.. The interactions took many forms and were driven by several forces not the least of which were force, esthetic persuasion and material change. The result was a complex set of developments that have been largely ignored and grossly under-studied because historians and other scholars have focused on linear political and eventual realities. The European mindset of self-superiority above all others and the definition of African cultures as ‘backward’ and in need of replacement has been a major contributor to the scholarly neglect of East African esthetic traditions. In this article the author examines the three grand artistic/esthetic traditions that came together in East Africa. The indigenous African, the Indian Ocean Rim and the European. After describing the three, the author discusses specific examples of continuity, elaboration and innovation, of historical significance, of communicative value, of enablement and of dissemination of the esthetic and social ideals of several selected communities from the late 1800s to the present. We can…
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- Publication Year 2025
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A Critique of Industrial Revolutions
Authored by Donna Pido
Abstract We see frequent mentions and references to what is popularly called “the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. As East Africans by birth (Martin and Odoch) and by commitment (Donna) we are compelled to take exception to our region’s exclusion from the very concept of ‘Revolution’, in general and ‘Industrial Revolution’, in particular. The exclusion is intellectually offensive because it excludes 1.8 million years of accomplishments many of which laid the foundations of later developments globally. We [the authors of this article] describe several ‘industrial revolutions’ that occurred before the late 1700s when the first accepted Industrial Revolution took place. We also describe the subsequent, so-called Second, and Third industrial revolutions postulated and reified by knowledge systems rooted in European history and culture. To this we add our collective and individual critiques of the processes that enabled colonial and religious powers to ignore, belittle and negate the seminal participation of East Africans in industrial development from the very beginning. We close with a description of some examples of the damage this has done to East African ‘development’ in general and in particular. Key words: Africa, industry, revolution, invention, innovation, discovery
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- Publication Year 2025
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Analyses of Mwoch
Authored by Donna Pido
Abstract Rationale of Study – Mwoch is an Acholi term for various poetic pronouncements. Depending on the frequency of use and popular reaction, such pronouncements can define individual identity or become community nicknames that work like national anthems. In general, mwoch are folkloric, metaphoric or panegyric statements of opinion on life; in this article, we translate mwoch as nicknames whose main cultural landscape is the Acholi of Northern Uganda. Methodology – Discourse analysis, participant observation, and interviews dating back to the 1940s were among the parameters we used. Yet, we fear that overindulgence in mainstream research methods will ‘get us stuck in a tar baby’ (Disney Walt, 1946). Findings – Though ‘getting stuck in a tar baby’ is culturally North American, it is similar to the Acholi folktale entitled ododo pa apwoyo, oculli ki won poto ngor (tale of the hare, wildcat and the owner of a field of cowpeas). The Hare and Wildcat used to steal the cowpeas; the owner noted goings-on but could not catch the culprits. The theft continued until the owner conceived and crafted a beautiful girl (tar baby) from the latex of a rubber tree and placed it in his field of cowpeas. When the…
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- Publication Year 2024
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A Portuguese Soldier in Kondoa
Authored by Donna Pido
AbstractOne differs among the thousands of figurative images painted on rock surfaces in the Kondoa Hills of Tanzania. Using The Afro-Portuguese Ivories, Benin Bronzes, visual images and historical texts, the author argues that this figure probably represents a Portuguese soldier from the 1500s to 1600s. Dating this isolated figure does not offer clues to other works in the corpus. Identification as a Portuguese soldier is tentative even though the data marshalled is extensive and very persuasive. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a rock painting that possibly dates back to the 1500s in Tanzania. The paper was developed using observation, extensive archival research, and insightful visual data analysis. The key findings of the study are that the human image conforms to European military fashions between 1498 and the mid-1600s. This analysis questions the assumption that all the Kondoa paintings are millennia-old. It provides a time frame of about 150 years for the painting’s creation.
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- Publication Year 2023
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Initiation and Health Education
Authored by Donna Pido
This article contains information relevant to studying how people deal with health challenges. It also documents dual agendas among collaborators and the community. It is a cautionary tale for planners of health and other interventions. Its late publication is connected to the life spans and public knowledge of two of the collaborators who, over time, have become neutralized. The purpose of this paper is to recount and elucidate a project to enhance the messages of initiation among Abagusii community in Kenya. The methodology was operational and experimental, intended to determine efficacy and guide future interventions. The experimental intervention was highly successful. The managers were corrupt and misappropriated the funding. Future projects may succeed with proper financial controls. Donors and project designers or implementers should find ways to ensure the integrity of their work.
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- Publication Year 2023
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The Hongo Phenomenon
Authored by Donna Pido
Abstract The authors explore indigenous East African views on the concept of 'ethics' in the context of the phenomenon called 'Hongo'. Our research problematizes the definition of ethics generated from within Euro-culture and we argue that it does not consider non-western, non-European cultures, views or beliefs. The main methodology is participant observation and examining the recorded history of Hongo, we elucidate the concept and practice of Hongo. We find that Hongo partially overlaps with the non-African concepts of bribery but also includes socially excellent gift giving in the appropriate circumstances. Thus, understanding Hongo as bribery connected to corruption tells only a fraction what it actually is. We explain a more nuanced understanding of ethics in East Africa and the role of Hongo in facilitating courteous social relations and survival strategies. This is also a contribution to the ongoing discourse on corruption and ethics. Through an alternative perspective on the authors’ unique historical, cultural, and lived contexts. The findings can inform development of policies and practices that promote cultural sensitivity and respect for indigenous knowledge. Keywords: Gift giving, bribery, ethics, gratuity
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- Publication Year 2023
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Abstract
The authors explore indigenous East African views on the concept of 'ethics' in the context of the phenomenon called 'Hongo'. Our research problematizes the definition of ethics generated from within Euro-culture and we argue that it does not consider non-western, non-European cultures, views or beliefs. The main methodology is participant observation and examining the recorded history of Hongo, we elucidate the concept and practice of Hongo. We find that Hongo partially overlaps with the non-African concepts of bribery but also includes socially excellent gift giving in the appropriate circumstances. Thus, understanding Hongo as bribery connected to corruption tells only a fraction what it actually is. We explain a more nuanced understanding of ethics in East Africa and the role of Hongo in facilitating courteous social relations and survival strategies. This is also a contribution to the ongoing discourse on corruption and ethics. Through an alternative perspective on the authors’ unique historical, cultural, and lived contexts. The findings can inform development of policies and practices that promote cultural sensitivity and respect for indigenous knowledge.
Keywords: Gift giving, bribery, ethics, gratuity
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Oppression as a Paradigmatic Component
Authored by Donna Pido
Abstract This article aims at bringing general attention to the universal human phenomenon of oppression, expressed in East African indigenous cultures and knowledge. We cannot take on the enormity of oppression as a problem; neither can we encompass, recount or analyze the enormous literature about it. We can, however, take our biology into account and examine our own experiences. We recount some history and some enlightening stories from our own lives while offering analyses and some suggestions. Our stories focus on the design of systems, activities and products. As a subject, oppression has received scholarly attention and done so for a long time throughout the world. In India, the term ‘dalit’ means 'oppressed', 'broken' or 'crushed' to the extent of losing original identity; the caste system and sexuality seem to explain the level of oppression. Political Science scholars say that communism is the main reason for leadership oppression in Russia and in countries with similar ideologies. Meanwhile, racism is often cited as the main reason why there is oppression in Australia, America and Europe. Different types and levels of poverty may explain oppression within Africa, in general, and East Africa, in particular. With the general picture from readings and using…
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- Publication Year 2023
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Kwanya and Matu, Indigenour Knowledge and Development, Technical University of Kenya
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Rationale of Study – Mwoch is an Acholi term for various poetic pronouncements. Depending on the frequency of use and popular reaction, such pronouncements can define individual identity or become community nicknames that work like national anthems. In general, mwoch are folkloric, metaphoric or panegyric statements of opinion on life; in this article, we translate mwoch as nicknames whose main cultural landscape is the Acholi of Northern Uganda. Methodology – Discourse analysis, participant observation, and interviews dating back to the 1940s were among the parameters we used. Yet, we fear that overindulgence in mainstream research methods will ‘get us stuck in a tar baby’ (Disney Walt, 1946). Findings – Though ‘getting stuck in a tar baby’ is culturally North American, it is similar to the Acholi folktale entitled ododo pa apwoyo, oculli ki won poto ngor (tale of the hare, wildcat and the owner of a field of cowpeas). The Hare and Wildcat used to steal the cowpeas; the owner noted goings-on but could not catch the culprits. The theft continued until the owner conceived and crafted a beautiful girl (tar baby) from the latex of a rubber tree and placed it in his field of cowpeas. When the two…
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- Publication Year 2024
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Making Up Maasai Culture: The Turle Fakes
Authored by Donna Pido
The purpose here is to describe, and call to attention the creation of a product line of pseudo-Maasai artifacts designed to promote some of mythologies about African culture while making money for its inventors. The three perpetrators concocted a story about mysterious objects by the Laibons (medico-religious practitioners). They hired craftspeople to make the objects from contraband animal parts and promoted stories of their great age and importance. They recruited various foreigners and Maasai to help promotion and convinced a number of museum professionals, art dealers and collectors to accept them. In 1992 they published a book (Turle, 1992) which was damned in a review (Pido, 1994). In 1997, following joint raids and arrests by the Kenya Wildlife Service and the American Fish and Wildlife Service, it was assumed that the perpetrators had been shut down. But the production and trade has continued since 1997, as many Maasai have taken them up as a lucrative art form. This has contributed the near extinction of the Maasai giraffe and several other species. The author recounts the history of these fakes and comments on their position in the art world and the economy. The methodology used was extensive archival and field study…
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- Publication Year 2023
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