The Aesthetic Principles
(These principles were not only drawn from the work of the artists in the group but were also drawn from our inheritable art forms as an African people.)
1. FREE SYMMETRY, the use of syncopated, rhythmic repetition which constantly changes in color, texture, shapes, form, pattern, movement, feature, etc.
2. MIMESIS AT MID-POINT, design which marks the spot where the real and the unreal, the objective and the non-objective, the plus and the minus meet. A point exactly between absolute abstractions and absolute naturalism.
3. VISIBILITY, clarity of form and line based on the interesting irregularity one senses in a freely drawn circle or organic object, the feeling for movement, growth, changes and human touch.
4. LUMINOSITY, “Shine,” literal and figurative, as seen in the dress and personal grooming of shoes, hair (process or Afro), laminated furniture, face, knees or skin.
5. COLOR, Cool-ade color, bright colors with sensibility and harmony.
—The History, Philosophy and Aesthetics of AFRICOBRA by Barbara Jones-Hogu
