Does Handicraft Compete With Photography?

For decades, man has presented nature in form of sculptures or photographs to satisfy his or her own needs. The creation of these two, however, requires totally different tools. Sculpting, generally referred to as handicraft, uses hands only or very simple tools to make items like wood carvings or soapstone sculptures. Photography, on the other hand, uses sophisticated , expensive equipment and light to create still or motion pictures. With changing global lifestyles, these hitherto separate arts, now literally co-exist in the same habitats like the game parks. How do these arts relate to each other?

In this article, I will restrict the discussion to situations in the East African game parks where majority of visitors (tourists)to these countries end up in, thereby making the game park a potential convergence point for african handicraft and photography. Visitors to these parks are not allowed to remove anything from the parks as exemplified by one stern warning I recently saw at Lake Manyara Game Park in Tanzania. It read "Do not take anything from the park except: Nourishment of the soul, Consolation for the heart and Inspiration for the mind". The visitors could, therefore, legally carry only photographs they had taken in the park or any of the various wood and soapstone carvings readily available at the gate. Is this enough?

To answer this question, one needs to look at these two arts more critically:

- African Handicraft: The most common forms of sculptures in East Africa generally represent human or animal form and in wood or soapstone. Wood carvings are more popular with the artisans because wood is found all over East Africa unlike soapstone which occurs only in Kisii, in western Kenya. In addition, wood being more malleable, offers less challenge to the artisan who is equipped with basic and not very advanced tools. But hardwood tends to attract more experienced and better equipped artisans because it cracks more easily than softwood. Hardwood also withstands damage by insects and weather changes better. Hardwood carvings, therefore, are not only more durable but should be of higher quality. A park visitor will , therefore , be able to choose high quality wood carvings and soapstone sculptures that represent the real thing if armed with enough knowledge. These come in many varieties,are unique and readly available. All are three dimensional in contrast to photography. Moreover, with the internet, all these products are also available online.

- Photography: A good photographer at a game park can take good still and motion pictures using very portable equipment. But the pictures are not three dimensional and require more expensive equipment to create.

African Handicraft and Photography,therefore,are like opposite ends of the same thing to a game park visitor. Used in combination and done correctly, the two arts work synergistically and should never compete with each other as they provide full and total satisfaction to the game park visitors.