Zemi Statuette The
earliest evidences of Jamaican art come from the prehistoric times.
This is the art of the Taino inhabitants that comes in the form of
drawings, engravings, and paintings on rock surfaces and cave walls.
This rock art of the Tainos depicts, other than their mythological
stories, themes related to their daily lives such as hunting scenes,
their religious practices, their perceptions of nature, and so on.
Other than these, we also have evidences of numerous stone and ironwood
figurines and masks, supposedly related to their belief in the zemis.
During
the colonial period, art seems to have suffered a major setback as most
of the African people were traded as slaves. Even if the Jamaican
artists created works of art at this time, they were either suppressed
or considered as primitive, and hence not worthy of attention or
completely ignored. Until the middle of the 20th century, what can be
called an out-and-out Jamaican art movement was not born. It was a
revolution rather than a movement. People from all classes came
together and created powerful works of art that conveyed very strong
social and political messages.
Today, the National Gallery of
Jamaica, situated in Kingston, houses some of the finest works of art
in the entire Caribbean region. Added to this, there are also a number
of private art galleries giving exposure to famous as well as upcoming
artists. The Jamaica School of Art that was set up in 1950, became a
nexus between the Jamaican art movement and the Jamaican masses. The
school, later got assimilated into the Kingston Cultural Training
Centre, which also teaches dance, drama, and music, other than the
tangible arts.
Dance and music form an integral part of Jamaican
culture. Reggae is the most popular genre of music. Bob Marley, a
Rastafarian and a reggae artist, is regarded the most popular Jamaican
ever. He is the one who brought the Rastafari movement and the Jamaican
music to the world audience. Other singers such as Sly Dunbar, Shaggy,
Melody Makers, Shabba Ranks, Black Uhuru, and Robby Shakespeare have
won Grammy Awards in the Reggae category. Moreover, more than 30
different varieties of Jamaican dances have been identified till date,
and most of them are an excellent integration of European and African
elements.
