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indeed, a distinctive world view. Today that vision has been duplicated, enlarged and expanded by individuals and groups of artists of African descent throughout the world. Moreover, the research and experimentation of these individuals and groups has led, over the past thirty-odd years, to the development and maturation of a unique international "school" or style, TRANSAFRICAN ART.

In the grand tradition of historical Africentric art, work in the blossomed TransAfrican idiom reflects a widespread commitment to the awesome* or sublime image. And, like much imagery in the dynamic progression of traditional African art, the developed TransAfrican style is basically (though certainly not universally) figurative, but with an expansive variety of approaches to the figural motif. Again, as in much Africentric imagery, innovative and improvisational approaches to rhythmic syncopated repetition of formal units (i.e., color area, shapes, lines and motifs) often dominate the organizational patterns in this highly individualized and varied work. The TransAfrican style has been aptly described as a marriage between high-energy colors, expressionistic form, universal patterns and contemporary ethnocentric symbols.

Although the body of TransAfrican work is marked by a remarkable general concurrence among artists of African descent around the world, it is punctuated by distinctive imagery based on the personal experience of the individual artist in his/her particular societal context.

*"awesome", in this context, connotes "to inspire with reverence".