Artist Statement on the 2004-2005 Kwanzaa stamp.
Daniel Minter 12-2004
It is an honor for any artist to be chosen to create artwork for a United States Postal Service stamp. I feel particularly honored to be called to the task of creating this Kwanzaa stamp. It carries a cultural significance that goes far beyond the reach of a .37-cent postal stamp. It takes with it a set of values that have been used to build communities in Africa for thousands of years, now re-woven in this country to bring us "The First Harvest" Kwanzaa: a celebration of culture and community. I think of all of my artwork as being an expression of my culture and community, so the idea of reinterpreting that to fit in a 1-inch frame appealed to me on a very personal level.
In choosing symbols to represent Kwanzaa, the number seven is primary. Seven is the number of principles in the N'guzo Saba, or the seven principles to live by throughout the year.
In the Kwanzaa stamp, I used seven figures to represent Ujima, which means community. Two mothers, Imani, which means faith, and Nia, which means purpose, are holding the community together. One is a physical mother, and one a spiritual mother. Both of them wear crowns of fabric to distinguish themselves, and atop each crown is a bird. This Sankofa bird looks to the past to understand the present, and never forgets from where it came. They are Kuumba, or creativity, ready to fly.
The other five figures look to the left, the right, forward and back, they look to each other. They are Umoja, or unity, and Ujamma, symbols for cooperative work and economics. They all wear robes that are blowing in the wind like flags, all moving in the same direction. They represent Kujichagulia, self-determination.
The colors red, black, green, gold, and yellow represent the continent of Africa. Red is for the blood that we have shed, black is for our people, green is for the land and growth, gold is for wealth and prosperity, and yellow is for the sun, or the future. The blue in the center represents the mother, the source of life, the ocean.
When these colors and patterns are displayed together on the stamp panel, they form a quilt of the sort that our mothers and grandmothers made. This Kwanzaa stamp is continuing a quilt that our grandmothers started long ago when they took forgotten pieces of a fabric and brought them together to stitch something new, from something very old.
Thank you again for the opportunity to create such an expression for such a people. And again, it has been an honor.
Daniel Minter
