tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post3458108809290062811..comments2024-03-14T05:19:03.379-05:00Comments on Koranteng's Toli: Bags and StampsKorantenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-52077438204739196292009-06-30T03:20:33.617-05:002009-06-30T03:20:33.617-05:00Hi Koranteng, you have no idea what sentiments wer...Hi Koranteng, you have no idea what sentiments were sparked in Ghana when Louis Vuitton showcased this bag. For most fashionista Ghanaians, it was another colonial invasion rip-off saga. But then again, we are used to claiming total ownership of what is originally borrowed and abandoning what is truly ours. <br /><br />Not that many people know that Java Wax Prints, GTP cloth, Vlisco or whatever you call them are actually not Ghanaian or African in origin but hey, that's another story. <br /><br />Sorry to hear Senam got dribbledAfricaShowBoy's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13693033268172063814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-46227300591816427582008-04-03T16:45:00.000-05:002008-04-03T16:45:00.000-05:00Greetings from New York. Just letting you know tha...Greetings from New York. Just letting you know that the local department store Pearl River has blogged about the Ghana Must Go (though we know it by a different name here in the Chinese community). We referred to your analysis of the bag's cultural-historical context. The post is written in a whimsical tone, but we tried to be meticulous about citing your research, in light of the previous scandal involving the infamous Liz Hunt. Good luck!<BR/><BR/>http://pearlriver.com/blog/?p=7Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-79090625133749818072007-09-27T08:57:00.000-05:002007-09-27T08:57:00.000-05:00Very exciting read, thank you so much - merci beau...Very exciting read, thank you so much - merci beaucoup!<BR/>I come from Liège in Belgium, were we had so many people coming from Ghana in the late eighties / early nineties; most of them went to live elsewhere, but I'm sure some stayed, even though the english spoken in Liège is quite rustic.<BR/>My sister, who is a big user of that kind of bags, calls them "flight cases"; she herited the name from other people. There is an evident tongue-in-cheek reference to the total incompatibility of the bag with norms of in-flight (cabin) luggage. Together we even spoke once of the possibility of a future day of glory for this ubiquitous and sad object. <BR/>Months ago, when I first saw the Vuitton bag, in a magazine, then on the net, the image of the runway was so small it was impossible to decide whether the bag was a leather version or a real bag, used as a ready-made prop(Thanks Marcel Duchamps!)in a ready-to-wear collection. You guess what I did then : I googled-imaged 'plaid bag', like you do in your post, and I came across so many flight cases, but no allusion to the Vuitton one.<BR/>Later on, close-ups of said bag filled the fashion blogs and my question was answered. About 2 square meter made of leather woven in a tight and light sheet, for a bag that rests on the floor when you try to carry it (we're quite short in the family). For a bag that I can hide in! For a bag that always seems too expensive when it's made of plastic! For a bag that even the models already knew!<BR/>Thank you for putting the whole thing in perspective, yours is an article well worth a double page in the french paper 'Liberation'. (if only I was the editor there !)<BR/>HélèneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-52585429876398738942007-06-13T10:06:00.000-05:002007-06-13T10:06:00.000-05:00These bags are indeed increasingly ubiquitous, as ...These bags are indeed increasingly ubiquitous, as is their pattern. But even in China, it was the peasants that were the initial users, the promoters and the inevitably stereotyped. It's almost like a low end theory with an inexorable move up from the bottom of the pyramid of our societies.<BR/><BR/>The naming is a very interesting matter. The bags only acquire their distinctive names as ironic commentary on immigrants or downtrodden. Elsewhere, they are nameless and merely functional. <BR/><BR/>Historical memory is a funny thing, at climactic moments we latch onto symbols that resonate in their ubiquity. These bags are great repositories in this respect. I wonder if they do have other names in Latin America and East Asia or if they are simply without identity. <BR/><BR/>For further fodder, I've noted some more bags to add to the photographic collection: <A HREF="http://www.elia.ws/blog/vuitton_incorpora_bolsas_de_refugiado_a_su_coleccion/" REL="nofollow">Elia</A> and <A HREF="http://www.caribbeanfreeradio.com/blog/2007/06/12/this-and-that-tuesday-evening-in-tobago-edition/" REL="nofollow">Georgia P.</A><BR/><BR/>And on a different angle, I came across another bag lady this past weekend, one who fashions her bags out of recycled banners and garbage, the artist, <A HREF="http://jennyhurth.com/" REL="nofollow">Jenny Hurth</A>. It's not plaid but it is a similar rescuing of memory. I hope she can connect with Senam at some point. They should have much to discuss.Korantenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-75983184212773459042007-06-13T09:23:00.000-05:002007-06-13T09:23:00.000-05:00I have seen these types of bags in Chile, Peru, Ar...I have seen these types of bags in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China. <BR/><BR/>Over the several decades, that material in various stripe and plaid patterns has become so common in China. I have seen it there used to shade market stalls, made into large sacks to carry fish and crab, used as boat covers, draped over the back of cargo trucks and even as curtains in windows of shops and homes. Luggage made from that material is seen in every train station and airport in China.<BR/><BR/>I see the Louis Vuitton bag as an artistic statement on the global ubiquitousness of this patterned material.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-33238887938408835392007-05-14T00:08:00.000-05:002007-05-14T00:08:00.000-05:00This is interesting Koranteng. It would be one thi...This is interesting Koranteng. It would be one thing if the 'ghana must go back' was appropriated by Louis Vuitton, but the fact that Senam did similar artwork prior makes it even more frustrating and sinister. Intellectual property- who owns it? Modern Travellers: Ideas, People, Cultures, Plants, Objects moving in Markets.orchid loverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14354823174262080557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-21039047080728289762007-05-08T14:09:00.000-05:002007-05-08T14:09:00.000-05:00Cheers Senam,For some reason I omitted to send a l...Cheers Senam,<BR/><BR/>For some reason I omitted to send a link to you, I'm glad you came across this bit of toli. And yes, "we wuz robbed" and quite blatantly too. The thing these days is that Google is <A HREF="http://www.google.com/search?q=louis+vuitton+plaid+bag" REL="nofollow">the great equalizer</A>. We're all telling our stories in whatever medium. The conversation cannot fail to move in our direction.Korantenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280138409675883100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-30903404524891590502007-05-07T23:40:00.000-05:002007-05-07T23:40:00.000-05:00koranteng,I've been working on these bags for 7 ye...koranteng,<BR/><BR/>I've been working on these bags for 7 years, read your blog and was blown away, I allways thought Louis Vuitton ripped me off, but thought it was my fragile artistic ego taking over... Sent the link to an academic friend. Her reply was , " who is this guy, he has a day job? I'm giving up academia to be a pastry chef! " <BR/><BR/>Looking forward to the next installment..Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677348977571125952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-54128079089711114202007-04-23T13:51:00.000-05:002007-04-23T13:51:00.000-05:00This was a fun read; thanks! Erykah Badu has a Gha...This was a fun read; thanks! <BR/><BR/>Erykah Badu has a Ghanaian heritage? I looked into it once (because of the "Badu")but never found anything that suggested as such...even obliquely. Her last name was Wright before she changed it...not to say that being called Wright per se is anathema to Ghanaianhood! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-45364444474108765492007-04-17T18:46:00.000-05:002007-04-17T18:46:00.000-05:00Congratulations you have been labelled a thinking ...Congratulations you have been <A HREF="http://www.niiparkes.com/weblogue/2007/04/he-what-he-stinks.html" REL="nofollow">labelled</A> a thinking blogger :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760502131997973912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7618276.post-37216810929779338542007-04-17T13:30:00.000-05:002007-04-17T13:30:00.000-05:00Here in SA they have a new variation on these bags...Here in SA they have a new variation on these bags so instead of the boring old stripes we have bags with shiny maps of Africa, elephants, soap powder and all sorts. Your post just reminded me that I must go and buy a couple before I leave - if I make it will take some photos and post them up:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com