Finis
Self Evident Truths
By
Christopher Hyland
O
n the previous page, a life-sized statue created
by a Dogon tribe member accompanies a quote from
American Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), a free
African-American astronomer, surveyor, almanac author,
mathematician and farmer.
It has been suggested that Banneker���s father came
from the Dogon tribe, a tribe known for its knowledge
of astronomy as contained in its oral history, accounts
from which commonly reference the stars and visitors
from beyond Earth. Not surprisingly, therefore, Dogon
figurative art contains a recurring posture: hands raised
towards the heavens, as in the case of the Dogon statue
shown here.
At a time apart from the creation of the above Dogon
statue, Banneker sent Thomas Jefferson a copy of his
almanac, a work aligned in temperament with that of the
sculpture and Dogon history. Banneker���s interaction with
Jefferson extended further and with great resolve, much
like that expressed by the statue. He wrote to Jefferson
HYLAND
