>>14870752 pb
>I was looking through some White House Halloween pictures and saw this disturbing tree thing in Obama's WH. WTF?
Looks like the carving in Obama's office may be related to Tree of Life, or Ujamaa from Makonde artworks carvers of Mozambique and Tanzania.
Couldn't find that one specifically, but this listing was on the Obama gifts list, although the one pictured in office looks taller than 3 feet, as in the description - stated worth $6000 - 44. Tanzania, 2009: - 3′ tall handcarved ebony wooden sculpture. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/08/04/every-gift-given-to-barack-obama-between-2009-and-2012-ranked/
The sculptural form popularly known as ‘Tree of Life’ is called Ujamaa, and is attributed to Roberto Yacobo Sangwani, an artist associated with Peera’s workshop, whose first creation was one which depicted a group of wrestlers carrying a champion on their shoulders. As other sculptors adopted the theme, it became a genre that spoke of solidarity, mutual support, and most importantly, relationship. Ujamaa are generally tall sculptures in the round that tell stories about the interrelations of family, tribal communities and larger social entities. Its intertwined figures symbolize connectedness and mutual assistance from generation to generation, with each built upon the one preceding. It might be seen as an African depiction of a family tree, often headed by a female figure, reflecting the matrilineal structure of Makonde society. Sculptors can spend a year or more carving such intricate figures and the statues can stand up to two meters high, utilizing the complete trunk of an mpingo tree. In the 1960s and ‘70s, the Tanzanian President Nyerere’s Ujamaa Party adopted the art form as a national symbol of political unity. - https://www.blackwoodconservation.org/makonde-art/