It amazes me how we almost never ever see each other…yet you touch my life on a regular basis, both positively and negatively. Even when you touch my life negatively… I always believe there is a positive outcome, as we always strive to overcome our issues together.
I can feel the ancient drums beating my soul, I am you and you are me, you make me love everything in me. I know you are full of talent, a talent which has not developed to its fullest capabilities. I wait for the day you rise once again!
You are…
Pure brown earth, you are the origin of my being. You are my mother, you are my uniqueness, you are my root, you are my beliefs, you are my principles, you are my culture…dark you are and yet lovely…you are my Africa!
They call me black, they called me baria; I am African!
They ask me where to stand. They ask me to ‘code-in‘ myself. I am but ‘a tick mark’ for them, as if a checkbox could describe my whole being!
You are my tag, you are my sign, you are my convention, my cipher, my private language, my secret code. Africa, you are my DNA!
That was what we wanted to delve into when we started out on paper for our third concept of the current release of Bernos T-shirts. The spirit of being African can not be described by neither a couple of sentences nor by a painting but we wanted to say ‘Africa is my brand.’
A mesh of a 21st century sticky tag and our soul ‘stomped’ upon us. We hereby proclaim this concept Afrocode.
We’ve coded it, sealed it and delivery of the Bernos Afrocode on Army American Apparel Tee is scheduled.
By Wednesday, you can expect the 2nd reiteration of Addis Ababa Classic on AA’s Ringer Tshirt, as well as the Bernos’ Awaze Hot concept to be ready for sale.
Published by June 20th, 2007 in Bernos and Design.
it’d be cool if the numbers on the barcode meant something … but regardless … i love it. i want one.
Very nice. Damn it guys….I need one as soon as it comes out. the bar code concept…”I like it”
Toothpick, interesting you said that. We started out with African written on the side. but we thought it was repetitive plus we wanted to reiterate the labeling aspect.
so the numbers do mean something ambiguously as part of the barcode. On top of that we converted letters of african from
ASCII to hexadecimal so it actually reads African…
the barcode was also generated through by actually converting the square feet of all of africa into a data
That is Brilliant. So are you sending a little flier or something like that to explain the codes.
[quote comment="53596"]
so the numbers do mean something ambiguously as part of the barcode. On top of that we converted letters of african from
ASCII to hexadecimal so it actually reads African…
the barcode was also generated through by actually converting the square feet of all of africa into a data[/quote]
no we are not, dinich we think it aesthetically relays the concept very well, the relation of a tech oriented label with africa or being africa…
the rest is open to interpretation
i love it!! i can’t wait…..i’ll be the 1st to get this one…
Mama Africa, I love it! I love the color. I am getting that for my brother, he would love it. Great job guys!
funny i have a sweater with a barcode, just like it. I like the color.
any reason, legal or, somethingelse as to why “bernos.org” is not attached to your products? just a curious inquiring mind.
hmm….bernos is going “green”!(??)
The color is a killer. Is there a thought behind it?
It’s very artistic and edgy. I like it. Good job!!
I likes a lot! Oh yeah me want one! I’ll try to go into a store and see if they can scan moi and label me ze african for an extra discount
So does this mean Africa is for sale … like the coded products we buy out of the shelfs… just a thought…
And anyone wearing this is an African for sale… what an irony…
Now I know what open to interpretation means….
[quote comment="53646"]So does this mean Africa is for sale … like the coded products we buy out of the shelfs… just a thought…[/quote]
Now I know what open to interpretation means….
So does this mean Africa is for sale … like the coded products we buy out of the shelfs… just a thought
Bernoswoch, you have outdone yourselves. You’ve successfuly designed the first Kinie.
Love it LOVE it. And the intro was brilliant DK. I WANT 3
Let me start with MOC #8, I will reply to all questions?
about branding the tshirt with bernos….
well, bernos is a brand, our products have a certain quality,theme, meaning bernos products are a brand. Do we use that as trademark we do? we do have tag our tshirts and in the near future when money permits we will put trade-name labels either stamped on or stitched on… or tagged on?
what we have not really figured out is where we stand on if bernos is an apparel line or more novelty. What we won’t do is just tak the brand name or image somewhere on the shirt for the sake of branding it in line…
[quote comment="53639"]hmm….bernos is going “green”!(??)
The color is a killer. Is there a thought behind it?[/quote]
no much thought behind the color except that it goes with the concept of the tee, earthy and that it looks good. we think!
Dinich, what I meant to say is that we have put in the time to make every aspect of the tee in consensus with concept, but our products should stand on their own. I personally think so.. with nothing accompanying it… thus no flier etc needs to be attached.
For those inquiring mind like TP, who wants the numbering to say something well it is. but we think even if the number is random it is in consensus with theme.. afrocode
wow…what a concept…
bernos team…well done — love this new concept betam!
i find it a real irony…an oxymoron…
africa and encoded information technology, africa is intergral with information tech …africa selling/exporting itself (brain drain), africa is drowning in world market/information
the design itself to me means “AFRICAN QINE” – africa encoded information
I wear it because I am an african qine.
i want one!!
[quote comment="53647"]And anyone wearing this is an African for sale… what an irony…[/quote]
barcode is a label – not a for sale sign… IMHO and wiki agrees
if you ever filled out immigration papers, or if you look at your greencard, or passport or ID or a million other uses…
the true symbolism of the act of barcoding is Automatic identification and data capturing
through labels…. I think personally…. but symbolism is always ofcource open to carrying personal conventional meanings.
Thank you guys for all the wonderful comments. Nolawi thank you as well for responding on the comments and explaining the concept and thinking behind Afrocode.
There are different types of barcodes those being:
Barcodes to Identify a Product for Sale in Shops
Barcode used for packaging
Barcode used for a published item
Barcode used for a pharmaceutical item
Barcode for Non-Retail Labels
Barcode used for other purposes
So which one is this Tshirt referencing to…
An African identified as a product for sale in shops
An African ready for packaging
An African ready to be a published item
An African ready for pharmaceutical guinea pig
An African considered a number in the westerner coding scheme
Which one is it?
Got it, Thank You, Sir!
ha ha haha besak gedelkegn eko question? its all of them and some more at the same time. its a label.
the act of labeling in a 21st century sense..
I hope that is layman enough for you question!
Wonderful writing DK about Mama Africa. Beautiful concept of tee too. Hats off Bernos Stuff you did it again!!
Wow, I love it I love the color and the concept betam arif.
But most of all I almost cried, amazing poetry Dawit, I am so impressed with the writing ability of the bernos people.
You touched deep where it hurts most, I almost cried. Emama africa.
So ya’all identifying yourself as a label, just a coded number and nothing more. Good one. Very ironic as said above.
Question,
Why do you talk in circles? After 4-5 posts you are still saying the same thing, still talking about a very shallow and negative interpretation. The whole idea is that my barcode, my identity is Africa. That is it.
If you don’t agree, you don’t have to post 5 times to make one point.
Its called defending ones point Dinich… trying to explain to the bernosoch it may be looked at diferently.. no harm … chill man…
Question, no need to get all defensive, i’m sure everyone got it including bernosoch..
[quote
comment="53692"]Its called defending ones point Dinich… trying to explain to the bernosoch it may be looked at diferently.. no harm … chill man…[/quote]
[quote comment="53692"]Its called defending ones point Dinich… trying to explain to the bernosoch it may be looked at diferently.. no harm … chill man…[/quote]
”
Question: …nice response to Dinch.. that is the type of poeple i like… humor!
Dinch: ..as long as no offensive or personal attack is applied (if so stand up
) else, ..why not let s.o. circles in a loop & write tons time…u just ignore at somepoint..if not persuaded…agree to disagree…. 
..and besides..we are in an era of cheap disk spacing… 
Question,
here is what Nolawi said above just in case you missed it
“no we are not, dinich we think it aesthetically relays the concept very well, the relation of a tech oriented label with africa or being africa…
the rest is open to interpretation”
the main point being “OPEN TO INTERPRETATION” so you have a right to interprate it as you see it that is all.
Hewe why are you gaining up for Dinich.? I am sure he can talk for himslef… just a thought. peace ya’all… just because everyone is not in agreement with ya’all (the blind leading the blind) means the other person’s idea is shallow and negative… my 2 cents… and no need to get all mad and all.
Question, no one got mad nor asked you to agree or disagree…’the blind leading the blind’ betaam appropriate yelllhone bota laay neew taaal yarekat….as i said b4, we all got your point…
[quote comment="53702"]Hewe why are you gaining up for Dinich.? I am sure he can talk for himslef… just a thought. peace ya’all… just because everyone is not in agreement with ya’all (the blind leading the blind) means the other person’s idea is shallow and negative… my 2 cents… and no need to get all mad and all.[/quote]
i guess bickering should also be our barcode.
bickering africans on sale! highest bidder takes all! woo hoo. yes massuh!
hahaha… i likes! toothpick nice humor
I am surprised Question is catching fire. I do agree with the point he is making… Identifying an African using a a tool corporates use to identify their product, or even a government to track its subjects… what’s next RFID (radio frequency id to track inventory. I like to make the connection to Andy Warhol’s use of corporate images in his art, but the meanins aint the same.
Btw, not to say this T-shirt won’t be a success. I once read a marketing theory that says products that elicit love or hate relationship successed. No middle ground.
Injera, we are certain the tshirt will be a success. but I really want to see what you meant by #38, to me it seems question was just hating… I didn’t see the point he was trying to make by comment #28
especially since we didn’t say anything in comment or article that coincides with what he said there… after all his questions I answered.. i didn’t know how he arrived there…
so please if you do understand his point explain it to me…
Dawit–beautiful introduction to a wonderful concept. I for one love it and will be definitely get it. Shoot, I’m getting all three. Thanks again Bernosoch!
I like too! Would it come in brown as well? I’d love that even better…
Nolawi, the purpose of barcode association Question made, that africa is on display for sale, is the one I attempted to second. To me the barcode is synonymous to the ‘beep’ scan sound I encounter daily at the cash register displaying the $ I have to pay. I hope I did not come off as a hater. Cause I do support Bernos, I do have the Abebe Bekila. And definitely love the Awaze tee.
To me, it seems that Question was just trying to have a better understanding of the concept. He just kept putting his thoughts out there and asked question. I don’t see how he is being a hater.
He just had a different interpretation of the shirt than most …. Leave him alone
Anyways…Bernos you guys outdid yourselves again… can’t wait for the new tee to come out.
[quote comment="53772"]Nolawi, the purpose of barcode association Question made, that africa is on display for sale, is the one I attempted to second. To me the barcode is synonymous to the ‘beep’ scan sound I encounter daily at the cash register displaying the $ I have to pay. I hope I did not come off as a hater. Cause I do support Bernos, I do have the Abebe Bekila. And definitely love the Awaze tee.[/quote]
I get it, you and he are symbolizing it as being on sale. like packaged for sale. kinda like a price tag.
I think it goes with the label because a price tag is a postmodern label
Everyone…this is exactly what we wanted!! we know all of you will not agree with our vision nor will you absolutely love everything we put out. so if you love something we put out…GREAT…but if you dont thats cool too, we’ll get you next time! we respect and welcome all constructive criticism and feedbacks.
question- we knew the negative aspect of the barcode symbol, however, the writing used to introduce the shirt was to dispel any misconceptions. the shirt is open to any interpretations, so if one chooses to see only the negative aspect…well…
barcode- a code consisting of a group of printed and variously patterned bars and spaces and sometimes numerals that is designed to be scanned and read into computer memory and that contains information (as identification) about the object it labels ( Merriam-Webster)
so for me the shirt says…i am labeled as an African, identified as an African!
Yewhooooooo! love it, love it!
love the enigmatic introduction, love the t-shirt!
huh, coloru, designu,…Arif!
Ayee gud t-shirt be t-shirt lehon eko new!
I want this one too!
Genius, the color the execution, the concept & the bernos. I MUST GET THIS ONE for mama africa.
i did stare at it and don’t know what i feel about this tee… but I love the love letters you’ve been writing these days bernosoch
Injera thank you betam for the explanation and I completely see what you mean? things that are on sale usually have a bar code.. and that is a healthy symbolism!
I think we can live with that correlation as it still goes with the concept,..
Question I am sorry if i came off as defensive.. i just didn’t see what you were trying to say till injera explained it….
The rest of you… especially BPers thanks… I am personally having so much fun doing creative things for all things abesha and now Africa….
i love it. we are ethiopian. we are african. in the words of bob marley “Africa Unite”. Can we expect more afro-centric creativity? scan me one.
Etsub denq new bernosoch, it is indeed gedela I want one. DK the intro was poetic, yetsehafiwoch mahberen meqelaqel alebeh.
[quote comment="53707"]i guess bickering should also be our barcode.
bickering africans on sale! highest bidder takes all! woo hoo. yes massuh![/quote]
lol!
[quote comment="53827"]Everyone…this is exactly what we wanted!! we know all of you will not agree with our vision nor will you absolutely love everything we put out. so if you love something we put out…GREAT…but if you dont thats cool too, we’ll get you next time! we respect and welcome all constructive criticism and feedbacks.
[quote]
bravo meron! good leadership there!
I want one and “Addis Classic”. Beka.
link
Saba…What’s your point and how is it related to Afrocode?
Saba I deleted your latest comments
I thought it was spam at first because of the link in the first one.
Anyways We never claimed that we are the only ones to have put a barcode on a tshirt, as anyone who puts a face or any object on a tshirt… just because we put bob marley on a tshirt doesn’t mean its not original because there hundreds bob marley tshirt.
the same applies in art for example portriat painting is done million times over but it francis bacons portraits are still orginal
Dawitk,
why are you keep deleting my post? LOL you asked me and I am answering your question
that’s is not bernos orginal design( work)or idea . I am mad when you copy someones work and act like it’s your orginal work. you guys have a lot of good works the past but, this one it’s not your orginal work. I hate copy cats.. go head and delete it.
I think Nolawi answered your question in regard to deleting the comment.
Personally I’m not sure what you’re looking at when comparing the two shirts because Afrocode is nothing similar to the link you provided us with.
Dawit, I finally found out who saba is?
its Sose, you know the suspeded bper who has been giving us trouble ever since you know when…. LOL
I was about to ask you that if you can make me
a T-shirt the same design addict but instated addict I want to “addis” le me know
Thanks
Nolawi, please just do your job and you shouldn’t worry who I am. you said trouble? hmm anyway just take my Order profesinally. I am customer and act like a business owner.
no doubt the aesthetics is very nice but I am in complete agreement with Injera. The imagery lends more to commodification of the continent and its ppl than it would otherwise. Wearing that to me says I am an African for sell but sadly that is the reality of our situation.
Nyalasmokes, it is indeed reality…
Also that is art, disputes in meaning comes with territory.
I for one think, you guys are looking at it from layman’s perspective. To say, "oh its for sale" is just by association.
For example, have seen the barcode as tattoos in real life, as well as in sci fi movies like Fortress by Stuart Gordon or Matrix. What it says to me is that in the futur people will tracked more so than now. So to me a barcode is a tracking system, its futurist, its techy, and as the author said its a label.
Are things on sale labeled? I would hope so, because I want to know how much I pay for something I want to buy. I don’t see it the way you see it. You guys are jumping two steps ahead to say its for sale. Like I said its association.
Sorry to be critical, but it just seems to me that you & injera didn’t make too much sense.
Comment #65… Now somebody gets it.
Nolawi Thanks for the appology.
BTW… aint trying to hate.. I asked a question you responded and responded back… and the whole thing got heated…
[quote comment="54269"]no doubt the aesthetics is very nice but I am in complete agreement with Injera. The imagery lends more to commodification of the continent and its ppl than it would otherwise. Wearing that to me says I am an African for sell but sadly that is the reality of our situation.[/quote]
so it makes a statement… its thought provoking… cryptic aydel mr. nya?
I got the concept of what they were trying to convey by looking at the title and the design it self. I got it doesn’t mean everyone else should nor does it make me a genius. Noli, you explained the concept behind the design (I personally think you sufficiently elaborated) and by your own admission the work was open to interpretation, perhaps to your dismay Question’s interpretation of the artwork was what he expressed. So be it. I like Meron’s diplomacy far better than yours yene konjo Nolawi:-)
Question, I can absolutely understand your correlation of the barcode to what you stated, by the same token you should at least honor their explanation of the concept behind the t-shirt…because after all they are the authors behind the work and they did explain their intentions and the message they hope to convey. In any event I think it looks great.
Bernos, how about I give you a similar vision for free:) How about doing the DNA strand and find a way to incorporate the picture of Africa in there…I doubt that would leave the message open to interpretation
If you ever decide to take my suggestion, my only request is to design one XXXXL T-Shirt for me for free,that is all I charge:-)
Misrak yeah barcodes are indeed futuristic but in most sci fi and as it was used in the Matrix, the image is used to conjure up Orwelian, big-brother is watching type of dystopic commodified vision of humanity. And that is hardly a positive msg.
BgFelasfit: yes it is thought provoking but i don’t know if the intended msg and the way it will likely be interpreted will coincide.
Nyala that is more accurate symbology, Orwellian …. but how is big brother watching… he tracks people by labeling them with a Auto Id Data Capture, in this case a barcode.
Personally that is what I had in mind. Is Data gathering optimistic? I suppose not.. in a liberal sense. But did we say the concept is idealist africa? we didn’t! nor we attempt to do so.
I, like misrak think you are jumping one step ahead with your def of barcode being associated big brother. still though I agree its more orwellian than injera’s previous assertion.
Yet I speak for everyone on bernos when I say as long as it has depth conceptually both positive & negative and it is aesthetically pleasing, we are happy with it.
Open to interpretation still stands as yekeydama mentioned.
What does the term Orwelian mean to u? But the idea of being readily tracked by barcode or any other tracking device like RFID as Injera mentioned goes along with the Orwelian concept of being watched by big brother.
Basically it seams that we all agree that barcodes are associated with products and how they are tracked. So if put it on a human then u symbolically reduce the human to a product. And putting it on a representation of a continent then it is either stating the obvious tragedy or it is a clever satire. but then again u can always wear a Che t-shirt without knowing who Che was.
nyala, will you marry me?
Nyala, so much flaws in the core of your argument, yekerta
You asked what Orwellian means to me?
When something is described as orwellian, it refers to the idea of control or manipulation. but secondly it means to be in a society that is controlled, especially if you add big brother in context!
you said
we agree on the first,
but on the second aspect, not a product but a labeled human, how and why do you reduce human to a product? because it has a label? you are jumping two three steps like before and associating
Dawit ironically said ”
tick mark as in when you fill out your work application and it says race. he sarcastically said one checkbox doesn’t describe his whole being.
Anyways, I will be happy to go on and explain more if you have question, gin tset bleh if you free associate something with something else… then I can’t defend any concept! let alone these one which is somewhat ambigous.
Wow, what an interesting discussion. But I see most of you had slightly missed the point of this barcode thingy.
consider this, when you go to a grocery store and buy a can of coke, the cachier scans the barcode present on the packaging and ….boom….information is displayed on the screen that tells the cashier what product it is, size, cost etc…..right????
but have you ever seen a barcode with a picture of the product itself printed in the middle of it???? I am certain you haven’t. (uniqueness of this design)
So look at this design from a different perspective….say for instance….there is a barcode embedded on your skin, and as soon as it gets scanned, the only information it displays is …”AFRICAN”. Would this change your interpretation of this concept? what you’re missing is that its not AFRICA that the barcode is printed on….IT’S YOU. THE BARCODE IS YOU….WHEN THEY SCAN YOU, THE INFORMATION DISPLAYED IS….AFRICAN.
so what that simply says is that just like the can of coke example, your identity is AFRICAN.
I hope my interpretation of this concept is correct because that’s why I was crazy for it.
Definition: A Barcode is an encoded set of lines and spaces of different widths that can be scanned and interpreted into numbers to identify a product.
S if u are willing to by my number 3 then holla at me
uuuhmm yes. I am not skiping steps bro and this is by no means a free association. Yes Africa is sorta ambiguous but the barcodes, are as unambiguous as it gets. They are simply computer generated numbers/codes to identify and track inventory. Now take a human and assign him a computer generated number or a barcode. The barcode becomes his identity so u take away his name, take away his face and his individuality then what is left but a semblance of a human being.
What the first thing they do when u go to prison? Yes, they give u a number. What did the Nazis tattooed on the forearms of the Jews in the concentration camps? Yes, numbers again. I am sure Heinrich Himmler would have used barcodes if they were invented back then. Using numbers and codes as means of identification does have the uncanny ability to objectify ppl and any other connotation u want to associate it with is probably more of a step skipper than reducing humans to a product.
Chelema bro, by no means the following is to minimize interpretation or is it an attempt to be sarcastic. But bro that is quite an optimistic view of the world. Makes me wish the world was as optimistic as u.
Art does not need to be defended. Art either appeals, or it does not. One way or another, as we have seen with Afrocode, art can have different meaning from that the artist pursued. The competition of meanings, dominant representations, should be left to the marketplace to decide.
For me, the Africode is a great tee to create awareness about the miserable condition of Africa such as the braindrain bgFelasafit mentioned, commoditization of Africa Celebratelife alluded to, Q and I have pointed out, and Nyalasmokes has eloquently spoken of. These are dominant African themes considering the foreign exploitation of African resources and the fact African people have become only numbers, statistics of poverty and war.
I can see myself wearing Afrocode to create awareness, but not to celebrate my identity. A great product does miss its target sometimes. A great example is the Z3, yes the car, the 007 car. The car was marketed to young people, women and men, the James Bond fans, but the buyers turned out to be middle aged and old men.
We can agree to disagree, let the barcode mean whatever you want it to mean to you.
indie…for a minute there I wasn’t sure if all this is about the Tee or something else….ere please atifelasefu! We read the thought behind the Tee design from the horse’s mouth….if u can see it that way, or like it because of the thought behind the design..or just like it anyway..buy it. If not, As Meron said…wait till they design the one for you. I couldn’t see what they saw in the ‘awaze’ Tee…so, it wasn’t for me…but many people loved it. But this one, I love. Am trying to say….bizu tefelAsefAchihubet T-shirtun
ow, and JEr….miss u at BP
I am almost certain the person who is behind this t-shirt did not think he or she would have to defend their concept to such extent it was discussed here, but that is the beauty and that what is great about thinking outside of the box…it begets other perspectives and then some. I think their concept was at its very basic…you got a barcode, a system used to identify… so they go…
barcode->identity->Africa… hence the t-shirt as it appears. Exhibit A
Naya and some of you are delving in deeper than the surface, nothing wrong with that… that is the very beauty of a work of art, that you see something different and far more sophisticated vision than the person next to you and perhaps even something different than what the actual artists visualized. That is what art is all about; it is not meat to be one dimensional or self-limiting. As injera put it so eloquently “Art does not need to be defended. Art either appeals, or it does not.”
One person can wear this very same T-shirt but can be conveying completely different message in each of their mind. If I may quote Injera again…
Had this T-shirt been the over used arenguwade, becha, key bandira with Ethiopia karta in it, none of us would have had this conversation on it because it is just that simple (not to mention redundant)…that is one more reason why this tee is great.
[quote comment="54469"]Art does not need to be defended. Art either appeals, or it does not. One way or another, as we have seen with Afrocode, art can have different meaning from that the artist pursued. The competition of meanings, dominant representations, should be left to the marketplace to decide.
For me, the Africode is a great tee to create awareness about the miserable condition of Africa such as the braindrain bgFelasafit mentioned, commoditization of Africa Celebratelife alluded to, Q and I have pointed out, and Nyalasmokes has eloquently spoken of. These are dominant African themes considering the foreign exploitation of African resources and the fact African people have become only numbers, statistics of poverty and war.
I can see myself wearing Afrocode to create awareness, but not to celebrate my identity. A great product does miss its target sometimes. A great example is the Z3, yes the car, the 007 car. The car was marketed to young people, women and men, the James Bond fans, but the buyers turned out to be middle aged and old men.
We can agree to disagree, let the barcode mean whatever you want it to mean to you.[/quote]
betam nicely eloquent… I’m crushing on mr. inja right now! gotta say yekeydama — luving reading ur comments, and the DNA concept makes sense– tho I’ll say I like the complicated barcode tshirt concept better!!
[quote comment="54288"]
Bernos, how about I give you a similar vision for free:) How about doing the DNA strand and find a way to incorporate the picture of Africa in there…[/quote]
I did a random survey – two coworkers of mine – both white american responded with this interpretation:
“You’re seen as a number, not a person. A barcode; as way to keep track of ppl moving in and out of the continent”
There are barcodes on immigration documents, drivers licence etc- Information is encrypted about that specific individual/thing. an officer scans someone’s drivers licence the pdf file of the front of the licence/I-20/greencard etc comes up on their screen.
A barcode is a way to systematically keep inventory of the goods, as well as the transactions the goods go through.
I completely agree with Q, nya and inja’s interpretations But I, personally see the crypting as a positive – the tshirt is making a statement, its doing a social commentary about 21st century africa. The shirt says africa is encrypted… I would have liked it even more if there were words to direct the interpretation on the tee- because nya’s right about immediate negative connotations.
bg– that is exactly what we have been saying. If u increase the sample size, I assume you will get the same answer.
But, I dont see where from in the definition of barcode, you come up with encryption. This aint the engma code.
“A barcode is a way to systematically keep/[track] inventory of the goods, as well as the transactions the goods go through.”
ya’all crack me up…. but it is all good. i would love to have this this one too, but when is it coming out?
[quote comment="54563"]But, I dont see where from in the definition of barcode, you come up with encryption. This aint the engma code.
[/quote]
representation of information in a visual format on a surface.
encryption is the process of obscuring information to make it unreadable without special knowledge.
Thanks everyone for input, I am glad Afrocode creating controversy,
Nyalasmokes
What do you mean you are not free associating, ofcource you are! And I can prove it.
If Africa is ambiguous and the barcode is not how can it be unambiguous. Because this image is both. Its like the -1x 1 = -1 just that makes it ambiguous… by your definition. Africa is ambiguous but the barcode is not but Africa with a barcode isn’t. Free association one!
Secondly, the fact that we are all not on the same page reaffirms the ambiguity.
#65 you said Africa is for sell, agreeing with injera. If a barcode is tracking system why & how is it for sell. Free association 2… relative symbolic association J
#70 you said it Orwellian, big brother type and the conjures negative images
#72 you defended your Orwellian symbology by reducing the human to a product, Free association 3!
You used words like commodification of African people, reducing to product, taking away humanity in self, negative Orwellian big bro cryptogram
First you made me question your motivation. Because you are really stretching the English language to fit whatever your agenda is.
Secondly don’t tell me it’s not ambiguous when even you don’t know where to stand.
This is just for nyala nobody else
What is Nyala blabbering about?
I see technology, label, postmodernism, but not a for sale sign.
So this, along with the other tee’s, are gonna be on sale this Wednesday? Can you please confirm that. I’m afraid the way this discussion is going it may sell out the first two days and I’m getting one if I have to beat up a few people ahead of me. lol
While I liked the concept once Nolawi explained it, what I saw at the beginning is “Africa….FOR SALE!” I would imagine that is what many would see at first. It is not too much off from the truth as a matter of fact. Still, while I am a big Bernos fan, I don’t think I would be wearing this one around.
celeb yes the shirts will be avaliable for sale THIS wednesday.
temari–…and we respectfuly accept that…
This discussion is kinda getting ridiculous but Nolawi bro OK I admit, I am totally guilty of “free association” but not any guiltier than any halfway brain-dead person would “free associate” the cross with the Christianity or the Swastika with the Third Reich. Of course there are ppl who would argue that since JC was hanged on a stake, the cross is not a good representation of Christianity. Similarly a monk from Lalibela who has no idea about WWII would adamantly argue that the Swastika was a symbol used by King Lalibela many centuries ago. Anyway it doesn’t change the fact that those symbols mean a specific and an unambiguous thing for a lot of ppl. Just because u have a limited interpretation and awareness of the meaning of the barcode doesn’t magically make it any more innocuous. Unless of course u are telling us to mindlessly accept all images and symbols you issue without questioning or associating it with existing knowledge base, well then expect to be frustrated ‘coz the “free association” that u dread so much will always pop up.
Further more I made the Orwellian comment to counter the argument made by Misrak on comment 66 who said that barcodes tattooed on humans are used in sci fi movies to show futuristic and techy trends. But even if u are a very casual sci-fi fan u would know that the barcode symbology is invariably used to conjure up thoughts of disenfranchisement and utter human oppression. They are used to show the utter depravity of living in a totalitarian state where the government or ruling entity has absolute control over your existence including track your every move. That is what Orwell was partially talking about in his book “1984” and the movies Misrak quoted – Fortress and Matrix express ideas along the same line. I mean I can list u a lot of other references but I am kinda tired of spoon feeding. Yes, the special effects were very nice, but if u don’t get it, well then u don’t get it and I can’t do anything about that. But I suggest you go read “1984″ then watch a few dystopic science fiction movies. Maybe start with the two movies mentioned above.
Nyala and Temari, anyone can say this is what this represents to me, without having the burden of proof.
I suggest you all read this about the representation of Barcode in Mass Media.
http://www.jetcityorange.com/barcodes/BarcodesJargonSlang.pdf
Nyala,
Lets just completely disagree, gin anyone can say anything is negative. if its your intent to degrade a concept.
You reminded off a comment made by an Ethiopian to a jamacian who was wearing Haile Sellassie shirt.
I rephrased but that is what he said….
lets leave this as your opinion
[quote comment="56036"]Nyala and Temari, anyone can say this is what this represents to me, without having the burden of proof.
I suggest you all read this about the representation of Barcode in Mass Media.
http://www.jetcityorange.com/barcodes/BarcodesJargonSlang.pdf/quote
thank u Misrak, that article confirms most of what I have been saying up to now
[quote comment="56054"]Nyala,
Lets just completely disagree, gin anyone can say anything is negative. if its your intent to degrade a concept.
You reminded off a comment made by an Ethiopian to a jamacian who was wearing Haile Sellassie shirt.
You know you shouldn’t be wearing that shirt Haile represents oppression, feudalism to all Ethiopians. You are insulting me.
I rephrased but that is what he said….
lets leave this as your opinion[/quote]
Ok it is my opinion but dude like Injera said understand that I am not tryin to knock you concept or discourage you in anyway. All I am saying is that u should at least be occasionally considerate to your customer base who is more sensitive about the msg of the images on the t-shirts than that actual aesthetics of the t-shirt. I for one would purchase more t-shits if u guys had more progressive or humorous msgs on the t-shirts instead of modified corporate logs and images of oppression as the barcodes. But that is just me, I understand if u can’t accommodate everyone and I understand that u gona have to do what is best for your business. But other than that I think you are running a very impressive operation. You guys are efficient and consistent with what u do. And that is exactly why I keep comming back. Keep doing what u are doing. With that said I would like to buy another Merkato T-shirt.
Ok I have changed my mind… I have thought about it and concluded that this is the best satirical t-shirt out of bernos.org yet. I am gona get is so that I can keep it as a reminder… yeaaaa
I love bernos.org.
[quote comment="56099"]Ok I have changed my mind… I have thought about it and concluded that this is the best satirical t-shirt out of bernos.org yet. I am gona get is so that I can keep it as a reminder… yeaaaa
I love bernos.org.[/quote]
exactly!!!
what do you mean? it doesn’t confirm what you are saying. You said something else at first and when I told you about movies you said orwellian. Again you said that the only reason you brought it up in the first place because its to counter my comments. So how does it confirm your initial comments. Finally you are going to get this tshirt. You are one confused soul my brother.
This is by far the best Tshirt Bernos has ever done. It’s a social commentary & aesthetic beauty in a package.
Great we have gone a full circle a few times.
closing comments @ 100.