Art of Africa

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Art of Africa
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Elements of the African Aesthetic

• Resemblance to a human being?African artists
  praise a carved figure by saying that it "looks
  like a human being." Artists seldom portray
  particular people, actual animals, or the actual
  form of invisible spirits. Rather, they aim to
  portray ideas about reality, spiritual or human,
  and express these ideas through human or animal
  images.
• Luminosity?The lustrously smooth surface of most
  African figural sculpture, often embellished with
  decorative scarification, indicates beautifully
  shining, healthy skin. Figures with rough
  surfaces and deformities are intended to appear
  ugly and morally flawed.
• Self-composure?The person who is composed
  behaves in a measured and rational way he or she
  is controlled, proud, dignified, and cool.
• Youthfulness?A youthful appearance connotes
  vigor, productiveness, fertility, and an ability
  to labor. Illness and deformity are rarely
  depicted because they are signs of evil.
• Clarity of form and detail, complexity of
  composition, balance and symmetry, smoothness of
  finish?African artists place a high value on
  fine workmanship and mastery of the medium.

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Antelope Mask, BwaMali and Burkina Faso

• Made of wood and natural pigments
• They make animal masks to elicit the power of the
  forest and bush spirits.
• Owned by families and clans who use them for
  protection.
• The zig zag lines on the face of the Hawk signify
  the "path of ancestors", a moral path that is
  very difficult, but one every Nunuma (Bobo /Nuna)
  must follow to succeed in life.

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Beaded CrownYoruba, Nigeria

• Cotton fabric, beads
• 24 tall
• Part of a royal costume
• Adorned with animals patterns
• Bird on the top signifies wisdom

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Bamana Mud ClothMali

• Cotton woven strip cloth
• Woven by men in strips, then sewn together
• Patterns brushed on with mud resist, fabric is
  dyed with dark river mud and rinsed to reveal
  patterns.
• Designs symbolize nature

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The Black Venus Fang Artist

• Ambiguous figure
• May be an infant or a goddess
• Face is a scooped out heart
• 19th Century

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Ancestress Mask

• Wood and paint
• From Zaire

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The Founder King Mask

• From Kuba Kingdom, Congo
• When the king died, the mask was placed on an
  effigy
• It was ultimately buried with the king

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Queen Mother Head

• From Kingdom of Benin
• 16th Century
• Made of bronze
• Thought to be an idealized figure of a queen

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Yoruba Headress

• Made of wood
• May be used in combination with a mask and/or
  costume or alone
• Used in community ceremony or ritual

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Ashanti Strip Weave (Kente Cloth)

• Rayon
• 64 x 102
• Strip-woven cloth by Asante people of central
  Ghana
• Strips are sewn together to create fabrics which
  are worn by men and women

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Chokwe Pwo Mask

• From Angola
• 7 x 10
• Carved from single piece of wood, woven grass
  basket, wooden beads
• Polished patina
• PWO mask from the Chokwe people
• Represents the ideal mother and woman
• May have served as an altar piece

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Bibliography

• http//www.lib.virginia.edu/clemons/RMC/exhib/93.r
  ay.aa/Elements.html
• http//www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/midd
  le/afimages.htm
• http//www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Af
  rica.htm
• http//www.marlamallett.com/a-2517.htm
• http//www.shanigallery.com/