Dustin Miller, Jimmy Lee, Aileen Jiang,
Patrick Huang, Leo Choi
Period 1
Introduction
Diverse
Full of people,
societies, and
civilizations
Unique cultures
Art of Africa
Rock painting, metalwork, personal
decoration, masks, lavish festivals,
court/regal regalia, figural sculpture,
shrines, domestic & functional arts
Honoring ancestors
Worshiping nature deities
(Animism)
Rulers have sacred status
Diviners, shaman, ceremonies,
spirits
Cult figures
Fetish figures/objects
Reliquary figures
Nature deities
Rulers= sacred status
Nomadic traditions,
personal adornment
Decoration of human body
Reliquaries
Unifying Artistic Themes
Emphasis on human
figure
Sapi culture near Ivory
Coast in West Africa
created ivory saltcellars
Influence from Portuguese
traders
Common theme:
intermorphosis of human
and animal
Visual Abstraction
Favored over naturalistic representation
Many African artworks generalize stylistic
norms
African art often depicts nature (animals, plant
life, natural designs) in abstract interpretations
Emphasis on Sculpture
Favor 3D artwork over 2D artwork
Preferred medium= wood, some ivory
Decorating cloths worn as garments– wearer
as a living sculpture
Sculpture
Mostly portable (Sub-Saharan)
Trees venerated, ivory= prestige
Metal= strength, for royalty
Figurative mostly frontal
Large heads
Abstraction
No “art for art’s sake”
Centered around spirituality, spirit
world
Ancestors
Clans
Gender roles, fertility
African Sculpture
Nok Heads
500 BCE- 200 CE
Nok Culture
In Nigeria 1000 BCE
vanished around 500 CE
Terracotta figures hollow,
coil built, nearly life sized
human heads and bodies
highly stylized features
abundant jewelry
varied postures.
15-2 Nok Head
c.200 CE, terracotta
Expressive face
Coiffure with incising
Raised eyebrows
Triangular eyes
Ife Figures
Eleventh-twelfth
centuries
These figures are
made from zinc and
brass. The
head was emphasized
as a seat of intelligence. Usually
was decorated
in large amounts
of jewelry
HEAD= Locus Wisdom
15-6 Ife King
Nigeria, c.1100
Cast zinc-bronze
Fleshlike moldeling
Idealized,
Enlarged head, locus
naturalized facial features
Beaded costume, detailed
Jewelry of kings
Head of King, Ife, Yoruba, c.13th c.,
zinc brass casting, 12”
The
Dogon People
African Painting
16-19th
centuries
General Characteristics
Favor visual abstraction over
naturalistic representation in order
to generalize stylistic norms
Makes use of highly abstracted and
regimented visual canons,
especially in painting
Uses different colors to represent
the qualities and characteristics of
an individual being depicted
Emphasis on human figure
The human figure may symbolize the living or
the dead, may reference chiefs, dancers, or
various trades such as drummers or hunters,
or even may be an anthropomorphic
representation of a god or have other votive
function.
32-6 Seated Dogon Couple
Conceptual (not perceptual)
Tubular, abstraction
Elongated, smooth surfaces
Interlocking neg/pos space
Gender roles
Protective warrior, genitals,
Quiver on back
Woman w child on back
The
Inevitable
(cont.)
Virtually identical
Male w beard,
Female w breasts & lip
Ornament
Male, 1 hand on genitals,
1 hand protective of female
Figures on stoo= ancestors
15-10 Ivory Belt Mask
Ivory and Iron, Benin(1440–
1897), in NIGERIA
Based on Queen Idia, the
mother Benin Kingdom
1504 -1550
Sensitive naturalism
Crown= Portuguese+mudfish
Abstract+personality
Worn by Oba, Chief
Scarification
Ideal + natural
African Architecture
General Characteristics
Built to be as cool and comfortable as possible
Used mud-brick walls and thatched roofs
Mud-brick has to be constantly maintained in the
rainy season, so they built in horizontally placed
timbers as maintenance ladders
Great Mosque of Djenné
Made of adobe—baked mixture of clay and
straw
Wooden beams serve as decoration and
as permanent ladders for building
maintenance
Great Mosque of Djenné (cont.)
Ceramic half-pipes
extend from roofline
and direct rain water
away from the walls
Parts of a mosqueQuibla wall on
northeast side
Great Mosque of Djenné
Djenné, Mali
Current, 1907
Largest adobe structure
Qibla faces Mecca
Half covered
Half open courtyard
Exterior of
Qibla Wall
interior
interior
Essential feature of
the traditional culture
and art of the peoples
of Sub-Saharan and
West Africa
Mask-making is an art
that is passed on from
father to son, along
with the knowledge of
the symbolic
meanings conveyed
by such masks
African masks were a
very important part of
the African Culture,
although masks are
alot less common
now, then it was in
earlier times.
People think that
masks are used as a
disguise, or a
costume, like on
Halloween. But
Africans wore their
masks in ceremonies.
Masks are usually made of materials like:
wood, cloth, dried leaves, or even animal
fur. For decoration, Africans used things
such as; bird feathers, dried grass, paint,
and twigs. The type of material used really
depends on what the Africans were trying
to represent.
Usually the Africans were trying to
represent humans, important animals in
their culture, mythical creatures, or
gods/goddesses that they believed in.
The ceremonies were held to honor the
dead, gods/goddesses, animals, and even
important people in their society like the
king.
Masks were never played with. This was
because Africans believed that masks
were very powerful.
Often represent a spirit and it is strongly
believed that the spirit of the ancestors
possesses the wearer.
Masks of human
ancestors or totem
ancestors (beings
or animals to which
a clan or family
traces its ancestry)
are often objects of
family pride
Ceremony:
During the mask ceremony the dancer
goes into deep trance, and during this
state of mind he "communicate" with his
ancestors.
A wise man or translator sometimes
accompanies the wearer of the mask
during the ritual. The dancer brings forth
messages of wisdom from his ancestors.
Rituals and ceremonies are always
accompanied with song, dance and music,
played with traditional African musical
instruments.
Masks are one of the elements of African
art that have most evidently influence
European and Western art in general.
In the 20th century, artistic movements
such as cubism and expressionism have
often taken inspiration from the vast and
diverse heritage of African masks.
Ivory Belt Mask
C.1550 ivory/iron
Worn by king
“Oba”, King of
Benin
Mudfish designrepresents royalty
because they live
on land and sea,
king is both human
and divine
Jewelry
Introduction
Symbolic expressions of codes and
identity
Worn as sign of beauty, wealth, status
Jewelry is believed to be able to
“protect” and “heal” the wearer
Materials:
Pendants, colored enamel, precious/
semi-precious stones, beads, amber
Techniques
Casting, piercing,
filigree work,
enameling, niello
decoration
Inherited from
Egyptian, Greek,
Roman, Byzantine
traditions
Variations
To suit needs of different wearers,
objects can be borrowed, reworked,
and altered
Regional styles of ornamentation as
artists experimented with new
materials
Rural areas:
Made of silver
Geometric forms and decorations
Urban areas:
Made of gold
Floral, arabesque, rounded designs
Khamsa Pendant
Moroccon hand pendant
(khamsa) of silver and
copper with six-pointed
star
A protective symbol in
North Africa was the hand
Hand-shaped pendants
known as khamsa
Five fingers relate to the
five pillars of Islam–
making it a protective
amulet or charm
Hand Pendant (Khamsa)
Hand Pendant with
Salamander Motif
Morocco
Variation of Khamsa
Salamander: represents
transformation and
disguise; also relates to
element of fire
Fibula (Tabzimt)
Algeria; late 19th century;
made of silver, enamel
and coral
Silver linked to honesty
and purity
Coral associated with
life-sustaining blood–
prized for healing
properties
Promote fertility
Prevent harm to children
Role of Beads
Beads cherished since ancient times
Strung on fiber cord/ metal wire to make
jewelry
Stitched to African clothing
Used to decorate sculpture
Role in personal lives of Africans
Valued as currency
Used as artistic medium
Used in court life
Beads and royalty
Variety of Materials
Shell beads (Heishi
and Cowrie Shells)
Stone beads
Coral beads
Clay (terra cotta
beads)
Metal beads
Glass beads
Clay Baule Beads from Cote
d’Ivoire
Stool covered with beads
Bamum People
Fumban,
Cameroon
Topotha Beaded Hat
Sudan– 1930’s
Hat created by
sewing glass
beads in tightly
arranged circular
patterns onto an
open-weave frame
foundation of hide
lined with hair.
Yoruba
Yoruba: beaded
crown/ headdress
Nigeria, 20th
century
Beads, fabric,
glass beads,
beaded bird
Necklace with Central Pendant
Necklace with central
pendant
20th-century necklace
of silver, coral,
enamel, glass, coins,
shell, cotton, plastic,
buttons from Draa
Valley, Morocco
Photographs
• 19th century
• Photographs provide
glimpse into North
African society;
showed ethnic
diversity
• Europeans mounted
images on picture
postcards and studios
sold larger prints