Art of Africa

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.

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.

Beaded CrownYoruba, Nigeria

• Cotton fabric, beads• 24” tall• Part of a royal

costume• Adorned with

animals & patterns• Bird on the top

signifies wisdom

Bamana “Mud Cloth”Mali

• 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

The Black Venus Fang Artist

• Ambiguous figure• May be an infant or

a goddess• Face is a scooped

out heart• 19th Century

Ancestress Mask

• Wood and paint• From Zaire

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

Queen Mother Head• From Kingdom of

Benin• 16th Century• Made of bronze• Thought to be an

idealized figure of a queen

Yoruba Headress• Made of wood• May be used in

combination with a mask and/or costume or alone

• Used in community ceremony or ritual

Ashanti Strip Weave (Kente Cloth)

• Rayon• 6’4” x 10’2”• Strip-woven cloth by

Asante people of central Ghana

• Strips are sewn together to create fabrics which are worn by men and women

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

Bibliography• http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clemons/RMC/exhi

b/93.ray.aa/Elements.html• http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lesson

s/middle/afimages.htm• http://www.accd.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts13

03/Africa.htm• http://www.marlamallett.com/a-2517.htm• http://www.shanigallery.com/