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Mary Lee Brady, Ph. D.
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African artists have developed diverse traditions of sculpture (figures and masks), architecture (principally domestic structures), furniture, pottery, textiles, and jewelry. In addition, body decoration (coiffure and cicatrization, or decorative scarring) and painting (on building, textile, and human surfaces) are also part of the African artistic heritage. [ Materials] The most commonly employed materials include wood, fiber, metal (especially bronze, iron, and gold), ivory, clay, earth, and stone. The forms of representation within each medium vary from relative naturalism to general abstraction, with art styles conforming to the aesthetic tradition established within a particular cultural area. In African art, considerable concern is given both to the maintenance of traditional artistic forms within a culture and to the encouragement of creativity and innovation within the parameters of each artist. [Artists] African artists generally work as specialists, receiving their training from established artists living in the community or wider area. In some old kingships, such as that of Benin in Nigeria, active guild systems controlled the training of young artists. Among the nearby Yoruba, important schools of artists were developed at local family compound centers. Often the artistic profession was seen as hereditary, with talent being passed from generation to generation, and with creativity and success often linked to a divine ancestral endowment. Among the Dogon and Bambara (or Bamana) of Mali, for this reason, sculptors were all selected from an ancient endogamous (intermarried by custom) group of blacksmiths. The place of work and the materials employed were also important to the artist during the creative process. Often these were controlled by religious proscriptions. Community criticism was an essential part of artistic traditions in many African cultures. Studies of the aesthetic canons followed by artists and critics in Africa indicate a deliberate concern for abstraction in the design process. Thus, for example, among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the criteria for sculptural beauty consist of a number of specifically nonrepresentational elements. These include visibility, even if this necessitates proportional distortion; straightness, which implies youth and good health; symmetry, to the exclusion of more natural poses or postures; ephe-bism, the depiction of each person at an idealized youthful age; smoothness, suggesting again youth and health without natural body imperfections; and hyper mimesis, an emphasis on general resemblance rather than on exact representation. [Aesthetics]
In some African cultures correct aesthetic canons were intentionally distorted in order to portray characters whose behavior was antisocial. The Ibo and Ibibio of Nigeria, for example, carve masks with diseased, horrific, monstrous, or asymmetrical features to represent characters who were unruly, evil, or dangerous. In Ibo and Ibibio masquerade performances, such masks are often contrasted with other, more beautifully featured and aesthetically pleasing masks that are worn to portray persons who were orderly, good, or peaceful. [ Patronage] Patronage, like aesthetics, plays an important role in the creation of African artworks. Kings and their courts are of particular significance in this regard because of their artistic requirements for the mounting of state pageants, the performance of religious ceremonies, and the manufacture of charismatic personal displays. In architecture, the palaces of kings such as those who lived in Nigeria (Yoruba, Benin), Ghana (Akan), the Cameroons (Bamileke, Bamum), and Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (Kuba, Mangbetu) rank among the most elaborate and richly decorated structures in Africa. The expensive materials available to these rulers-ivory, bronze, gold, glass beads, and plush raffia velour are amply displayed in the arts produced at these royal courts. Important types of art made for such regal patronage include staffs of office, thrones, state swords, crowns, royal memorial sculptures, drinking vessels, and serving containers. Other important sources of art patronage in Africa included the various associations of men and women formed within many communities for social and political, as well as religious, control. The still-active Poro men's associations of the Dan and their neighbors in Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire are characteristic examples of this type of patronage association. Poro members commissioned many of the masks and figural sculptures found in this region. Associations that united community members by age and occupation were also important African art patrons. Examples of artworks commissioned by such associations are found among the Bambara (Mali) and among the Ibo and Ejagham (Nigeria), among others. Often each age group or occupationally linked section of the association had its own distinctive representations or masquerade themes. Among the Ejagham, animal forms characterized the masks of hunting societies, and themes of human deformity were often found in conjunction with warfare masks; images of women were commonly employed for the headdresses of the women's clubs or ancestral associations. Traditional religious and cult organizations were also important as sources of art patronage in Africa. Artworks were not only a central component of many traditional shrines and chapels but also played a critical role in the diverse religious pageants. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, cults linked with the principal deities-Shango (thunder), Obatala (creativity), Oshun (water), Ifa (knowledge), Yemoja (sorcery), Eshu (examination), and Odudua (earth) had a vast array of associated art forms, including figures, masks, pottery, textiles, and jewelry. Here, as elsewhere in Africa, the artworks used in conjunction with each particular cult were often identifiable through their iconography, materials, styles, and modes of manufacture. "African Art and Architecture," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 99. |
Copyright © 2010 Brady Enterprise Association, Inc. Last modified: 05/12/10 |
