The traditional art of Africa was made in the western and central savanna and forest regions of the continent that are bounded by the Sahara in the north, the great lakes area to the east, and the Zambezi River and Kalahari Desert in the south. This land was not greatly subject to the large migrations and unrest that often afflicted other parts of Africa. It supports agricultural, hunting, and fishing peoples, most of whom live in small villages in family units.
Although there is much variety in African art, an underlying continuity exists, effected by similar environments and snared beliefs concerning an individual's place in the natural world and his or her relationship to the spirits that inhabit it. Much sculpture was made in response to the demands for survival and protection from death, starvation, and disease. Masks, figure carvings, and magic fetishes were created to invoke spirits and provide places for their temporary habitation.
After having been carved, some animal or human figures are charged with their power by religious practitioners who are able to work with magic and maintain connections with the supernatural. The works then can be employed to ward off natural calamities or evil, to assure fertility and prosperity, to invoke the wisdom of ancestors, and, in some cases, as judges to solve disputes and render difficult decisions. These sculptures are commonly coated with palm oil, blood, animal skin, feathers, horns, bits of metal, and other potent materials to maintain their effectiveness. Depending on their perceived importance, they might be honored by individuals, families, or the entire community.
Masks are likewise used in this context when they are worn in dances to invoke spiritual aid. They are also displayed in ceremonies that seek to transmit the laws, histories, and traditions of the society to the young. Many groups send boys away from their villages to attend bush schools, where they are taught the ethics, morals, and manners of their culture. These educational cycles might take place at different times over a period of years, and when the young men have completed them, they are prepared to become responsible members of their community.
Masked performers impersonate ancestors, culture heroes, and powerful wilderness spirits to reinforce these teachings. They appear in dances accompanied by music, drumming, singing, and story telling. Figure sculptures as well are sometimes made for such occasions, and some men also carry and display amulets or other small carvings to show they nave undergone initiation or attained a specific grade in their societies.
Community events also provide many occasions for mask performances. Planting and harvest festivals, funerals, coming-of-age rituals, and preparations for hostilities witn neighboring tribes often require masks to help bring the aid of spirits to human undertakings. As with figure sculptures, masks can be used in legal contexts as well. All art made to provide such a link to the supernatural generalizes or obliterates the individual and his or her personality in favor of providing a vision of the unknown world.
Another important category of African art is that which actually emphasizes the people and their unique attributes. It comprises the objects made to declare the status of an individual in his or her community. Certain objects of everyday use such as neckrests, drinking cups, stools, staffs, and pipes are carefully carved and through their appearance and craftsmanship make a statement about the social position and taste of their owners. In this category are woven and dyed prestige textiles; jewelry in gold, bronze, silver, stone, and trade beads; and body decoration in the form of coiffure, scarification, painting, piercing, and deformation of ears, lips, and teeth.
Although much of this art is of a purely decorative nature, some is made to signify the royal prerogatives of chiefs. Certain stools, staffs, and figure sculptures could be owned only by rulers, indicating they had gone through the stages of investiture that entitled them to their positions of leadership. Among the most notable of these are the royal arts of Nigeria, which include brass heads and plaques from Benin portraying rulers and their attendants from the 16th to the 19th century, the brass portrait busts of Ife chiefs of the 12th to 15th century, and the almost life-sized royal house posts of present-day Yoruba.
Much African art is made of wood, and owing to termite and other insect activity, most of what has survived is not more than 150 years old. Works made of other substances, however, can be of considerable age. The terra-cotta sculptures of ancient Mali and the large stone markers from Nigeria's Cross River region, among many other early creations, tell of a long, rich history of art and culture in western and central Africa that extends over a period of at least 2,500 years.
Traditional art continues to be made and used in western and central Africa today. However, exposure to new forms and materials has brought about the creation of expressions that are composites of indigenous and foreign elements.
Several Museums of African Art
USA Museum of African Art:
- National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution — museum that devoted to traditional arts of sub-Sahara Africa.
Address: 950 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Hours of work and admission: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except December 25; admission is free.
Metro: Smithsonian Station (Blue and Orange lines); exit on the National Mall or on Independence Avenue L'Enfant Plaza Station (all lines except Red); exit Maryland Avenue/Smithsonian Museums.
Site - http://africa.si.edu/index1.html.
-The Seattle Art Museum — keeps a large assortment of Asian Art, African art, Modern art, European paintings and Native American art of the Pacific Northwest, that are on display to the public.
Address: Museum is located at 100 University Street, in Volunteer Park.
Hours of work: from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday. On Thursday - 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.
- Palmer Museum of Art — A collaboration between the Museum for African Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art, Resonance from the Past: African Sculpture from the New Orleans Museum of Art consists of approximately 100 works of art including masks, figures, musical instruments, ceramics, and fabric and beadwork costumes chosen from the extensive collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Address: Curtin Road, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-2507. tel: 814 865 7672
Date: February 19 - May 11, 2008
Time: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Closed Mondays and some holidays
Site: Palmer museum of Art
- Denver Art Museum — see there African combs, that were made from materials such as wood, ivory, fiber, metal, mud, beads, and paint.
Address: The DAM is part of the Civic Center Cultural Complex on 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock Streets in downtown Denver.
Hours of work: Tuesday–Thursday - 10 am–5 pm, Friday - 10 am–10 pm, Saturday - 10 am–5 pm, Sunday - Noon–5 pm, Monday - Closed.
- The African Art Museum of the SMA FATHERS — The African Art Museum of the SMA Fathers at Tenafly, New Jersey is one of five museums around the world founded and maintained by the Society of African Missions (SMA), an international Roman Catholic missionary organization that serves the people of Africa.
Address: 23 Bliss Avenue Tenafly, New Jersey. Phone: 201-894-8611 FAX: 201-541-1280
Hours of work:Open Daily: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Admission: Free Rotating
Site: The African Art Museum of the SMA FATHERS
- KRANNERT Art Museum
Address: 500 East Peabody Dr, Champaign IL 61820. Tel.: (217) 333-1861 (automated), (217) 244-0516
Hours of work: Monday - Closed, Tuesday-Saturday - 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday - 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday - 2 p.m.-5 p.m. After December 6 the museum's galleries will close at 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays until January 17.
Holidays: Monday, December 24; Tuesday, December 25; Wednesday, December 26; Monday, December 31; Tuesday, January 1
- Cincinnati Art Museum — In 2006, the Art Museum marks its 125th anniversary.
Address: 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Tel.: (513) 639-2995 for general information.
Hours of work: Tuesday to Sunday - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday - 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Closed Mondays.
Holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and the Fourth of July.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art — formerly Graduate Intern, Department of Arts of the Americas, Oceania and Africa, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, New York 10028-0198, Tel.: 212-535-7710
Hours of work: Friday, Saturday - 9:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m., Sunday - 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Monday Closed.
Europe Museum of African Art:
- The African Art Museum of the SMA FATHERS in France - Lyons, Strasbourg; Italy - Genoa; Netherlands - Cadier En Keer
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See also:
- Western Art
- Asian Art
- Oceanic Art
- Native American Art
- ArtWorks as an Investments
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