Introduction to African Arts
Senior 3 · Fine Arts
Introduction to African Arts
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
The two wooden carvings below were made in the Ségou region of Mali in the early twentieth century. They are not statues to be looked at in a glass case. Each was fixed to a cap and worn on a dancer's head, with a costume of raffia fibre hiding the dancer's body, while music played and farmers watched. The one on the left, with the openwork mane, is male; the one on the right, carrying a young one on its back, is female. They are called ci wara, and they honour the mythical being who, according to Bamana tradition, taught people how to farm. In this unit you will study the arts of three regions of Africa, and then focus on Rwanda. West Africa comes first.
Definition
Traditional African art: art made by African communities according to long-established forms and purposes, often for ceremonies, leadership and daily life.
Mask: a carved covering for the face or head, worn with a costume in a performance. A headdress (crest mask) sits on top of the head.
Terracotta: fired clay, used for sculpture and pottery.
Lost-wax casting: a way of making metal sculpture in which a wax model is covered in clay, the wax is melted out, and molten metal is poured into the space it leaves.
Stylisation: shaping a figure according to rules of form and proportion rather than copying nature exactly.
| Culture | Where | When | Notable art |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nok | central Nigeria | about 500 BCE to 200 CE | terracotta heads and figures with large, pierced eyes |
| Ife (Yoruba) | Ile-Ife, south-west Nigeria | about the 12th to 15th centuries | calm, naturalistic heads in terracotta and copper alloy |
| Benin Kingdom (Edo) | Benin City, southern Nigeria | especially the 16th to 19th centuries | brass plaques and heads for the palace, cast by a royal guild |
| Akan (including Asante) | Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire | many centuries to today | kente cloth, stamped adinkra cloth, brass goldweights |
| Bamana | Mali | many centuries to today | ci wara headdresses, bogolan (mud cloth) |
| Dogon | Bandiagara cliffs, Mali | many centuries to today | masks used in dances, carved doors and figures |
Many Benin brass plaques and heads were taken by British soldiers who attacked Benin City in 1897, and they ended up in museums in Europe and America. In recent years some museums have begun returning them to Nigeria. Who owns and displays African art is part of its modern story.
Worked example 1: analysing an artwork in four steps
Analyse the male ci wara in the photograph.
1. Describe. A carved wooden antelope with long, curved horns, a long head and an openwork mane of zigzag teeth, standing on a small base.
2. Analyse. Strong vertical lines (the horns) contrast with the curving, rhythmic mane. Positive shapes and the empty spaces between them balance each other. Incised lines add texture.
3. Interpret. The upward horns and energetic mane suggest strength and growth, fitting a dance that honours farming.
4. Judge. A successful work: it is light enough to wear, readable from far away during a dance, and full of movement, though it is still.
Worked example 2: comparing two works
Compare an Ife head with a Nok terracotta head.
Similar: both are heads of people from what is now Nigeria; both use fired clay (Ife artists also used copper alloy); both show dignity and calm.
Different: Nok heads are strongly stylised, with large, pierced, triangular or D-shaped eyes and elaborate hairstyles; Ife heads are naturalistic, with soft, lifelike features and fine parallel lines on the face.
Conclusion: both show great skill but follow different ideas of how to represent a person.
<em>What's That Thing? Ci-wara</em>, from the Staten Island Museum. Listen for how ci wara headdresses were worn and why they are made in male and female pairs.
Warning
Avoid the word "primitive". It is inaccurate and disrespectful. African artists worked to precise standards of form, meaning and skill.
Don't treat Africa as one culture. Name the people, the place and the period of each work, as you would for European art.
Tip
Who, where, when, what for. For every African artwork, name the people, the place, the period and the purpose before describing its style.
Practice
Name the culture known for terracotta heads made between about 500 BCE and 200 CE, and the modern country where it was found.
Describe the six steps of lost-wax casting.
Why are many West African heads made large compared with the body?
What were ci wara headdresses used for?
Explain why seeing a mask in a museum shows only part of the artwork.
Choose one West African artwork from this lesson and analyse it using the four steps: describe, analyse, interpret, judge.
Discuss: should museums return works such as the Benin bronzes to the places they came from? Give one argument on each side and your own view.
1. Nok; Nigeria.
2. Make a clay core; cover it with a wax model; add wax channels and cover everything in a clay mould; heat it so the wax runs out; pour molten metal into the space; break the mould and finish the casting.
3. The head is seen as the seat of wisdom, character and destiny, so it is emphasised.
4. They were worn on the head in pairs (male and female) in dances that honour the mythical being who taught farming, to encourage good farming.
5. Masks were made to be worn with a costume and seen moving in dance with music; in a museum only the carved part is still, out of its setting.
6. Answers vary; check all four steps are used with evidence from the work.
7. For example: for return, the works were taken by force and belong to the culture that made them; against or with conditions, museums say they care for and display them to many visitors. A good answer gives reasons and respects the history.
Which West African work in this lesson would you most like to see in its original setting, and what would you expect to hear and see around it?
Sources and credits
