African Art 's Influence On The Culture Of The World

All over the world statues have been a common form of art among many civilizations throughout history. Two examples of these historical pieces of work would include, The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, and Statue of Gudea. According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2017), the first sculpture dates back during the fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt between 2575 and 2465 BC. The second statue, according to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2017), which was made of diorite was created around 2090 BC, during the Neo-Sumerian period, near Mesopotamia. Looking further into the background and composition of these two sculptures it can be found that The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, and Statue of Gudea share some characteristics while at the same time differing in some important details.

Royal Arts of Africa show traditional work from the most historic tribal civilizations. Throughout centuries, African Art has enriched royal stature, authenticated noble influence, and honored past and present rulers. The Kom of northwest Cameroon, included in these historic tribal civilizations, molded statues symbolizing their very own royal families and prestige attendants of their kings’. The “Royal Figure” is a prime example of this kind of artwork that has lived through the Kom Kingdom’s history. This piece is constructed out of multiple mediums including wood, Indigo beads, raffia cloth, and iron, but beneath these materials lies a much deeper meaning. Symbolism, daily functions, history, and culture were all brought forward when

Dance has always been the focal point in which Africans are able to let free through movements of emotion. In this essay I will discuss the history of African Dance and its importance to the African Culture. Also will be discussing the general information of African dance, the different types of African dance and the ones that I like the most. Dance in the African culture is something that cannot be taken advantage of in the African Culture because it holds such a strong meaningful moment at the time of any occasion.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern for the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as remembered traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art

The Nok heads and sculptures of Nigeria are made hallow, life-sized terra-cotta figures with a coiling technique commonly used to make pottery vessels (Thames & Hudson, 2015, pg.451). Nok heads were made with clay and although clay is very durable it is also breakable. However, very few sculpture have been found undamaged. The head of the figures was larger than the bodies because the artists wanted to emphasize the association between the head with knowledge and identity. The Nok head below is from Rafin Kura, sculpted in c. 500 BCE-200 CE. Like many Nok heads, this sculpture has a unique hairstyle, with three buns on top. It also has triangular- shaped eyes with holes in the pupils, nostrils, mouth, and

On October 9, 2015 I went to the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art along with attending the Million Man March down in Washington D.C. The experiences were wonderful and I was very excited to be at both events. While at the museum I took two tours one at 10 am that was led by a woman named Nkechi Obi. She talked about docent African Arts. The next one was shortly after at11 am that was led by a teen ambassador named Nicholas Stewart, who was very intelligent. He talked about numerous pieces throughout the museum that had some significance to younger minds so I found that very helpful. After the tour I spent some time down at the mall in DC in which faced the Capitol. This was the Million Man March that was a very popular event that brought out many people. I would describe both events as lectures that were powerful and time put to good use.

1853 there was eighty-six documented galleries, which had women and children working in them, really changed the times. Around this time, there were document African American operators which seems counterproductive, as acrimonious slaves would be photographing and documenting the slave trade as well as high profile crime trials of relevancy. Post mortem portraits became prevalent as well as the documentation of the different interesting landscapes, for instance Niagara Falls was shown in the chapter with a group of folks standing in the foreground enjoying the view. The American Daguerrotypists made the sites commonly unseen by most, available. Such a Hawaii, Mexico, Philippines and South America. They were also able to introduce Photography as it was then known to the people of

The body of the woman has mane and the hair fall over accentuated breast feature on the body. The mane is o presenting both a feel of nobility and fright on the face of a lioness, which has a skull of bone and stylized whiskers on the face . The head is raised in a form of adoration with the solar disk and cobra emphasizing the cosmic aspects of the divinity of the goddess . The face is modeled with high precision on which the eyes are small and eyelids that have been painted as it were a collar or the robe’s edge. The statue is in a seated position on a block with the fingers that have been shaped significantly with a focus on the distinctive feature of anatomy that the artist sought to add with much delicacy, resting on her legs. The goddess’s legs have inscriptions that are added to the surface of the throne. She stands as a towering figure with soft feline features that invoke power and fear especially with the nature of her eyes in the statue. Her elegance calls attention to her presenting a valid reason why she was both feared and

This sculpture is of a women breast feeding her child. The face of the two people is elongated, as well as the breasts of the mother. This is common to all African Art because they wanted representation of what is being expressed. In this particular sculpture, a supernatural power is being called upon. The power has been asked to protect the mother and child, and to

Fig. 1-3 Virgin and Child Icon- Vladimir Virgin (early 12th century) tempera on wood, 30” x 21”

This ladle is that object, it is going to be the centerpiece for serving the community at today’s gathering. As all gather in their tribal dresses, braided hair and color beaded dresses the use of this ladle is to serve those gathered. This ladle cannot be used by anyone ordinary; a person of power can only use such an object this. This person is a woman. The power of feeding the people is of great honor and one only done by women because of their status as creator god. He has put all women in charge of all good things on earth and feeding their people is a top priority. This ladle is used on a regular occurrence, being used for gatherings, and serving those around them for years previously and years to come on a consistent basis. This ladle is not only seen as a symbol of serving put embodies much of what the Yoruba people believe in from a cultural standpoint in the detail of the ladle itself. The motif of connecting life with household implements. The role of the ladle being used by women as a nurturer and caregiver shows the stretch that this once ordinary piece of wood significance to the

I have chosen to do African tribal art. Tribal art has three primary categories african art, art of the Americas, and oceanic art. The designs can be woven into different fabrics or dyed into different colors. The threads are sewn to create patterns such as stripes. The time period from when it began was around the 19th century. The pattern was created in West Africa. At the end of the 19th century a machine was created to help make the cloths, but the machine would leave cracks, small lines and dots where the dye would seep through. I chose this culture because I liked the designs that they do, I like the details. Some interesting facts are that no two designs are ever the same, originally it started out as putting wax on cloth then dyeing

     Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor’s spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).

During the mid 19th century up until the Great War of 1914, European countries began to heavily colonize and come into contact with African nations. This was called "new imperialism". During this contact, European culture was influenced by Africa. The influence of the African people can be seen in the European society of the time. In the 19th and 20th centuries, modern artists embraced African art for its lack of pretension or formal qualities.

In the research conducted to find an African Cultural object that has a context in relation to something, it was best suited to read up on Nigerian modernistic artwork and check out some of the displays in the National Museum of African Art. The information helped understand more about Nigeria and the Yoruba people of the country due to the fact that earlier in the semester I primarily did a presentation over the Hausa-Fulani of the north, so it felt justifiable to try and learn about another culture. In this essay, the artwork chosen called Sea Monsters Three by Twins Seven-Seven will be analyzed as well as the artist and the influences of Nigerian Modernism.