African Arts Midterm

Everybody sees art from a different perspective; it will signify something to one person that won’t necessarily be the same as the next person who observes it. However, the problem here is that to the Africans, these artefacts have more or less the same meaning and explanation to them all, symbolising the same things, and cultural events, changes, a description of their history almost. Which therefore really makes you feel where they belong is back in Africa, their true home with representing their true meaning.

Consider how Africa’s geography has changed over time. What positive and negative effects would these changes have had on human populations on the continent? As their new homes changed they were able to adapt due to their innovative mindset. This can be attributed to the new found organization thanks to language. Allowing Africans to grow and expand throughout the entire continent. Other factors that can be attributed are the change in geography for some parts such as the Sahara drying out and swamps and lakes disappeared.

I, along with my group members London, Keely, Austin, Cody, and Maddie, choreographed the dance “Homecoming” to the song “Traditional African Music Compilation” by Kevin Macleod. This dance is a symbol of all we have learned this semester and our intent was to demonstrate that. This semester we studied tribal dance, more specifically african dances, such as the Maasai Jumping Dance. We also learned about war dances and the different reasons villages dance during times of war. We attempted to include elements of all these different dance styles relating to our theme. This project is the only time I have ever been able to perform on a stage for an audience, whether it be dance, acting, or singing. It was a unique experience that I thoroughly

During the 1800s western society began to take an interest in creating political emprise all around the world. With this in mind, many European nations started looking at Africa. In 1880s only 10 percent of Africa was controlled by some European nation. Some of the 10 percent included the French who were in control of Algiers, Portuguese in parts of western Africa and British and Dutch colonies in South Africa. However that small percentage quickly grow with European nations started to gain control of almost all of Africa. By the 1900 European countries, control the majority of African

In Africa the drum is considered a sacred tool in ceremonies and rituals that are a part of the culture. Africa is a large continent, and drums and their use is different from country to country as the continent is large. In West Africa, the drum can be used for communicative purposes to call meetings or to announce the death of someone important. This communication is made with a talking drum. The talking drum is hourglass-shaped and its pitch can mimic the tone of human speech by squeezing the cords of the two drumheads between the arms and body. It can also be used to send signals. Traditional African religious activities such as communal prayers, rain making, healing ceremonies, and rituals associated with purging evil in society are made complete by drumming. (Kiarie 2) The Conga drum, is used in traditional religious ceremonies in the Conga region. The Conga drum is a single head-drum made from stretching a goat skin over a hollow log. Drums can be found at most African family events including weddings, funerals, marriages, and birth celebrations.

Art is a form of expression about ideas, in order to describe a human beauty, appealing an imagination of art and emotion. Suzanne Preston Blier has written about an attractive piece of sculpture, The Royal Arts of Africa. She has a perfect description of a well-balanced of it, which is included the analogous colors and all these represent gods in religious iconography as well the rectilinear shape that is connected to the body and unifying the sculpture.

“Studded Stool with Heart motif Kuba people Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa 20th C. Wood and silver 30.5 W x 6.5 D x 10.5 H inches Item #A0900-164” (Imagawa). African art post-Colonial example they did not use studding or stool making until after the Europeans left. Mostly they did humans and animals pieces. “Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)”

African monument takes several arrangements and deals us huge empathetic of the arts and ethnic groups beginning everyplace the situation arose. African figures can regularly exist styled such as massive and main in that the symbol or custom exists not detached from the timber or nugget beginning which it’s stamped, giving it a texture of hefty state of standing endlessly. Their drives stay self-same various; carrying lifetime-crafting talent, shower, decent crops; struggling bad illness, normally terrible actions, wicked spirits; assisting through shared choices and decisions; recollection (by integrity) vital occasions, creating governmental reports. They tin to be precisely huge to ability the comfort of an entire public and they can be

Having origins in slave trade of the Muslim Empire that conquered North Africa, are the Gnawa people. Located in Morocco, the Gnawa are an ethnic group that is a product of their ancestors that have come before them. Their culture is a hyprid of their West-African heritage, North-African surroundings, and Islamic faith. Their spritualism and animism has its roots in West-African traditional religions. Another use of the tern “Gnawa” refers to the people of Morocco that participate in the musical and ritual tradition of the lila. This nighty ritual celebrates God, his Prophet Muhammed, Sub-Saharan Africa and many other invisible entities. This complex liturgy is an all night ceremony that mixes music with colorful costumes, acrobatic dances and incense. Music and dance are ubiquitous of the lila, meaning “light”, with songs that comprise of a rich repitoire of ancient Afro-Islamic

that are ascribed to African worship, some of the aspects of the description of the

In this assignment we look at how the Benin is able to concept the uncivilised nature of African societies. We will also look at the relationship between the Benin Bronzes, as African art, rather than modern art in the west. We know that the Benin bronzes are known to be of ‘aesthetic’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘sentimental’ value due to its symbolic appraisal of civilisation. They are also one of the most sophisticated pieces of art.

Another example of how culture influences art is the painting Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Qui Ying. He was considered to be one of the Four Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1644. This painting depicted many everyday activities that would be done during the early spring time. The work of art done by Qui Ying includes people tending to flowers and playing chess, which are part of the Chinese culture during the spring. African art work and culture is geared towards the religious aspects of life. Terracotta figures that did not interfere with human representation were the first kind of African art. African art’s main focus is expanding the world to decrease the fear of the unknown. For example, a mask that was used for rituals and ceremonies created by Dual God Gulu. The mask brings life and death. This is an example of African art that involves the religious aspect of culture.

African traditional religions were the first recorded religions to grace the plains and coasts of Southern Africa and possibly even the world. The earliest group of people living in Southern Africa has been named the San people. It was thought that San etchings and implements found in caves dated back to between 10 000 and 20 000 years ago (Deacon, 1999). However in 2008 the oldest art to date was found in a cave in Still Bay in Cape Town, called the ‘Blombos’ cave. It was named by Christopher Henshilwood and dates back to 77,000 years (Wits, 2014). This rock art is the earliest depiction of religious experience and belief.

African Art of the 20th century portrays historic paintings, sculptures, visual arts from African natives or the people who live on the African continent itself. Visual culture has been the major part of the African Art. Many of the African sculptures of many people have been portrayed in wooden masks. African art takes many structures and created using a wide range of materials such as wood, ceramic, stone, mud, etc. The African art are from many different parts of Africa that include Muslim art from the north, Christian art of Ethiopia from the west, sub-Saharan Africa, etc. Eastern Africans has their own style art known as "Tinga Tinga" paintings and set an example of craftsmanship by making textile art. The Zimbabwe culture focused more on creating sculptures and had been in focus internationally. The southern part of Africa has its unique style of art which focuses more on human characteristics.

Buchi Emecheta’s literary terrain is the domestic experience of the female characters, and the way in which these characters try to turn the table against the second-class and slavish status to which they are subjected either by their husbands or the male-oriented traditions. Reading Buchi Emecheta informs us of the ways fiction, especially women’s writing, plays a role in constructing a world in which women can live complete lives; a world that may provide women with opportunities for freedom, creativity, self-expression, friendship and love. Welesley Brown Lloyd believes that; “of all women writers in contemporary African literature Buchi Emecheta of Nigeria has been the most sustained and vigorous voice of direct feminist protest” (35)