Art And Culture: The Kifwebe Masks

Modern figurines of art stem directly from the hands of the ancient’s. The organic forms of modernly sculpted artifacts can most likely be directly referenced to the movements of prehistoric artworks. There seems to be an ongoing transition on how cultures no matter how stretched apart through time, contrasted by ethnicity or religious views; can all be somewhat related to each other by the methods or principles portrayed through their artworks. In fact, I saw that very transition; within two works in which are extremely different in meaning, craftsmanship, time, culture and so on. However, I was still able to find similarities within the artifacts. In this paper I will examine Venus of Willendorf, a Paleolithic carving in limestone; which can fit in the palm of one’s hand. As well as, The Sacrifice of Chacmool, which are a plethora of Mesoamerican statues emulating rituals of sacrifice.

The durability of clay has brought forth an immense abundance of Greek pottery, a craft mastered by Athenian artists. Archeologists have found hundreds of varieties in creation, shape, function, style, and artwork in Archaic vases. The museum has been blessed with one of these priceless artifacts; it is the duty of this establishment to accumulate as much data as possible surrounding the vase. In first identifying technique, dimensions, and condition, as well as describing shape, ornament, and figural scenery, one may then begin to analyze the vase. This serves the general purpose of understanding where the artifact stands in Greek culture and history. Through the examination and research of figural scenes, it is then possible to compare

In the ceremony, the dancers line up in two lines dancing while portraying goats. The dancers wear outfits made of white silk thread with normal tennis shoes and socks. The mask, of course, is the most important aspect of the attire. Mask makers typically decorate the masks with horns, a head-dress, or both. They also usually paint them in bright colors, such as the one found on masksoftheworld.com. In some areas, the masks also have colored ribbon at the tips of the horns and hair made of sisal or raffia thread. The dancers are primarily male, though there are some areas that have female dancers, as well. This is the case in Quechultenango, Guerrero, Mexico. Groups of both male and female dancers complete the dance. In the same area, they dance in normal, everyday attire and only wear masks they decorated to resemble the goat.

Ancient art is pivotal to understanding the societies they came from. The subject, the methods used, and even the materials are all indicative of the culture and environment in which the art was produced. The Stela of Iku and Mer-imat and a marble statue of Venus exemplify this very idea. Both works act as windows to the mindset of the different cultures that contributed to their establishment.

Unlike the sculptures from the Archaic period, the High Classical period sculpture is no longer stiff, rigid and stylized. The understanding of the human anatomy is showed with accuracy and observation of the artist. Comparing with the sculpture from the Archaic period, this Spear Bearer is realistic and natural, the proportion of the head and the figure is considered perfect in centuries. this was the uniqueness of this piece during that time period.

Stone sculpture was abundant in the Aztec world. The Aztec looked to their regional ancestors and the natural landscape around them to inspire both their art and their cosmology. The object discussed in this paper is a stone-carved mask representative of the god Tezcatlipoca. The trickster divinity Tezcatlipoca was a powerful foreseer and chaotic god of the Aztec peoples, represented through ritual objects like masks or pieces of obsidian. Masks were important high-value ritual and ceremonial objects. Masks, like the one discussed in this paper, are representative of the Aztec state in terms of their socio-economic structure, and the warfare-based political goals of the state.

Throughout different time periods and civilizations come many different types of art that would never be comparable to those of another time or place. There are also the pieces that come from a completely different time and place, but yet they can still be compared to one another. The Torso of a God (Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, last decade of the reign of Amenhotep III, Granodiorite, 1359-1349 B.C.) and the Statue of Asklepios (Greek, Hellenistic period, Pentelic Marble, 2nd century B.C.) are two sculptures made hundreds of years apart, yet they both display many similarities and show how art is constantly changing whilst keeping the same core ideas.

In this essay I am going to look at the Makishi Masquerades and the Transmission of knowledge among the Chokwe and related people together with the Pwo mask, the Bambara tribe of Mali and the Chi Wara antelope mask, and also at the role that the Holo mask plays in the Ngidi and Makanda initiation rites (African masks history and meaning, S.a.; African art and architecture, 2001).

Our world is full of so many grandiose monuments, eye-catching sculptures, and stunning statues, each having an individual story to tell. Thousands of them have been created however, only a small number of them are actually extraordinary and picture-worthy. This paper will compare and contrast two of those picture-worthy sculptures. Furthermore, I will examine the aspects of each of these sculptures. I will compare and contrast what each of them represents, the differences in texture, their size and their tone.

The third mask also deals with a secret society. This carved wood “Helmet Mask” (inventory # 5-13259) is thought to be from the Bamileke society of Cameroon and is dated to about 1976. Used in a men’s secret society known as the Kwifo (“night”), masks in this style disguised the members identities as they acted as a police force for the king. The Kwifo mediated conflicts, pronounced legal sentences, and carried out the resulting punishments. Different masks represented the various powers of the group and the carved headdress of this mask mirrors the prestige caps worn by elites and kings. The intertwined “legs” represent the earth spider, which, because it lived underground was thought to unite the world of the ancestors and spirits, who live in the earth, with that of humans. Revered for its supernatural wisdom and power it is often consulted

The Karen-Pa-Dong Hill tribe is probably most recognized by its cultural tradition of bodily adornment. “Pa-Dong” means someone who wears brass rings. It is thought that the tribe’s custom of elongating necks through the wearing of brass rings stems from myths. The most popular myth states that the headman of the tribe had a dream in which a tiger was about to attack and kill one of the most popular children in the village. Since tigers always kill their victims by first breaking their necks, the headman decreed that all children must wear heavy brass rings around their necks to protect them. Since the tiger attack never came to pass, it was thought that the wearing of brass rings worked and protected them. Wearing brass neck-rings is considered to be a beautiful form of bodily adornment that stems from their cultural group histories.

African masks were to establish a different identity for the wearer in order to amuse, teach, or sacrifice.

Venetian masks are a centuries-old tradition of Venice, Italy. The masks are typically worn during the Carniva, but have been used on many other occasions in the past, usually as a device for hiding the wearer's identity and social status. The mask would permit the wearer to act more freely in cases where he or she wanted to interact with other members of the society outside the bounds of identity and everyday convention. It was useful for a variety of purposes, some of them illicit or criminal, others just personal, such as romantic encounters.

     Masks were created to be placed over the face, on the top of the head, or even over the head. Most masks represent spirits of ancestors (Fetzer 106). Some villages make masks with full costumes and use them with music to dance in ritual performances. They used masks for social control,

These dances are a type of sexual education, presented openly to stress the fertility of this female ancestor. To highlight her supernatural attributes as an ancestral, Pwo sometimes dances on stilts or performs acrobatically skits. In this masquerades a Pwo performer will wear the Pwo mask while holding a flywhisk and a rattle made form of tin can. The Pwo mask dancer dances with the women who clap and sings to musically accompany the performer. In the following paragraph I will explain the style and elements of the Pwo mask (Van Wyk, Garratt & Stepan, 1998:67-68).