Art in Focus

Chapter 12: The Arts of Africa

Lesson Summaries-English

          Africa is a vast continent more than three times the size of the United States. The arts created in Africa record the creativity of many great cultures.

Lesson 1
Art of African Kingdoms

          In Africa, ancient civilizations as well as recent artists have created an impressive array of art forms. The visual arts have always been integrated with other art forms, such as music, dance, and drama. African art emphasizes the important events in life and the human relationship with nature. The court of Ife in southern Nigeria flourished 1,000 years ago as the center of the Yoruba people. Artists created realistic portraits of the Yoruba kings and queens in terracotta and bronze. Other artworks created for the supernatural world tend to be more abstract. Today Yoruba artists create abstract masquerades, full costumes including masks. These are meant to be worn during public dances that portray the cycle of life and death.

          The empire of Mali was founded in the thirteenth century in the Inland Niger Delta. Terra-cotta sculptures of soldiers show that the ruler Sundiata had a great army. An adobe mosque, or Muslim place of worship, with rows of tall columns was built in the ancient city of Jenne. The kingdom of Benin in southern Nigeria reached its peak in the sixteenth century. Like other African artists, Benin artists were expert metalworkers. They made high-relief bronze sculptures to cover the walls and pillars of the royal palace. These reliefs show status according to size, where the king, or oba, is the largest figure.

          In the Asante kingdom of Ghana, gold jewelry was created for the rulers to show their divine authority. Weavers also created kente cloth, a brilliantly colored and patterned fabric that became the royal cloth.

          Ethiopia, the oldest Christian nation in the world, produced intricate crosses in a variety of materials.

Lesson 2
African Sculpture

          African artists have contributed to world art with their sculptures made of wood. Modern artists in Europe used African sculptures as a source of inspiration. Most of the sculptures that have survived today are from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They appear in great variety, since ethnic groups create styles and are then influenced by those of other groups. Carved wooden figures are usually shown in frontal poses, have large heads, and show little movement. The proportions of each figure reflect cultural preferences. Some figures are meant to contain the spirits of ancestors and cultural heroes. Others were used in rituals to deal with social problems. The Kota people of Gabon created figures to guard ancestral relics. The Dogon of Mali sculpted harmonious images of the first man and woman. The Baule of the Ivory Coast created sculptures of their spirit spouses, or mates that live in the invisible realm.

          African masks also take different forms and serve various functions. Often part of full costumes, they are meant to be seen in motion during ceremonies. Many masks embody powerful forces. The masks of the Bwa people of Burkina Faso are made of a variety of materials and are used during community events. Mende women of Sierra Leone wear lustrous black helmet masks during ceremonies that initiate young women into adulthood. Although anonymous artists created many African artworks, some individual artists have been identified. The Yoruba artist Olowe of Ise carved posts showing figures in active poses. An unknown Luba artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo created neckrests with a trademark “cascading hairstyle.” Today African art is understood on its own terms, taking its place among the art traditions of the world.