African Art in the Modern Era

Society and Religion in Early AfricaSociety and Religion in Early Africa

• Common cultural inheritance– Basic languages– Animist beliefs

• Oral traditions– Reverence for elderly, ancestor worship

• Emphasis on family, community– Evolution of powerful kingdoms

Three Early African Kingdoms:Three Early African Kingdoms:Ghana, Benin, ZimbabweGhana, Benin, Zimbabwe


• Ghana– Caravan routes– Increased wealth from exported goods– Conquered by Berbers

• Benin (Nigeria)– New food crops, metalworking techniques– Ruled by an Oba – Decline after massive slave deportation



• Zimbabwe– Stone Age settlements (bushmen)– “Great Zimbabwe” complex– The Shona • Ancestral spirits as birds, eagles

20.5 The ancient walls and one of the conical towers showing the inner passage of the Great Enclosure at Great Zimbabwe, 15th century, Zimbabwe

Slavery and ColonialismSlavery and Colonialism

• Transatlantic Slave TradeTransatlantic Slave Trade– Indentured servantsIndentured servants– Connected to European colonizationConnected to European colonization

• Slave NarrativesSlave Narratives– Works Progress AdministrationWorks Progress Administration

• The SpiritualThe Spiritual• QuiltingQuilting

20.7 Harriet Powers, Bible Quilt, 1885-1886

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

Colonialism in Africa – a brief history

Slave trade & European contact with Africa occurs between the 15th - 19th centuries, largely focused on coastal areas of Africa.

In the nineteenth century as the slave trade was phased out, European governments sought to gain from the rich natural resources of Africa, and Christian missionaries arrived in force. “Scramble for Africa”

By 1914 almost all of Africa was under colonial rule after a race to occupy by many European nations.

Collecting African objects became of great interest to the incoming colonists as they realized, ironically, that their presence might endanger or eradicate many age-old customs and traditions through introduction of modern/Western technologies and diseases.

What do we mean by the term Colonialism?

Slavery and ColonialismSlavery and Colonialism

• ColonialismColonialism– Availability of raw materialsAvailability of raw materials– PortuguesePortuguese– BelgiumBelgium– FranceFrance– United KingdomUnited Kingdom

• AparteidAparteid– Alan PatonAlan Paton– Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela

LEFT: Pablo Picasso, 'Head of a Woman', 1907 (oil on canvas)RIGHT: Dan Mask from West Africa

How African art influences European art and artists

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/how-african-art-influences-european-art-and-artists/8252.html

Bamana People,

Mail, N. W. Africa,

Chiwara (antelope

headdress, 20th century,

Wood

Comparison of the four major styles of The Chi Wara /

Chiwara / Chi-Wara mask of the Bambara people of Mali. Left to right Abstract /

Bougouni / Southern region style, Vertical/

Segu/ Northern region style, the

Horizontal / Bamako /

Northern region style, and the

Abstract / Sikasso region style.

Yoruba Twin Figures, made by Akiode

died 1936Nigeria, 20th c.

wood

Animism

From Latin anima "soul, life” - a set of beliefs based on the existence of non-human "spiritual beings" or similar kinds of embodied principles.

Spirits embodied in the natural world

Deep respect for nature and all living things

Ancestral spirits

Mediators = diviners, shamans and healers who use prayer, sacrifice, offering, ritual, or performance through (art) objects

Toguna (meeting center), MaliDogon Culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Feeiy8jlAeI

20.4 Altar of the Hand, Kingdom of Benin (Nigeria), late 19th century

Traditional African Art Traditional African Art in the Modern Periodin the Modern Period

Traditional African Art Traditional African Art in the Modern Periodin the Modern Period

• Transitions of Life, Rites of Passage– Religious objects– Maternity figures

• Performance Art of Dance• Masks, headdresses, ceremonial dress

• Complexity of influences– Western tendencies

20.6 Sculpture of a bird, Great Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), 1200–1400

20.10 The bird headdress of a young Maasai warrior, 2006

Impact of Western Culture on Impact of Western Culture on Contemporary African ArtContemporary African Art

Impact of Western Culture on Impact of Western Culture on Contemporary African ArtContemporary African Art

• Kente cloth• Use of ephemera• Music– Cross rhythm– Vocal harmony

20.16 El Anatsui, Between Earth and Heaven, 2006

20.19 A kora, a 21-string instrument that is plucked by hand

African LiteratureAfrican LiteratureAfrican LiteratureAfrican Literature

• Somalian oral traditions– Raage Ugaas (18th century)– Qamaan Bulxan (mid-19th century)

• Swahili-Arabic script– Recording traditional, new songs– Saiyid Abdallah (c. 1720-1810)

African LiteratureAfrican LiteratureAfrican LiteratureAfrican Literature

• Negritude– Leopold Senghor (1906-1989)– Compromise with Neo-Colonialism?

• African Novelists– Thomas Mofolo (ca. 1875-1948)– Chinua Achebe (b. 1930)

Chapter Twenty: Discussion QuestionsChapter Twenty: Discussion QuestionsChapter Twenty: Discussion QuestionsChapter Twenty: Discussion Questions

• Explain the effects of Western colonization on the peoples of Africa. What were the positive and negative ramifications of the introduction of Western ideologies and priorities?

• What are the arguments presented regarding the publication of literature in English versus in the native African languages? Which do you find to be the most compelling argument? Why?

• How is traditional African art different, both stylistically and philosophically, from art of the other geographic regions (particularly the West) and historical epochs? What is role of the artist and the aesthetic in African art? Explain.

Guided questions for the film “Hidden Treasure of African Art”

BBC Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBmPota4tpU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBmPota4tpU

African Art in the Modern Era

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