Art History African Art

“Conical Tower of Great Zimbabwe” Shona People, 1000 CE, Granite

Visuals: Built W/O mortar (like Nan Madol), Locally hewn stone (built from local stone) → makes it more attractive as a trade site; local stones look nice, Walls built high for visibility not defence, 250 royal houses (again, similar to Nan Madol)

Context: Leader distributed grain as a symbol of protection, 20,000 inhabitant, Monolithic bird sculpture (excavted at site) → symbol of KING & DIVINE RULE/POWER

Function: Royal residence, Commercial trade site, Granary (store grain, silo) = symbol of trade, success, and power

“Great Mosque of Djenne” Mali, Founded 1200 but Rebuilt 1906, Adobe (mud brick, more of a Mali thing)

Function: Mosque (sacred part) AND trading center (domestic part) - sacred spaces are dark, Creppisage Festival (ritual for replasting, everyone is involved)

Visuals: TORONS - decorative & sculptural (nubs/stick outs) → climb up these for festival to replaster, rectilinear building (consisting of straight lines), mud brick, pillars w/ ostrich egg = fertility, Minarets = tower to call to prayer, Mihrab & Qibla, points toward Mecca → guides prayer direction

Context: Built by first converted African Chief in oldest day, Rebuilt 3x, Tombs of Muslim scholars nearby (like Stonehenge)

“Byeri Reliquary Figure” Fang people, Cameroon, 19th century, Wood

Visuals: a RELIC = object used to contain person’s remains, CALM expression (nonchalant), Infant body and adult head represents the CIRCLE OF LIFE, elaborate hairstyle (represented power), wood surface and polsihed with oil, emphasis on belly button (gives life; umbilical cord), Rigid (still, stiff, unmoving)

Context: NOMADIC tribe, venerates (worships) ancestors, only viewed by initiated men (young men & women could not peek into), placed on TOP of basket of ancestors remains

Function:LINK between living and dead, commmune with ancestors (AXIS MUNDI - spiritual connection from heaven to Earth), EDUCATES young men being initiated (like the Navigation Chart), protect ancestor remains

CONTEXT: spiritual belief FUNCTION: ritual practice

• ancestors live on in afterlife → worship dead relatives

• ancestors hold power over tribe → honor them by protecting remains

• TRIBE IS NOMADIC → Ancestor remains in PORTABLE vessel
  

Characteristics of RELICS

• Figural (represent people) sculpture

• Rigid/seated/still → standing guard

• Symmetrical → stability, balance

• Calm/Serious Face → Transcendent

• Shiny surface → polished, ritual use

“Ndop of King Mishe” Kuba people, DR Congo, 19th century, Wood and Metal

VISUALS: large head emphasizes his wisdom and intelligence - he thinks things through, Highly polished, nat’l mat’l, contemplative expression, seated in meditation - introspective king, belly + lack of muscle *PEACEFUL, Dagger of Peace- turned away, Hand out to receive advice

Context: ORAL HISTORY - Mishe known for his generosity and received his own praise song, created during life to document accomplishment, POSTHUMOUSLY - educate new king, kept around to document history

Function: container of SPIRIT and document HISTORY

SPIRITUAL BELIEF → RITUAL PRACTICE

• Spirits float in “Purgatory” until finding afterlife/Heaven → Build a container (artwork) to house spirit TEMPORARILY (like Malangan, except Malangan was thrown away after, Ndop was not)

• King still watch over tribe after death (like Moai) → Ndop “educates” new leader, feed and house sculpture until no longer needed

“Veranda Post” Artist: Olowe of Ise, Yoruba, 20th cent., Wood & Pigment

Visuals: Ogoga- KING (most powerful person shown), bird (hat) = protection by female ancestors; INNOVATIONS - Painted for decoration, negative space, multiple figures (*HIERARCHY)

Context: Holds up entrance porch to palace, oral history, OLOWE - famous carver for having OJUANA (ability to tell stories with art)

Function: SHOW POWER

“Ikenga Figure” Igbo people, 19th-20th century, Wood

Visuals: Ram horns = determined/represents determination, stylized, right hand of accomplishment

Context: Male dom. society

Function: Individual possession (every male has their own), supernatural power (chi)

“Mblo Portrait Mask” carved by Owie Kimou, Baule people, Cote d’Ivoire, 20th century, wood, brass, and pigment

Visuals: Portrait of Moya Yanso, Brass triangles = shiny & represents healthy, wrinkles by mouth = age/wisdom, high forehead = intelligence, slit eyes = modesty, elaborate hairstyle = beauty

Context: Matriarchal society (run by women), COMMISSIONED BY HUSBAND

Function: Performed by Moya (known for dancing), later by stepson Soule, personal achievement

“Bundu Mask” Sande Society, Sierra Leone, 20th century, Wood, cloth, and Fiber

Visuals: smooth, dark surface (polished, used in ritual), Ripples = COULD BE.. 1) symbol of fertility 2) representation of the water spirit, high forehead = wisdom/intelligence, small closed mouth = woman who doesn’t gossip (ideal), downcast eyes = modesty/respect, elaborate hairstyle = beauty

Functio: performed at coming of age ceremonies for females in Sande Society, MODELS IDEAL female appearance AND behavior

Context: uninitiated girls painted white (unattractive), mask is worn on top of head → raffia covers performer - allows spirit to embody performer

“Pwo Female Mask” Chokwe people, DR Congo, 19th century, wood/fiber/brass/paint

Context: Patriarchal & matrilineal society (men are most powerful, but inheritance, kinship, and status traced through female side/mothers side), women revered BUT controlled, represents a female deity that has successfully given birth

Visuals: White around eyes - represents spirit realm, dots around eyes = tears (sad becuase bond w/ son ends), represented ideal womanhood (beauty - hair, slit eyes - respect, long nose), symbols of power = METAL earrings, hair, white eyes (shows status)

Function: Performed by MEN; an HONOR to do so, ends bond btwn mother and son (son can now marry & becomes above mother, enters patriarchy), male initiation - how to treat women and how to act properly

“Aka Elephant mask” Bamileke ppl, Cameroon, 19th century

Visuals: Beads imported from Venice = shows wealth and status (social power), Black = living & dead connect, White = ancestors & medicine, Red = life & women (fertility), Triangles = leopard; authority

Context & Function: reinforced SOCIAL & POLITICAL power, performed ONLY by elite, Began in palace; entered courtyard marketplace, recreate power of elephant to reinforce power of Bamileke king (dom)

“Lukasa Memory Board” Luba people, DR Congo, 20th century, Wood, beads, metal

Context: no written language, emphasis on oral history and TRADITION; Mbudye group - preserve royal history

Function: Mneumonic device: trace w/ fingers to read, interpret, and transmit social knowledge

Visuals: Abstract, hand-held, largest bead = king, lines = travel, trade, white bead/shell=spirit world (Pwo Mask)

Historical Context: court procedure, royal events, political opinions