The histories and lineages of African art are as diverse as the communities and cultures that traverse the continent. From the ornate cave paintings of South Africa's Cederberg Mountains to the abstract masks of myriad regional traditions, African art incorporates an extraordinary array of objects, materials, media, and themes.
While the various artistic traditions of such a large and diverse continent display considerable regional and cultural variety, there are consistent artistic themes, recurring motifs, and unifying elements across the broad spectrum of the African visual expression. As is the case for every artistic tradition in human history, African art was created within specific social, political, and religious contexts.
The traditions of African art are rich in their variety of objects, materials, and media, including sculpture, pottery, metalwork, painting, and textiles. While artworks differ depending on geographical area, historically African art has shared some underlying characteristics - including the fact that, unlike in the Western world, objects are often created for religious, ritual, or practical functions.
African art often stems from the themes of religious symbolism, functionalism and utilitarianism, with many pieces of art that are created for spiritual rather than purely creative purposes. The majority of popular African artworks can be understood as the tools, such as the representative figurines used in religious rituals and ceremonies.
Let's delve into some key aspects and examples of traditional African art.
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Key Ideas & Accomplishments
Amongst the best-known examples of traditional African art are the striking masks produced by many cultures across the continent: from the Zamble masks of the Guro culture (located in present-day Ivory Coast), to Yoruba, Lulua, and Goma facial adornments - created by communities in Nigeria, Congo, and Tanzania. These masks often had a precise religious or ritual function, seen to take on magical properties in the context of a particular rite or event.
Zamble Helmet Crest Mask
They also had an incalculable impact on the development of modern art in Europe during the early 20th century, with Cubists such as Pablo Picasso deeply moved and influenced by their animated abstraction.
Traditional African art shares marked characteristics, in spite of its geographical differences. For example, many African sculptures are united by their intended function as talismans or vessels for communicating with the dead ancestors during religious events. As such, many works remind us of the close relationship between art and spirituality throughout human history; the fact that centuries-old traditions have survived in many African cultures gives us a vital window on the origins of human creativity.
Pottery is a key form for many African artistic cultures. Jugs and vessels were often created with a utilitarian or domestic function in mind, yet also with great attention to visual beauty and detail. The case of African pottery indicates the less rigorous boundary placed between fine art and practical craftsmanship than in the Western tradition. In fact, this approach mirrored twentieth-century Western movements such as Constructivism, again indicating the ways in which traditional African art predicts and preempts Western equivalents.
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African art cannot be considered today apart from the controversies concerning its location in museums and galleries across the West. Works such as the Benin Bronzes - which the Nigerian government has repeatedly petitioned to have returned - were plundered by colonial empires and often sold on, hence their dispersal across Europe and North America. They therefore stand as markers of a global debate concerning the need for compensation and reparation following the violent subjugation of African societies by European states.
One striking aspect of African painting, pottery, and sculpture to Western viewers might be its marked difference from historical works produced in the European Renaissance tradition, with their emphasis on vanishing-point perspective and a form of naturalistic representation. Equally, traditional African art should be explored on its own termsand for the themes and motifs that unite much of it: for example, the production of objects and costumes for religious and ritual purposes.
Artworks and Artists of Traditional African Art
The origins of African art lie long before the recorded history. The region's oldest known beads were made from Nassarius shells and worn as personal ornaments 72,000 years ago. In Africa, evidence for the making of paints by a complex process exists from about 100,000 years ago and of the use of pigments from around 320,000 years ago. African rock art in the Sahara in Niger preserves 6000-year-old carvings.
Here are a few notable examples of traditional African art:
c. 3000-2000 BCE Untitled rock painting
Untitled rock painting
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Chad's Manda Guéli Cave is home to an array of painted figures and animals, including cattle and camels. This diversity of forms highlights an interesting feature of African rock art. Unlike in Europe, where cave paintings were not created beyond prehistoric times, many African cultures continued to produce this style of painting well after humans had settled in agricultural communities. Because of this, works like the above can be divided into four distinct categories, identifiable by the types of animals depicted. Early paintings tend to include wild animals such as bison and elephants, with later phases incorporating first cattle, then horses, and finally camels. The depiction of camels in this work places it in the last category of cave paintings, helping archaeologists to date the work. The presence of human figures interacting with animals, meanwhile, confirms this piece as a product of a period of domestication, well after the earliest, hunter-gatherer phase of human development had ended. Again, this suggests that this is a later cave painting.
At the same time, the work also seems to serve as an abstract visual diary, or a series of time-stamps stretching across centuries. The fact that camels are depicted alongside, and sometimes seem to be transposed on top of cattle, supports the ideas that in many African caves paintings were not created during single phases of history. Rather, later groups of artists would have added to existing paintings with their own images, creating a remarkable graphic record of the passage of time and human development: indeed, works of African cave art provide a unique and captivating insight into past cultures in a way few other works of human creativity can match. Pigment on Rock - Manda Guéli Cave, Ennedi Mountains, Chad, Central Africa.
16th century Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba
Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba
This artwork is one of a pair of African ivory masks featuring the face of a woman from the African country of Benin. Exquisitely detailed, these are arguably the most important historical works of the Edo people. As the Metropolitan Museum of Art notes, "although images of women are rare in Benin's courtly tradition, these two works have come to symbolize the legacy of a dynasty that continues to the present day. The pendant mask is believed to have been produced for...the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idia. The oba [or king] may have worn it at rites commemorating his mother, although today such pendants are worn at annual ceremonies of spiritual renewal and purification."
The details of this sculptural work are highly significant to its symbolic and communal meaning. First, the impression of scarification or tattooing on the face reflects a rite common amongst the Benin people - although the distinct facial features would have been based on the appearance of the individual, regal subject. However it is the headdress and collar that are perhaps the most interesting, as they tell a story of foreign influence. The Metropolitan Museum notes the presence of "carved stylized mudfish and the bearded faces of Portuguese [sailors]. Because they live on land and in the water mudfish represent the king's dual nature as human and divine. Having come from across the seas, the Portuguese were considered denizens of the spirit realm who brought wealth and power to the oba."
Features like those described show the power of much historical African art to make visual statements about influences on a particular culture or community. This can be compared to the densely allusive references that populate religious paintings of the European Renaissance, for example. At the same time, the ceremonial function of artworks like the above mark them out from the purely ornamental and symbolic value of most Western works from the same era. For this reason, traditional African art provides an alternative rubric for thinking about the very essence and purpose of art, and is of the utmost importance to all who want a better understanding of the subject at a global level. Ivory, iron, copper - Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.
Early 16th century Military Leader
Military Leader
This small relief plaque, measuring little more than a foot high and a foot wide, features a warrior dressed in full armor with spear in one hand and shield in the other. His direct and intense frontal gaze is barely visible under his large helmet, fastened with a chin strap. The background is notably replete with detail, including finely inscribed lines in the shape of large three-petaled flowers, or perhaps leaves.
This work is one of thousands of plaques known as the Benin Bronzes, carved in brass by artists from the Benin Kingdom - part of modern-day Nigeria - several centuries ago. These pieces show the role that art can play in communicating a political statement or as a vehicle for propaganda. The Benin people were known for their military might and relief sculptures like this were used to reinforce the impression of this power to friend and foe by depicting warriors and leading military figures alongside the king, his family, and his attendants.
While they should be treasured for their aesthetic and historical value, the Benin Bronzes also speak to a very modern predicament. According to the Ethnologisches Museum itself, these "historical 'bronzes' and ivory objects from Benin are seen as symbols of colonial collecting and their presence outside Nigeria is widely understood as a sign of colonial injustice." During the 19th century, British troops attacked Benin, bringing the kingdom under colonial rule and looting much of its artwork, including these plaques. The Benin Bronzes were amongst the array of artefacts brought back to England, from where many were sold, ending up in private collections and museums around the world. The present-day Nigerian government, alongside innumerable activists, artists, and citizens, are pressing for these treasures to be returned to their native region. Brass - Collection of Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Germany.
19th century Female Figure
Female Figure
This wooden sculpture depicts a female with an elongated neck, a frontal gaze, and arms bent at 90 degree angles resting formally at her side. A good deal of fine detail is evident in this work, including around her sandaled feet and the marks on her chest and shoulders.
This statue was produced by an artist who belonged to the Bena Lulua people in present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. The figurative sculptural tradition of this region is diverse in that it features both women and men and distinguishes between citizens, rulers, and warriors. However, all Lulua sculptures tend to bear several important features in common, allowing them to be identified clearly as products of their time, place, and culture. As African art expert Frank Willett notes, "the figurines of the Bena Lulua are highly distinctive. They show elaborate scarifications and usually have the navel emphasized presumably because it represents the physical link to the ancestors."
Such geographical distinctions between artworks, especially with regards to the representation of the human body, indicate the breadth and complexity of historical traditions within African art. This disproves the outmoded idea that African artistic traditions are in any sense uniform or unsophisticated. It is also worth noting the similarities between the formal distortions of the Bena Lulua figurines and the work of modern European artists known for elongated depictions of the human form, such as Alberto Giacometti and Amedeo Modigliani. This is one of analogies that can be drawn between traditional African art and modern Western art, and another indication of the great significance of historical African art. Wood with traces of tukula pigment - Collection of Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii.
19th century Zamble Helmet Crest Mask
Zamble Helmet Crest Mask
This mask is typical of the style of the Guro culture of the Ivory Coast. With its elongated nose and large eyes, its other key distinguishing feature are the striped horns protruding from its forehead. The Guro people shape this type of mask to resemble a mythical creature called the Zamble which, according to African art expert Frank Willett, is "a mysterious being which resembles a beautiful, strong, young man. These qualities are reflected by its form - the beauty of the antelope and the strong teeth of the leopard together with the youthful rapidity of its dance steps."
With its strong association with death, this mask indicates the importance of the spiritual world to the Guro people. According to the Art Institute of Chicago, Zamble masks would be worn "on the occasion of a man's second funeral, which would be organized months or years after the actual burial to commemorate the accomplishments of the deceased. Performances took the form of competitions between mask dancers from two different families." Works such as this mask show the vital role that much African art plays in ceremonies and religious events. The significance of masks generally extends far beyond that of a prop or performance aid. Instead, they are vital component of the ritual and often endowed with magical powers.
In more recent years, masks such as these have been influential on pop culture in the West, and particularly African-American pop culture, influencing the aesthetics of the Marvel film The Black Panther, for example. Wood and pigment - Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York.
Early 20th century Vessel
Vessel
A functional piece of pottery, this work shows how African art often combined practical use with artistic design. Most likely used to hold wine, the vessel has also been fashioned to depict the body shape and head of a female, complete with ornate necklace and distinct hairstyle. The elongated facial features are particularly distinctive, indicating the cultural and geographical specificity of the object.
This work is from the Mangbetu culture located in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and provides a good example of the way figures are depicted in the tradition of that community. As historian of African art Frank Willett explains, "the deformation of the head reflects the...practice of binding their babies' heads to make them long and beautiful." Amongst the Mangbetu, art is created by both genders. However, according to the Cleveland Museum of Art, "women were and still are responsible for the making of terracotta pots....It seems, however, that men added the figurative elements".
This pot is believed to have had a utilitarian function. As author Victoria Rovine explains, it would have been "displayed by Mangbetu leaders as they sat in state or used along with a straw to consume palm wine. Pots of this type were also used to hold a mixture of palm wine and a root called naando, consumed by dancers at ceremonial events to energize them and improve their performance."
In the early-to-mid 20th century, modern Western art movements such as Constructivism and Concrete Art collapsed the distinction between artistic and functional objects in the same way as some African craftspeople had been doing for centuries. This is another indication of the ways in which traditional African art predicts the evolution of Western art during the 20th century. Terracotta - Collection of Cleveland Museum of Art.
Contemporary African Art
Africa is home to a thriving contemporary art and fine art culture. This has been under-studied until recently, due to scholars' and art collectors' emphasis on traditional art. Notable modern artists include El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge, Karel Nel, Kendell Geers, Yinka Shonibare, Zerihun Yetmgeta, Odhiambo Siangla, George Lilanga, Elias Jengo, Olu Oguibe, Lubaina Himid, Bili Bidjocka and Henry Tayali.
Art bienniales are held in Dakar, Senegal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Many contemporary African artists are represented in museum collections, and their art may sell for high prices at art auctions.
Despite this, many contemporary African artists tend to have a difficult time finding a market for their work. Many contemporary African arts borrow heavily from traditional predecessors. Ironically, this emphasis on abstraction is seen by Westerners as an imitation of European and American Cubist and totemic artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse, who, in the early twentieth century, were heavily influenced by traditional African art.
Since the late 20th century, artists such as Ibrahim El-Salahi and Fathi Hassan have emerged as significant early figures in the development of contemporary Black African art. However, the foundations of contemporary African artistic expression were laid earlier, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s in South Africa, where artists like Irma Stern, Cyril Fradan, and Walter Battiss played pioneering roles.
In more recent decades, the global art scene has shown growing interest in African contemporary art, largely thanks to the support of European galleries like the October Gallery in London and the involvement of prominent collectors such as Jean Pigozzi, Artur Walther, and Gianni Baiocchi.
A pivotal moment for the international recognition of African art came with the appointment of Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor as the artistic director of Documenta 11 in 2002.
Several popular traditions assimilate Western influences into African styles such as the elaborate fantasy coffins of Southern Ghana, made in a variety of different shapes which represent the occupations or interests of the deceased or elevate their status.
Another notable contemporary African artist is Amir Nour, a Sudanese artist who lived in Chicago. In the 1960s he created a metal sculpture called Grazing at Shendi (1969) which consists of geometric shapes that connect with his memory of his homeland. The sculpture resembles grazing sheep in the distance.
Regional Variations and Specific Art Forms
African art is produced using a wide range of materials and takes many distinct shapes. Because wood is a prevalent material, wood sculptures make up the majority of African art. Other materials used in creating African art include clay soil. Jewelry is a popular art form used to indicate rank, affiliation with a group, or purely aesthetics. African jewelry is made from such diverse materials as Tiger's eye stone, Hematite, Sisal, coconut shell, beads and Ebony wood. Sculptures can be wooden, ceramic or carved out of stone like the famous Shona sculptures, and decorated or sculpted pottery comes from many regions. Various forms of textiles are made including Kitenge, mud cloth and Kente cloth. Mosaics made of butterfly wings or colored sand are popular in West Africa.
The human figure has long been the central subject of most African art, and this emphasis has influenced certain European artistic traditions. For instance, during the fifteenth century, Portugal engaged in trade with the Sapi culture near the Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Sapi artists produced intricate ivory salt cellars that merged African and European design elements-most notably through the inclusion of the human figure, which was typically absent in Portuguese saltcellars.
In African art, the human figure can symbolize the living or the dead, represent chiefs, dancers, or various trades, serve as an anthropomorphic image of a deity, or fulfill other votive and spiritual functions.
Akan Art
In the 17th century, the area of present-day Ghana was a center for trade and cultural exchange. The states in the region were connected through trading networks and shared cultural beliefs but remained politically independent. The kingdom's economy, which grew through trade in gold, cloth, and enslaved people, supported the development of its artistic culture.
Akan art originated among the Akan people. Akan art includes traditions such as textiles, sculpture, Akan goldweights, and gold and silver jewelry. Akan art is characterized by a connection between visual and verbal expression and a blending of art and philosophy. Akan culture values gold above other metals, and it is used to represent supernatural elements, royal authority, and cultural values.
