The reading Agent Provocateur? The African Origin and American Life of a statue From Cote d’Ivoire by Monica Blackmun Visona focuses on the ever-changing narrative of an object as it moves through different cultures, times and spaces, as well as how these different environments can change an object's meaning or influence. Furthermore, this article discusses how a singular object can transform the relationships between different arts versus different cultures. Visona discusses how a change of culture and time can drastically change the practice or purpose of an object. In the article, the author makes an informed conclusion that the Fisk Figure in its original place of origin in Cote D'Ivoire was likely used in dance performances or as a diviner
The statue of Hatshepsut seated down is made with the material limestone. This limestone is lightly colored, which created a larger contrast with the other statues nearby. Her face was carved bringing out her eyes, eyebrows and other facial features. Her eyebrows also come slightly together towards the middle. Her lips forming a slight archaic smile. The dimensions are larger than an average female size. The statue is of great size, yet still in proportion. The body and head fit well with each other overall. However, it is greatly exaggerated in size.
The Statue of a kouros and the Portrait statue of a boy both depict similar subjects, however are greatly different in how they accomplish this task. Through detail, or lack there of, the Greeks and Romans are able to display a certain value they have in its members. These two statues were made about 500 years apart and approach the sculpting process quit differently. The Greek statue seems to use geometric exaggerated lines to form the body while the Romans use a more realistic approach and sculpt the body with a more rounded finish. Statue of a kouros, from about 590 B.C and Portrait of a boy, from about the first century, do not share any great technical aspects and are basically nothing alike.
This statue is the result of the sculptor, Richard Rahl, being kidnapped and forced into bondage in a land ruled by a despotic religious order. This order’s teachings insisted humanity was in a state of sin from birth, unworthy of the light and love of their Creator. This sin was greed. To labor for one’s own survival was to show hatred of your neighbor through greed thus leading to slavery in all but name. Art in this land was deemed vile if it showed humanity in any other light than decrepit and twisted, cringing from their Creator and its light.
In my examination of the works, I came across a particular sculpture that portrayed both beauty and craftsmanship. A 15th century sculpture (1490), made in Venice, Italy by Tullio Lombardo, shows a life-size figure of Adam. Titled Adam, the work is the most prominent in the gallery mostly because of its 6-foot standing. It immediately caught my attention and gave me a very realistic impression. One beige color and made of marble, Adam is depicted simply, yet the statue has intense emotions. His meaningful glance is seen in the upward and tilted head position. Adam has almost lifeless looking eyes and seems to be staring into the distance. With these sagging eyes, parted lips, and lacking posture I feel Adam’s guilt is displayed in this figure.
s a conceptual artist, Willem Boshoff challenges his viewers to consider the interplay of words, textures and visual elements, and in the case of Prison Hacks/Prison Sentences (2006, installation of black Zimbabwe granite slabs; Constitutional Court, Johannesburg) it’s important to take into consideration not only the name of the work and its execution, but the materials used and the location in which the work is installed, as all have bearing on the ultimate meaning and, consequently, the choice of name. It can also be argued that the decision to change the name of the work is also part of the overall presentation of the installation and the understanding that one can gain from discussion of this discourse.
Many African cultures see life as a cycle we are born, we grow and mature, enter adulthood, and one day we will eventually die but the cycle continues long after death. In Africa art is used as a way to express many things in their society, in this paper I will focus on different ways traditional African art are used to describe the cycle of one’s life. Since Africa is such a large continent it is important to keep in mind that every country and tribe has different rituals and views when it comes to the cycle of life. It is estimated to be well over a thousand different ethnic groups and cultures in Africa today. Thousands of cultures in Africa see the stages of life bound together in a continuous cycle; a cycle of birth, growth, maturity,
In conclusion, scholars have come to identity “Ethiopia Awakening” as one of Fuller’s most meaningful works. 34 The sculpture demonstrated multiple and diverse meanings. “Ethiopia Awakening” embodied symbolic language that pointed to the struggles of contemporary African Americans. Fuller’s use of symbolic language demonstrated that like music and religion, art has the power to express emotion. Today, “Ethiopia Awakening” stands in the reading room of the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. The sculpture reminds researchers to recover, document, write and share African American history.
Various genres of art – specifically novel or fiction – with its portrayal or depiction of cultural constructs such as music, dancing, sculpting, painting and building, “connects” a person with a specific period of time or age and cultural community. In addition, a novel also moulds or gives expression to perceptions of individual as well as social identity. This complex idea of identity and belonging has been illustrated in Keri Hulme’s novel, The Bone People.
For this essay, we had to visit the Harn Museum and examine some of the pieces in the Africa Collection. Of the options we were given, we then had to take a picture and write an essay on the meaning of the piece and our reaction towards the artwork.
A common aspect of African culture is our mediating of deities, ancestors, and spirits, by performing rituals and contacting ancestors or historical ideals. This spiritual combination creates a non-Western idea of movement in art. I enjoy this part of our culture, where we create a less static environment. We become other beings, through our usage of art, dance, and costume with mask and headwear. Our artistic creators are forgotten. Our original artwork are eventually forgotten. The work goes back to the Earth, for the only true matter is how the spirits are manifested in the objects at the current time; eventually even this wears out. At the time of the spiritual manifestation in the objects, they are some of the most powerful aspects in our society.
The Cameroon Grasslands are known for their different styles of art that represent different social statuses. One significant style of art that indicates status is dedicated to royalty. Royal art not only represents the supremacy of the nation’s ruling family, but also of its people. Masks, such as the Elephant Mask, are used to represent kings and their power throughout funerals. The Elephant Mask of the Cameroon people is valuable not only for its place in funerary practices, but it also represents the importance of the kings and their power in society.
...best case for the retention of the British Benin sculptures is to accord them the unique status they deserve as exceptional artworks and exhibit them appropriately in a prestigious national art gallery, for everyone to appreciate fully.
When walking into a modern American museum, many of the artworks are from the white American perspective, only leaving a small space for artworks done from the perspective of people of colour. For African-American art, mainstream museums seem to either do one of these two things: 1) passively ignore them or 2) actively excluded them from exhibitions. However, over the past few decades, museums have sporadically added African-American artwork to their collection and made exhibitions that echoed the black perspective. Yet, only one major North American mainstream museum has a curatorial department dedicated to African-American art, The General Motors Center of African-American Art. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the lack of understanding
and art which is often referred to as ‘Contemporary African art’, produced by many artists’ designers not Just in Africa but also around the world. Africa art, can now be seen throughout objects ancient and modern sculptures, in the many contexts which invite pertinent questions of history, culture and contemporary politics.
...e by the use of colorful patterns, especially the beautification of house walls, and a renewed passion towards spatial surroundings, settings that not only appeal to people on the basis of their convenience but also bond well with man's discernment. From the literature in the presiding paragraphs, it is clear that African art is broad and wide- extending from carvings, through weights to clothes. Some of the geometrical shapes used in modern-day schooling were devised by African artists. It can proudly be said that the history of African art has through the centuries shaped the art we currently witness all over the globe.