African art is of great uniqueness not just in comparison to what we have studied up until now, but the way they interpret both art and the leadership roles that possess their people, it is of great fascination. Although sharing some similarities to previous topics we have covered this semester, African leaders are often viewed as having spiritual relationships with the land, their people and objects. But the role of which the women play is most significant, and the biggest difference compared to what we have learned so far this semester. This uniqueness seems to only be found within the African culture.
The object I chose was a 20th century Yoruba Ladle, although an item that would have been used on a regular basis, this object seemed more than ordinary in comparison to the pieces surround it. The ladle caught my attention for not only its daily significance to the people it was being used for, but also the specific details in which the ladle presents.
Only about eighteen to twenty inches long, this shiny ladle is mad from dark, finely carved wood. Like many other pieces of art or tools from Africa, this ladle seemed no different than any ordinary ladle at first glance. But once analyzed for a long period of time, you began to see the incredible detail and truly get to think about the significant role it played.
At the top of the ladle you see the tiny cutout of a triangle, this small triangle in the wood was shaped out for the purpose of hanging the ladle on the wall of the community kitchen or worship room. Although a very small detail this shows that the ladle was of not only frequent use but of such significance that it has no business being placed on a countertop or in drawer. It needed to be hung for displa...
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...d for many years and continues to serve the same purpose. The ladle was to be served by no one other than a woman. The women possessed the authority to serve with the ladle for many reasons, women are the nurturer and caregiver, but also because they poses more power then men. They are in charge of all good things according to the god creator and feeding their people is of symbolic importance and power. As meal has been distributed to all gathered, the ladle is properly accounted for and placed back properly in its designated location. For most of us, a ladle is just an ordinary item, used to serve food, but to actual power of the ladle is much more meaningful than just an ordinary ladle. The idea of objects and the actual power within an object is of greater significance than any one person. This can be seen firsthand from what the ladle means to its people.
Despite the artistic beauty of the two vases, both were made for more than just decoration. The vase depicting Artemis is what was called a Bell Krater and was used for mixing the popular Greek drink of water and wine. The other, called a Lekythos was used to pour liquids during elaborate burial ceremonies to honor the wealthy. Another main function of pottery in many cases is to tell a story, which is exactly what Artemis Slaying Actaeon intends. The vase depicts the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, slaying a hunter Actaeon, whom accidentally intruded on her bathing while on a hunt. On the other hand, Woman and Maid is intended as a remembrance of a wealthy woman, and depicts an offering of a chest of valuables from a slave girl to the deceased.
It is brown with a crack on the side. This artifact is about 100 years old. It was used by my great-great-grandmother, Mayo Brumfield. There are probably not a lot of butter molds out there because they don't really make butter all by themselves. I am related to the owner on my maternal side. This artifact was past down from Mayo Brumfield to J.L. Leonard to Dianne Tidwell. UNKNOWN! This artifact is special because it dates back to 1917.
Crooked Beak of Heaven Mask is a big bird-figure mask from late nineteenth century made by Kwakwaka’wakw tribe. Black is a broad color over the entire mask. Red and white are used partially around its eyes, mouth, nose, and beak. Its beak and mouth are made to be opened, and this leads us to the important fact in both formal analysis and historical or cultural understanding: Transformation theme. Keeping that in mind, I would like to state formal analysis that I concluded from the artwork itself without connecting to cultural background. Then I would go further analysis relating artistic features to social, historical, and cultural background and figure out what this art meant to those people.
In the article of “Exhibiting Intention: Some Preconditions of the Visual Display of Culturally Purposeful Objects”, the author, Michael Baxandall mainly discussed interrelationship within the group of three agents upon their influence and reflect of the artifacts in the museum, and the understanding of culture elements behind the display. In the first part of this paper, I will identify the points of view of the author. In the second part, I will analyze the layout of the gallery, “Imagining the Underground” in Earth Matters in Fowler Museum in UCLA. Several discussion related to the settings of the museum and the article will be discussed interactively. In general, this paper tries to show the robustness and the weakness of Baxandall’s model, which will specified.
The exhibit that I viewed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was one about European Art between the years 1100-1500. This was a series of paintings, sculptures, architecture, and tapestry of the Medieval and Early Renaissance as well as objects from the Middle East. This exhibit was an important part of the history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art because for the first time, Italian, Spanish, and Northern European paintings from the John G. Johnson collection were shown. It gave me a good idea of what the paintings were like in these four centuries and reflected ideas of both the east and the west.
1420. Tempera on wood, gold ground, 25 1/8 x 19 in. (63.8 x 48.3 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
?Any work of art owes its existence to the people and culture from which it has emerged. It has a functional and historical relationship with that culture.? Michael W. Conner, PhD#
Brief History From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern: the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art of the cuisine so treasured and carefully transmitted to their daughters has become part of the great culinary classics of these lands. But seldom are the African blacks given that recognition.
Most of this documentary supports and clarifies my understanding of contemporary African culture. During the course I’ve learned that traditional African leadership structures undertook great changes under colonial rule and continue to progress today. Pre-colonial Africa had several different states characterized by different types of leadership; these involved small family groups of hunter and gatherers, bigger organized clan groups, and micro nations. Many African communities are still being governed by a council of elders, which is responsible for facilitating conflict and making almost all the important decisions within the public.
Art is defined as works created by artists, including, but not limited to paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings (Merriam Webster). As the late 1800’s and early 1900’s began to set in, African art started its migration from the land of its origin, into the settings of European and American art galleries and exhibits. Modern artists were drawn to African sculpture because of its sophisticated approach to the abstraction of the human figure. During this time period artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, were thriving in trend setting for the entire art community. During the early 1900s, the aesthetics of traditional African sculpture became a powerful influence among European
Kasfir, S. L. (2007) African Art and the Colonial Encounter: Inventing a Global Commodity, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
An Image of Africa Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad has been depicted as “among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language.” Chinua Achebe believes otherwise. In Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa: Racism is Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he simply states that, “Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist” [pg.5]. Achebe argues that the racist observed in the Heart of Darkness is expressed due to the western psychology or as Achebe states “desire,” this being to show Africa as an antithesis to Europe.
Music before the 20th century was very different when compared to the music of the 21st Century. There were distinctive occasions for each type of African music. West African music, the African Diaspora, and the music of the Colonies each had different musical instruments.
...’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements. In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
The forest not only hides man's enemies but it’s full of man's medicine, healing power and food. ~African Proverb.