History discussion paper week9
boboboom
art.rarart/Activities Checklist - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Activities Checklist
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To meet the learning objectives for this topic, you will complete these activities. Print this page and use it as a checklist.
Review the Introduction and Objectives page. Read the lesson, Five Elements of African Art. Read the lesson, Art & Culture. Read the lesson, African Artifact Examples. Complete all activities on the Learning Activities page. (Note: there is link to a video you are required to watch) Participate in Discussion: Art. Post any questions about the course or assignments in the Help! Discussion.
art/African Artifact Examples - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 African Artifact Examples 17.SU.HIS.2215.500 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY
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African artifacts have generally been exhibited with reference only to cultural context and use. In view of recent studies of African aesthetic principles and related moral and religious values, there is good reason to emphasize the formal aesthetic aspects of the objects and the moral and religious ideas they express.
African aesthetics generally has a moral basis, as indicated by the fact that in many African languages the same word means "beautiful" and "good." It is consistent with the use and meaning of African art that it should be both beautiful and good, because it is intended not only to please the eye but to uphold moral values. The ethical and religious basis of African art may explain why the principal subject is the human figure; African art often appears in ritual contexts that deal with the vital moral and spiritual concerns of the human condition.
SOWEI MASK
• Mende, Sierre Leone and Liberia • Wood
This mask is worn over the head of a female elder who dances for the Sande women's society. The mask displays and celebrates Mende ideals of female beauty and virtue: elaborately braided hair (cosmetic skills, sexuality); neck creases (full bodied, good health); smooth, broad forehead (nobility, intelligence); lowered eyes (contemplativeness, restraint); well shaped ears; small nose; small mouth (not given to gossip); composed expression (inner serenity), smooth skin (youthfulness). All these features are exaggerated in the mask, its three thick rows of braided hair, large neck folds, wide forehead, diminutive nose and mouth, and polished surface. The bird figure (missing its head & tail) perched on top of the coiffure has many meanings: clairvoyance, love, fertility, power, danger, discipline, prudence, and laughter. The mask's shining blackness connotes the essence of female beauty and moral purity.
CHI WARA HEADRESS (male)
• Bamana, Mali Republic • Wood, metal, threads
To the Bamana people, farming is the most important and noblest profession. At planting time, men of the ChiWara association of farmers dance with headresses like these in the fields to honor Chi Wara, the mythical "farming animal" that taught agriculture to the ancestors of the Bamana. The headdresses, always danced in male and female pairs, depict the antelopelike ChiWara and display the ingredients of successful cultivation. The long horns of the male Chi Wara stand for the tall growth of millet; the penis signifies the rooting of this grain. The long ears refer to the cultivators' listening to the songs sung by women who encourage the men while they work in the fields; the open, zigzag pattern in the neck symbolizes the sun's path along the horizon between the two solstices.
CHI WARA HEADRESS (female)
• Bamana, Mali Republic • Wood
The "female" ChiWara headdress, representing the earth, always accompanies the male headdress during the harvest dances. The baby carried by the female symbolizes baby human beings. As in the male ChiWara headdress, the long horns stand for the desired growth of tall millet. The element of water is represented by the fiber costume attached to the headdress. When danced by a pair of men chosen as exemplary farmers, the headdresses symbolically combine those elements necessary for good agriculture: sun, water, and a solid rooting of the plant in the earth.
ERE IBEJI. TWIN FIGURES
2017712 African Artifact Examples 17.SU.HIS.2215.500 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY
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• Yoruba, Nigeria • Wood, beads and brass necklaces
Among the Yoruba, twins (ibeji) are special children whose birth can bless their parents with good fortune. The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, and the loss of twins is therefore considered a great misfortune. If a twin dies, the mother commissions a memorial figure (two if both twins die), and the soul of the deceased twin is transferred to it. The mother dresses the statuette in cloth and adorns it with jewelry, and keeps it near her bed. She also offers it food and prayers weekly and performs more elaborate rituals on the occasion of birthdays and annual festivals. The figures are carved according to different regional styles; those shown here are made according to the Abeokuta style. The statuettes conform to the Yoruba aesthetics of physical proportion. The head is one third the size of the body, because the head is associated with a person's destiny or "inner head," which determines success and failure in life. Artistic emphasis is placed on "human resemblance," rather than photographic likeness, and the facial features, though stylized, are carefully deliniated and delicate. The smoothed surface, which is difficult to achieve without sandpaper, expresses the desired quality of luminosity. Other Yoruba aesthetic qualities are relative straightness, good composition, youthful appearance, and clarity of line.
BAGLE MASK
• Wee, Liberia & Cote d'Ivoire • Wood, fiber, metal, fur, pigment
Wee masks embody spirits of the forest who request (through dreams) that masks be made so they can "appear" before the people. The Dan classify their masks into masculine and feminine types. The masculine mask, such as the bagle grotesque mask shown here, has square outlines, tubular eyes, and zoomorphic features. This mask is intended to look powerful and fearsome, with its animal horns, bulging forehead, tubular eyes, gaping and toothy mouth, large beard, and mustache. The bagle masker dances vivid pantomimes that entertain the guests at festivities and often caricatures the events of the day.
Pottery
Click here to see more African Art samples.
art/Art & Culture - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Lesson 01
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African art and culture are one and the same. Culture is the history, practices and beliefs that make up a society. In Africa, art was seldom used for decorative purposes, but rather to give life to the values, emotions and daily customs of the various ethnic groups throughout the continent.
African art and culture, in many instances deals with making sense out of the world. It also deals with the religious aspects of life. The first African art were terracotta figures that didn't bother with normal human representation. That's because African art doesn't focus on recreating the world in another form, but rather concentrates on explaining the world to reduce the fear of the unknown.
They blend together to create an explanation of the universe which would not be possible otherwise. It is poetry built into objects used throughout daily life. It includes ritual and ceremonial objects, items used daily, adornments showing status or tribe and representations of those things in life which defy explanation.
For thousands of years, African culture was primarily passed on through direct teaching and through verbal communication. Instead of books and tablets, Africans used sculptures and objects to pass on their beliefs and customs from one generation to another . A sculpture may be of an ancestor or a particular mask may be used only during a special ritual or ceremony that is important to the tribe.
The different materials used to make various pieces of African art were determined by location. However religion was the common thread that made African art and culture the perfect team. Masks, sculptures, headdresses, carvings, cooking bowls and many other items were created with the purpose of providing insight into the unpredictable unseen world.
They are so entwined that its impossible to separate the two. Almost every piece of African art represents a cultural value or belief. For example, baskets may hold the remains of an ancestor whose story is retold to all group members or masks enable the wearer, in times of battle, to invoke the god of strength and courage. Its these mystical qualities attached to each piece of African art that makes them so unique, desirable and valuable.
art/Five Elements of African Art - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Lesson 01
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There are five elements of African art that are used to describe the aesthetics. Yet African art is so simple and complex at the same time that the elements can't capture its real meaning and purpose. But people need a way to classify and define art and so have narrowed the basic elements of African art to the following:
Resemblance to a human being:
African artists praise a carved figure by saying that it "looks like a human being." Artists seldom portray particular people, actual animals, or the actual form of invisible spirits. Rather, they aim to portray ideas about reality, spiritual or human, and express these ideas through human or animal images.
Luminosity:
The lustrously smooth surface of most African figural sculpture, often embellished with decorative scarification, indicates beautifully shining, healthy skin. Figures with rough surfaces and deformities are intended to appear ugly and morally flawed.
Selfcomposure:
The person who is composed behaves in a measured and rational way; he or she is controlled, proud, dignified, and cool.
Youthfulness:
A youthful appearance connotes vigor, productiveness, fertility, and an ability to labor. Illness and deformity are rarely depicted because they are signs of evil.
Balance and proportion through material choices.
The only one of the five elements that is common to Western Art.
The reality is that trying to describe the 5 elements of African art in a few sentences is like trying to describe the universe in a paragraph. Though art differs by region in its forms and materials, the aesthetic elements provide common ground for understanding the complexity of the art. In Africa, art is intended to portray ideas, beliefs, status and workmanship.
Source: http://www.allaboutafricanart.com/5elementsofafricanart.html
art/Introduction and Objectives - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Introduction and Objectives 17.SU.HIS.2215.500 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY
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Introduction
African art usually refers to the works of sub Saharan, Africa, that part of the continent originally inhabited by Blacks who developed cultures quite distinct from those of North Africa. Within this huge geographic area are regions of radically different topography, climate, and natural resources. The economies of these regions, therefore, also differ radically from one another, as do the customs, religions, languages, and artistic expressions of their peoples. There is startling diversity within each of the regions as well.
African art is utilitarian and an integral part of daily life. The most common objects have meaning and purpose which turns them into art. It's not art for art's sake, but rather art for the purpose of living a deeper and more meaningful life with a greater understanding of the world.
Knowledge of the history of visual arts in Africa is very piecemeal. For example, the earliestknown sculptures are the pottery heads, figures and ironworking of the Nok culture of Nigeria (500 BC to AD 200). The earliest evidence for the use of copper is found in the Igbo village, also in Nigeria, where sites of the 9th century AD have revealed cast bronze regalia used in ceremonies along with other works of art. But, very different in style from the brass castings of the Yoruba city of Ife (11th15th century) or to those of Benin (15th19th century), also in Nigeria. Other examples from other regions include the heads from Lydenburg in South Africa dated to about AD 500; Sculptures in stone from Sierra Leone, probably the work of Sherbro carvers and datable to no later than the 16th century. The earliestknown sculptures in wood may be certain portrait statues of kings of the Kuba, central Zaire, thought to date from the 17th century. Some of the finest sculptures in wood date in the 1920s from Yoruba masters such as Olowe of Ise (d. 1939) and Areogun of OsiIlorin (c. 18801954). What is ironic is that each of these examples seems to be a fully developed style, indicating it is not likely the first.
As you can tell "African" art is as broad of a concept as any other discussion about the continent. This module will introduce you some of the art. In no way is it an exhaustive study. Side note: There is a wonderful class available at Sinclair if you are interested in a more complete exploration of the topic.
Objectives
After completing the learning activities for this topic, you will be able to:
Understand of the complexity of concept of African art. Appreciate various mediums of African art. Understand the elements that represent a common thread that runs through much of African art.
art/Learning Activities - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Learning Activities 17.SU.HIS.2215.500 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY
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African Art
View this 15minute video. Note: You can turn on Closed Captioning, as needed.
Tribal Art: BBC Documentary
African Art
Read this selection to learn more about African art.
Exchange of Art and Ideas: Benin, Owo and Ijebu Kingdoms
art/question.docx
Please answer the following question. Your answer should be thorough and demonstrate your understanding of the material.
What does the art tells you about the people of Africa? You are required to make reference to the YouTube video or resource from Learning Activities page to demonstrate you have completed these activities.
Make sure you support your answer with evidence from the readings.
art/Spotlight_ Mali - 17.SU.HIS.2215.pdf
2017712 Spotlight: Mali 17.SU.HIS.2215.500 SURVEY OF AFRICAN HISTORY
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Mali is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; internal trafficking is more prevalent than transnational trafficking, but foreign women and girls are forced into domestic servitude, agricultural labor, and support roles in gold mines, as well as subjected to sex trafficking; Malian boys are forced to work in agricultural settings, gold mines, the informal commercial sector and to beg within Mali and neighboring countries; Malians and other Africans who travel through Mali to Mauritania, Algeria, or Libya in hopes of reaching Europe are particularly at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking; men and boys, primarily of Songhai ethnicity, are subjected to debt bondage in the salt mines of Taoudenni in northern Mali; some members of Mali's Tamachek community are subjected to hereditary slavery related practices; Malian women and girls are victims of sex trafficking in Gabon, Libya, Lebanon, and Tunisia; the recruitment of child soldiers by armed groups in northern Mali which was a major issue has decreased in recent years.
