African Art

What is Africa?
Where is Africa?
What do we know about Africa?
African Diversity
African Art: African Influences in Modern Art
African Masks: Ceremonies, Costumes, Animal Masks, Dance & Music
African Mask Project
Mask Closing Ceremony
Class Gallery

What is Africa?

Can you find Africa on the world map?

What do we know about Africa?

the world’s second-largest continent
the second-most-populous continent
the only continent with land in all four hemispheres
nearly as long as it is wide
has the largest (nonpolar) desert in the world, Sahara
has the longest river in the world, the Nile
The Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania and Kenya hosts the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world
Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the world’s largest inland delta
Namib desert is the oldest and has the highest sand dunes in the world
has 54 independent countries
more than 1,000 different ethnic groups
is speaking some 1,600 languages, more than any other continent
is considered the birthplace of humans
Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old fossil was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found in Hadar, Ethiopia
Just recently scientists have discovered a new species of human ancestor (Homo naledi) deep in a South African cave, adding a baffling new branch to the family tree.

The places pictured inside the map of Africa include a continent, two countries, and two states. Which are which?

African Diversity

From space, Africa appears divided into 3 regions:

Sahara in the north
Central rain forests and tropical grasslands
More dry land to the south.

Africa is home to many different animals.

Some are familiar, such as giraffes, monkeys and rhinoceros.
Others are only to be found here, like on the isolated island of Madagascar (lemurs)
Yet others are rare or under threat of extinction, like the African elephant, lion, penguin or cheetah.

African Art

Within such a large land and diversity of nature, animals, people and history it’s no wonder that art is everywhere in Africa.
From prehistoric rock art, ancient Egyptian pyramids, African art had evolved to all aspects of daily life: pottery and baskets for cooking, textiles and jewelry for decoration, sculptures and masks for special rituals and ceremonies.

Let’s look at some African art objects.
What do you see when you really look?

the basic shape of the object is square, rectangular, round, oval, triangular…
the object is: symmetrical, asymmetrical, simple, complex…
it seems to be made mainly of: wood, metal, stone, clay, fabric, shell…
the surface is mainly: shiny, dull, smooth, rough, plain, fancy, painted, carved…
title, country, ethnic group
what I personally like most about the object and why, and/or my thoughts about it

What did you notice about the African art?

African art is characterized by stylization (ideas, patterns, designs rather than real appearance)
African art is different from much of the art you will find in a museum because African art objects were not created to be in a museum!
Traditional African art is functional, it is made to be used, touched, talked to, danced with, slept with, sat upon, fed, worn…

African Influences in Modern Art

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African Masks

Masks are usually considered the “heads of spirits”.
Masked characters can be nature spirits or revered ancestors.
Supernatural beings are believed to control most human activities and should be honored in appropriate masking ceremonies.

From stories you read or other cultural experiences, in what kind of ceremonies do you think these masks could be used?

Examples: rites for planting, harvesting, prosperity, good health, rites of passage. birth, coming of age, marriage, initiations, funerals, ancestral commemoration, visits of high-status people…

Ceremonies

A masking ceremony is called a masquerade and the person who wears the mask and the costume a masker.
Although masks can depict both males and females, maskers are usually men.
Just as there are many different ethnic groups in Africa there are also many types of masks and masking ceremonies.

Costumes

The costume of a masker is as important as his wooden mask.
The costume covers all of the masker’s body because the identity of the masker is meant to be hidden from audience.
During the masquerade, the masker is no longer himself, he is transformed in the spirit of the mask.

Animal Masks

The world of African spirit masks is rich with images of animals and insects.
Some animals appear in complex legends about human activities, like the antelope that introduced farming to the Bamana people of Mali
Animal masks never copy a specific animal, they rather use animal features as symbols, like exaggerated horns and teeth as attributes of power.

Can you guess what animals these masks represent?

Dance and Music

Music and dance are also central to a masquerade.
Certain masquerades are conducted only at night under the dramatic lighting of fires or torches.
There are many different elements to a masquerade: the mask, the costume, the masker’s movements, his words, the music, audience participation, lighting, spiritual beliefs…

African Mask Project: Create a mask that will transform you!

If you could have one special power what would it be?

Bring rain, good harvest, shift shapes…

What powers did your mask get from an animal?

Use African animal features (teeth, horns, spots, stripes, mane) to represent your power!

What visual characteristics could symbolize that power?

Make your mask abstract by using techniques of simplification, exaggeration and elongation.
Geometric patterns refer to moral principles, like the zigzag lines that signify the “path of the ancestors”.
The checkerboard pattern signifies the process of learning childhood (white) to elderhood (black).
Owl eyes or big forehead mean wisdom.

What do your colors on the mask mean?

For example, the colors available can have the following meaning: red for joy, black for earth, white for purity.
If using other meanings, make a legend or map for your symbols!