ART OF AFRICA
700 CE - 1980 CE

Cultural Influences

• Human life, which is understood to have begun in Africa, developed over millions of years and radiated beyond the continent of Africa. The earliest African art dates to 77,000 years ago.

• Art reveals belief systems; it presents a world that is known but not necessarily seen, predictable, or even available to everyone. These arts are expressive rather than representational and often require specialized or supernaturally ordained capabilities for their creation, use, and interpretation. African art is concerned with ideas (beliefs and relationships that exist in the social and intellectual world) rather than with objects of the natural or physical world.

• As in all arts, aspects of human experience (such as origins, destinies, beliefs, physicality, power, and gender) are expressed through objects and performances. Artistic expression in Africa is an integral part of social life, connecting daily practices to beliefs, systems of power and authority, and social networks that link people to their families, communities, and shared ancestors. African arts mark status, identity, and cycles of human experience (e.g., maturational, seasonal, astronomical, and liturgical).

Materials & Techniques

• Art in Africa is a combination of objects, acts, and events, created in a wide variety of media (vocal, aural, and visual) and materials (wood, ivory, metals, ceramic, fiber, and elements of nature) that are carved, cast, forged, modeled, woven, and combined by recognized specialists often for knowledgeable patrons.

Theories & Interpretations

• Use and efficacy are central to the art of Africa. African arts, though often characterized, collected, and exhibited as figural sculptures and masks, are by nature meant to be performed rather than simply viewed. African arts are often described in terms of the contexts and functions with which they appear to be associated.

• Art is created for both daily use and ritual purposes (such as leadership, religious beliefs, diagnosis and divination, education, and personal adornment). Art forms may be prescribed by a diviner, commissioned by a supplicant, and produced by a specific artist. The art object comes under the custodianship of the person who commissioned it or a member of his or her family. Performances of objects are accompanied by costumes and music. None of these practices is simple or random. Cultural protocols acknowledge and ensure the efficacy and appropriateness of artistic experience in Africa.

• The arts of authority (both achieved and inherited status and roles) legitimate traditional leadership. Leaders' histories and accomplishments are often entrusted to and lauded by historians, bards, and elders. Personal identity, social status, and relationships are delineated by aesthetic choices and artistic expression. Common ancestors link leaders, sanction social behavior and choices, and define the order of social life. Education, incorporation into adulthood, and civic responsibility are processes marked by the creation, manipulation, and interpretation of art objects.