African Art

African art varies from ritual clothing to body art to sculptures and more. They have symbols that they make and stamp onto a cloth to tell a story. In class, this project was very interesting. It was nice to talk about a certain year in high school to our fellow students, even people we normally would not talk to, expanding our social connections. Carving the eraser was my favorite project so far; I’m going to use the stamps over and over. I enjoyed how the result let us literally take what we did home that could be used again. Scarification is body art that the Africans use, usually to determine what tribe a citizen belonged in or some part of their past. Sometimes dye would be rubbed into the scar to make sort of a three-dimensional tattoo. Scarring cream would also be rubbed in so the scar would become fresh again, making it more defined. To be honest, this intrigues me very much. I think I would rather get scarification than a tattoo, for I hate needles, but it would be more unique in America. It would be amazing to go to Africa and get a real African to do the process. Something I did not know was Africa was one of the first Christian countries, using the cross in much of their art. Masks were used either to wear around the neck of royalty, or usually for royalty to wear on special occasions. The mask project we did was also quite enjoyable. Out of everything we have done in class so far, even with writing the essay about African art, I believe that was the most successfully taught and had the best projects. I liked the art better than the Egyptian and Prehistoric art. They made sculptures that were realistic, yet idolized. Other sculptures could hold the wood spirits, which were believed ugly yet made beautiful so they would not be offended, the king, and/or people adoring the king. Many natural materials were used such as Ivory to symbolize a number of meanings. Some wooden carvings were believed made by woman long before we realize in the art world, yet we cannot date them. While the art was semi-realistic, it told the roles of genders in the area. Females were more like property, while the man was in charge. The man was the warrior, hunter, protector. The woman was the feminine, nurturing, “mom” type of a woman. Kings would garnish themselves in rich beads with drums surrounding. They would hold weapons, symbolizing power. While this made them seem paralyzed, it held it’s reason, showing the people their leader is vital, giving him the respect her deserves as king. African art was the most relatable for me because I love religion and am Christian like the majority of them were, I love the styles of the art forms, and all of the symbols and scarifications are so different, yet simply extraordinary. I really want to visit Africa now. Thank you for that. I chose the pictures with of the mask that was worn as a medallion by the king. The eyes are looking slightly down; the lips are relaxing upon each other, while the nose and ears poke out. Lines between the eyebrows go straight down, giving the caring a more serious tone when I gaze into its face. I merely love the little wood spirits that go around the head like hair from far away. Each has such detail, took such time, had such meaning, I could goggle at the piece for hours.