African Art

I watched both videos on African Art. It was very interesting. There were so many similarities between African Art and art from other countries. I liked both of these presentations because it let me feel I was in the museum looking at the statues and sculptures the way these people were describing it. You usually think African Art as static but a specific sculpture had a twisted back, turned all around and you could feel the notches of his spine and the tongue that was sticking out. African art that affected the west is more abstract, simple and dramatic, startling and exaggerated. Above all African Art packed an emotional wallop. It gives a way of psychological form to the human form or to any other figures or to a scene they wish to depict. Most common magical art objects were masks. For example there is a mask with two sides: white and black. The white side depicts a healthy person. The black side is the side of illness, we can see small posts which are victims of small pox. Masks were designed to scare us, but some didn't work and the Boas stopped making them. One of the groups that were made to scare is the Westerners. Rubber and Ivory was popular at the time in Congo when King Leopold was in power. The king wanted it out fast and sent soldiers to make sure that it happens. At the time bullets were very expensive and every time soldiers used it, the king wanted proof that it was used properly. The only time when bullets were used was when the slaves had a deadly disease and bullets were use to prevent from extending the disease any further. The soldiers would sometimes miss and hit another animal. Then these soldiers would sever the right hand off of natives in order to compensate for the bullet that was used. The nature of existence is what Art is about. Art is part of daily life in African culture. This is similar in our culture also. A strong aesthetic sense is revealed in the decoration of traditional homes and in the making of everyday utensils. It finds expressions in dress, hairstyles and other forms of ornamentation. Art was always important in traditional rituals. Many masks in museums were once used in ceremonies that combined artistic creations with sounds of music and dynamic power of dance.