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The African art that you will be looking at today dates from between the 12th and 19th centuries. It focuses geographically on several places in Africa, centering around Benin City, Nigeria.
African art has a different perspective as it pertains to art in general. There are always exceptions, of course, but we will generalize and say that the Western approach to art consists of creating art for profit and/or with the intention that it will be viewed in a particular setting, such as a private home, gallery, museum, or in public. African art, by contrast, has functionality beyond its aesthetics.
Art is created with aesthetics in mind, which is clearly open to interpretation, and usually has some sort of message. Keep in mind, though, that the creation of objects of aesthetic value often has a different function or purpose depending upon culture. This is true of many cultures in Africa. In the art that you will examine today, the meaning associated with them changes depending on the context of the art. Any perceived power in these objects is lost when placed in a museum, for example. They weren’t intended for display or simply to be looked at. They are functional, and retain their significance as long as they’re serving their particular function.
As you explore the following examples of African artifacts, note these common thematic elements:
Notice the emphasis on abstraction. These figures are reduced to their most essential elements, which in turn are very stylized. This element was seen in earlier examples, such as supposed fertility idols of prehistoric Europe, but it could be said that the level of artistry is more apparent in Akuaba figures.
African art is steeped in tradition with an emphasis on community rather than individuality. It lacks the association with artistic originality. Tradition and consistency of design are much more important than artistic originality. That isn’t to say that there aren’t professional artists. On the contrary, there are certain disciplines that require the dedication and time to learn that only a professional can afford.
The Ashanti people are also known for their production of kente cloth, such as the examples shown below. This is a very symbolic and important form of art. The cloth is typically worn during ceremonies, and it originally could only be worn by kings, although such restrictions have eased over time.
Each color has a different symbolic meaning. While the exact meaning of this particular cloth isn’t known, an educated interpretation based on known color symbolism might be that these examples are meant for females. Pink and purple tend to be closely associated with the feminine essence, or with feminine aspects of life, such as motherhood. Gold or yellow can have an association with fertility.
Nkisi Nkondi figures are sculptures thought to contain a spirit, or a “nkondi.” You may initially equate these with a voodoo-type idol, given that the nails are driven into the figure. This isn’t the case, but there is some truth in terms of the connection to the living that these figures were thought to have. The nails actually function as a way for the spirit to see into the other world. Sometimes figures would have mirrors on their bellies, which served a similar purpose.
There’s a performative aspect to the figure as well. In ceremonies, the nails were driven into its body, which served to activate its power. These figures were used in ceremonies to heal or cause sickness or as a way to detect whether someone committed wrongdoing. Again, the perceived power that these objects had was context-specific. These were functional, not just aesthetically pleasing.
Professional artists did exist in African cultures, as is the case with bronze casters such as the one who created this Yoruba mask from Benin, shown below. Again, these had a specific performance and functional aspect to them. In terms of aesthetics, it’s a beautiful example of the artistic skill of the Yoruba artist. The bronze casting skill of the Yoruba is arguably second to none, particularly in the way they were able to achieve such realism, for example, in this object.
In terms of function, they were ceremonial items intended to be worn, and were believed to function as an intermediary between this world and the spirit world. They were representative of a particular person, given the level of realism that you see here.
Source: This work is adapted from Sophia author Ian McConnell.