Week One

Before starting this class, whenever I would think of African art I envisioned bold colors, wood carvings, masks, and bold patterns. Even in the short amount of class time, I have learned that there is so much more to the African culture and arts.

This week in class we learned about two different groups of people that live in Africa. The first we learned about were the Dogon people. These people are known for their abstract wooden figures. They often portray people with having a cone shaped head, slanted eyes, arrow shaped nose, and often times will have some kind of scarring on the figures.

                                                                  

Ancestor Couple. Dogon. Mali. Wood.

The second group we learned about was the Asante People. We learned about their use of stools and the status it has within the group. We also learned about staff finials and the use of proverbs. One in particular that I was drawn to was the staff finial that had the proverb “if you climb a good tree, you get someone to help”. I really like the message it holds. I agree that you need the help and support of the people around you to help you get to where you want to go.

“If you climb a good tree, you get someone to help.”

The thing I enjoyed most about this week was learning about the textiles of the Asante people. I am attracted to the beautiful colors and different designs. I also enjoyed the video we watched that showed how some of it is made. I learned that their uses of the textiles show different roles within their community and certain patterns or designs have certain meaning(s).

For class we were to read some articles that discussed how Western Civilization has influenced how we view African Art. Most African Art is meant to be used. Professor James Giblin Discusses this in his article “Issues in African History”. When a piece is placed in a gallery it, in a sense, loses its meaning. The art often times is meant to be danced with or presented in a special way or time that, by viewing it in a gallery as just a piece, you lose the meaning.

I enjoyed learning about both groups of people and their art and culture. I am excited to learn about new people and the way they live. I am interested to see new art and how it works in their life.