-
Not made to be viewed in museums.
-
Served a variety of purposes: religious, social and political.
-
Symbolic, thus parts of some human figures are exaggerated.
-
Works are often attributed to specific cultures instead of individual artists.
-
Usually takes the form of sculptures of both humans and animals or functional items such as pottery.
Then, the next step is to give the students a series of questions to help them analyze a piece of African art. I will use a slide of a headdress mask, ChiWara/Tyi Wara. (For slide reference see Materials for classroom use). Among the questions I will ask my students are:
-
What do you see?
-
____
A carved figure with animal forms including horns, might be an antelope.
-
How big is the mask?
-
____
Approximately 40 inches.
-
What material is used?
-
____
Wood, metal, beads, fiber.
-
How realistic or true to nature is the mask?
-
____
The mask embodies both an antelope and an aardvark.
-
What makes it not realistic?
-
____
It is a composite form of more than one animal.
-
What is the emotional feeling you get from the mask?
-
____
Energy and contained power.
-
What are the possible meanings and / or purposes of the mask?
-
____
The mask represents the mythological hero of the Bamana, called TyiWara, usually half human, half beast, who helped the Bamana how to farm.
-
How might this mask be used?
-
____
Headdress fastened on a cap, worn on the top of the head, used in ceremonies and feasts during the planting and harvesting seasons by farmers who belong to the Tyi Wara society.
Once the students understand what I expect from them, I will distribute a student handout (see sample of handout on the next page).
I will explain to the students that for each laminated picture they will receive, they are to examine the piece and complete the corresponding section of the handout. The students will first draw a simple sketch of the piece in the laminated picture, describe what they see, then list the materials used to make it and guess the purpose and / or the functions. I will write on the board a series of examples of the functions of African art such as:
-
To promote health and/or well-being in community,
-
To give knowledge about one's responsibility in society,
-
To commemorate important people or ceremonies,
-
To maintain relationships with ancestors,
-
To communicate between humans and the spirit world,
-
To commemorate mythical events or figures,
-
To be used in initiation ceremony,
-
To be used for fertility of land and people.
I will focus on the fact that "art" in Africa serves many purposes and that sometimes an outsider would not always understand the function/meanings of a piece. I will encourage my students to guess even if they find it hard to understand the meaning of a piece of art. It is a way to develop their critical thinking.
Then, I will distribute the laminated pictures so that each pair of students has a different picture. Following the same procedure used for studying the slide of the headdress mask, the students will analyze the picture in front of them. Every time that the students are done with a picture, they will exchange pictures until they have worked on each one. Toward the end of the activity, I will tell the pairs that the picture on which they are currently working will be the one they will present to the rest of the class.
