The Art of Africa

1. The Art of Africa

4. apprenticeship bust ivory oba pigment ceremonies functional ritual celebration headpiece mask

5. There is no single African art style. Different cultures have different styles. • Art is a part of all African cultures. Art is a part of their every day life • Some African art is for just looking at. Most African art is functional, ritual, ceremonial and for celebration • African art is always changing. It follows traditions of the past, present, and future.

6. Africa is a patchwork of societies, each with its own distinct religions, traditions, culture, and history. African art is different depending upon the history of each country. Traditionally, In Africa there was not difference between art and life.

7. Where do we normally go to see art today? Museums, galleries, and other public places • Art is used for: • beauty • tradition- honoring important people • to bring good luck, good heath, and success in life • religious ceremonies, rituals, and celebrations • clothing in art was often used to tell things about the people

8. Possibly you are familiar with African masks and headdresses African artists also made: thrones, staffs buildings doors furniture buildings grave markers pottery weaving ancestral and religious figures textiles musical instruments jewelry clothing Wood and metal are some of the most common materials used to create African art. Artists also used clay, cloth, pigment, shells, skin, ivory, horns, feathers and bone

9. Artists in some African countries learned through apprenticeship. apprenticeship- a period of a person’s life spent learning a craft or trade from another person Many artists planned and designed their objects. Making something beautiful was important not just for the eye, but because people believed that the “better” the object, the more help the item gave the person using it. For example, a better artwork would be more effective at influencing the gods or the weather.

10. African art has influenced a lot of artist in the early 20th century. For example, Pablo Picasso admired and collected African art and incorporated it into his own art. Walt Disney liked African art so much that he collected it and now has one of the largest collections of African art in the United States. Much of this art was used to inspire some of the Disney cartoons. Like, Lion King.

11. Look carefully at this face. Who might this person be? What is this sculpture made of? Do you think that this is what the woman really looked like? Bronze is a metal that can be cast in a mold. Does anyone know how to make a sculpture out of bronze? What details help you to know that this was an important person? Bronze head of queen mother, Benin

12. What is this? What do you think this was use for? Face mask, Songye people

13. Apron, Ndebele people, South Africa What is this? What is it made of? Why did they wear it?

14. What is that? What is it made of? What was its function?

15. African Bamana Headress

19. Benin

21. Ife

22. Siere Lion, ivory sculpture

24.  The word tie-dye covers a wide variety of dye processes. it is any dye process in which a pattern is produced by a resist from folding, twisting or tying material in any way you can think of. Some type of tie-dye process was probably used shortly after the first fabrics and dyes were invented. I'm sure it didn't take very long for someone to discover that twisting or scrunching material before it was dunked in the berry juice produced a pattern, and from there it was a short step to adding some string or vines or something.

26. African Henna Henna painting is an ancient form of body art still practiced in Africa. The artist makes a paste from the leaves of the henna plant, and uses the paste to create designs on a person’s hands and feet. Both males and females wear henna designs during important events in their lives, like marriage, and initiation into adulthood. In Sudan, the bride is decorated with henna as part of her wedding preparations. The designs are thought to bring good luck and wealth to the wearer.