An introduction to African art and art of the Pacific Islands. Based on "Gateways to Art" (2012).

1. Art Appreciation, T, R, 9:30-10:50AM, Professor Paige Prater

3. 
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54 different countries, 955 million
inhabitants, 1,000+ languages!
Wood
Myth of “Primitive” art
Contemporary traditions
Oral histories
Still discovering…
 Ocher pigment + perforated shells; 70,000 years
ago!

4. 

Earliest evidence
of iron technology
(western Sudan,
present-day
Nigeria)
Head: center of
identity &
knowledge
Terracotta Head, Nok, 500BCE-200CE,
36cm, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria

5. 
Sculpture (and dolls)
Twin
figure, probabl
y from Ado
Odo in
Yorubaland, pr
e-1877
(probably 19th
century).
Wood, 10”
high. Linden
Museum, Stutt
gart, Germany
Crowned Head of a King, Ife, Yoruba, c. 12th- 15th century CE, Zinc
brass, lost-wax method

6. City, 150 miles southeast of Ife
Oral histories: 1170 CE, Prince
Oranimiyan sent to rule Benin
(by oni of Ife).
 1485 – Portugal begins trading
with Benin


 Ivory, forest products…slaves

1897 – British sacked/burned
royal palace after massacre of
trade negotiators
 Early Period: 1400-1550
(influenced by Ife)
 Middle Period: 1550-1700CE
(increasingly stylized)
 Late Period: 1700-1897CE
(large/heavy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrdunRXfbw
Plaque: Warrior Chief Flanked by Warriors and
Attendants, Benin, Nigeria, 1550-1650CE, Brass

7. 
Head= symbolic
center of:
 Wisdom
 Intelligence
 Spiritual
communication

King-like “Great
Head”
Memorial Head of an Oba, Benin, 16th
century, brass, 9”

8. 


Mediator
Ritualistic
Minkisi nkondi: shells,
bags, pots, or
wooden statues
 Nkisi Mangaaka:
standing figure with
magical properties;
“activate”
 Cowrie shell: currency,
power, fertility
Standing male
figure (nkisi
Mangaaka), late
19th century.
Wood, iron, raffia,
ceramic, kaolin
pigment, red
camwood powder
(tukula), resin,
dirt, leaves,
animal skin, and
cowrie shell, 43¾
× 15½ × 11”.
Dallas Museum of
Art, Texas

9. 
Great Friday Mosque, 13th century (rebuilt 1907)

10. 
Conical Tower in
Imba Huru or “Great
Enclosure”
 18’ diameter on
tower
 30’ high
 800 ft long masonry
wall
▪ 17’ feet thick base
 1200-1400CE

Shrine? Residence?

11. 
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One of 8 soapstone carvings found
on the top of Great Zimbabwe
5’ tall
Bird, human, crocodile
characteristics
Shona people: birds=messengers
from the spirits

12. 
Akan and Asante, west
African kingdoms
 Kente – worn by
royalty/state officials



Complicated weaving
process
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0zlvW7o96I&lis
t=PL0583B24FF6EA1A87
Color:
 Yellow: holy, precious
 Gold: royalty, wealth,
spiritual purity
 Green: growth/health
 Red: strong feelings
(political/spiritual)
Textile wrapper (kente), 20th century.
Silk, 6’10⅝” long. National Museum of
African Art, Smithsonian

13. 


1482 – Portuguese
encounter
Early 17th century
9 ½” x 28 ¼”, raffia

14. 

Earthly and cosmic
realms: crossbars
Loud performances
 Only for tourists,
today
 http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=whAY9R-_7ac
Kanaga mask from Mali, Dogon culture, early 20th
century. Polychrome wood, leather cords, and
hide, 45¼” high. Musée BarbierMueller, Geneva, Switzerland

16.  5 Groups:
1. take example from textbook/
2. compare to another work we’ve studied
3. Apply principles/elements of art
 New Zealand
 Australia
 Hawaii
 Easter Island
 Papua New Guinea