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CHAPTER 32
Traditionalism and Internationalism:
19th- and 20th-Century African Arts

1. Read the chapter.Visit the Guggenheim Museum which presents a super exhibition
of African art. Click on the Guggenheim's map of Africa to see art from various geographic areas. AND take a trip to the "Virtual Museum of African Art."

2. More words and terms to know:

masquerades, conventionalization, raffia, cowrie shells, reliquary guardian figures, men's and women's societies

3. Issues and themes for discussion:

What different purposes do the various traditional African arts serve? How does 'conventionalization' contribute to the indigenous arts of Africa? See pages 942-945.
Discuss the role of artists in African cultures and how it is changing. See inset on page 947.
What social and religious purposes do the masks and masquerades serve in the various African communities, both traditional tribal and contemporary urban? See the discussions about masquerades on pages 949-952, and especially the inset on Mende women as maskers on page 952.
Discuss issues of contemporary African art, particularly how it is changing in form, symbolism, uses, and content as a result of contact with international consumerism. See pages 956-958.

4. Remember these works of art:

Reliquary guardian figure, Kota, from Gabon. See page 943. At the National Museum of African art, view a similar Kota figure.
Nail figure (Nkisi n'kondi), Kongo, from Shiloango River area. See page 944.
Seated couple, Dogon, Mali. See page 945.
Royal ancestral altar, Benin, Nigeria. See page 946.
Akua'ba, by Osei Bonsu, Asante, Ghana, ca. 1935. See page 948 in the textbook. View several similar objects at Rand African Art webpage.
Kuba King Kot-a-Mbweeky III, Mushenge, Democratic Republic of Congo. See image on page 949.
Female mask, Mende, from Sierra Leone. See page 951.
Homage to Steven Biko by Willie Bester, South Africa, 1992. Mixed media. See page 958.

5. Explore these sites on the Internet:

    a. Visit "Arts and Life in Africa On-Line" from the University of Iowa.
    b. See the art of Yoruba, Akan and Asante in wood and in metal.
    c. Explore the "Olu Oguibe Home Page," to see beautiful art by contemporary
    African artists.
    d. See the exhibit at the Bayly Art Museum entitled "African Art: Aesthetics and Meaning."
    e. View the art of West Africa.
    f. View "Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination," a special exhibit exponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    g.   Examine "African Art" presented by the University of Central Florida.
h. Explore the African galleries at the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco.
    i. Visit an exhibit of contemporary art in South Africa, "Arts of Defiance."

6. Write a one-page chapter report relating to issues raised in #3 above or on an image from #4 above. Send your report through the LISTSERV. Consult the Schedule for the date due.

And here's a special little task: locate the paintings of Agnes Mpofu and send the URL to me .

7. Respond to someone else's report, with a question or issue to be discussed. Send your comments through the LISTSERV. See the Schedule for date due. And participate!!

Page Updated 8/4/06

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