I was actually quite surprised to find out that most of what western society considers to be art in Africa actually has more of a practical purpose. While the statuettes produced by the Dogon people would appear to merely be a well sculpted piece of wood to an outsider, they have a much more significant meaning to its creators. Child mortality was and is of high concern in developing countries such as Ghana so the concept of fertility and producing healthy children is a huge issue. The statuette shown features seated couple. Exaggerated features adorn either individual in order to further push the importance of fertility.
I have an admiration for how functional and symbolic African "art" is. Not only can a piece be interpreted as something beautiful but it holds a specific purpose and therefore I feel that it's value far surpasses much of what is seen in western art.
I'm glad you are re-examining your prior assumptions. I look forward to more connections and depth in your analyses in future posts.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised as well about the functionality of the "art" of Africa. I agree with your thoughts on admiring functionality, however I'm curious about the amount of value you put on these objects. You say the value far surpasses much of what is seen in Western art, but what is the art you are comparing it to? Is it fair to compare African art to Western "fine" art, or is better to compare it to Western craft. The pre-colonial quilts of America serve a functionality and are quite beautiful but seldom find their place in the world of "fine" art. Now that we are aware of the functionality of African art can we still look at it as art?
ReplyDelete