African Aesthetics

IN Africa, art was seldom used for decorative purposes, but rather to give life to the values, emotions and daily customs of the various ethnic groups throughout the continent.

African art and culture, in many instances deals with making sense out of the world. It also deals with the religious aspects of life.

Westerners discovered African art near the end of the 18th century.

Many European and American artists have emulated African art for its refreshing and simplified forms, yet have failed to realise that the works were produced to conform to specific aesthetic statements.

Western artists were influenced by the geometric qualities and abstract forms of African sculpture. One can appreciate African art most by regarding it as symbolic.

People created these works to secure a relationship between themselves and unknown forces. African art springs from a thought process unfamiliar to the Western world.

In African art, “aesthetics” is a term used to sum up the characteristics and elements clearly present in all arts objects.

These elements include, for example, the resemblance of sculptures to human beings, the luminosity or smoothness of an object’s surface, the appearance of sculptures, and the way sculptures portray power.

Similarly, in Western art, aesthetics is also the term used to sum up the search for beauty, balance, proportion and conscientious use of materials, in order to achieve good craftsmanship in art objects.

The beauty of African art can convey various feelings and messages to the casual observer.

However, true appreciation can only arrive through an understanding of the culture and environment that influenced the art.

It would be easy to understand African art better if it were possible to study it using Western methods.

The majority of the books on Western art history focus on the changes in style and ways that various artists have influenced each other.

Because there is no chronological record of style changes in African art, it cannot be studied in the same manner. Moreover, some existing studies of African art were done by researchers who were not familiar with the native languages of Africa and with its native customs, which are necessary to make accurate interpretations of African art.

Sculpture was used as an additional language through which Africans communicated their inner feelings to the world.

The lack of writing in African cultures resulted in an oral tradition, where mythology and literature was recited from generation to generation.

African sculpture has also served as communication between people and supernatural forces. Finally, sculpture may have indicated the wealth and status of its owner.

Carefully made objects such as stools, cups, boxes, staffs, neck rests and pipes can proclaim the taste and social position of those who use them.

However, a more useful way to look at African sculpture is through common or recurring themes.

These themes relate the artworks to their cultural setting, making it possible to understand the aesthetics, values, purpose and significance of a particular art object.

When you compare the ways various cultures express a common theme, the similarities and differences among them become more obvious.

Sculpture is the best known African art form.

The primary materials used to make African sculpture are wood, iron, clay, bronze, ivory, and textiles. Many African sculptures are heavily ornamented.

They share many of the same characteristics. Religion is the dominant force in African life and society.

It greatly determines the nature of African art forms. It is most often manifested in masks, sculpture, ancestor or cave figures, fetishes, and reliquary figures.

Sculptures that are considered to be religiously empowered are rarely displayed in public, and are usually stored in small chambers and shrines.

How do aesthetics affect one’s understanding of African art and sculpture? Are there absolute standards of beauty which operate, or is there a specific aesthetic for each society?

In our own African culture, artistic appreciation and aesthetics are not the same and as in African culture, where aesthetics generally have an ethnic and ubuntu / unhu foundation.

In all African languages, the same word means “beautiful” and “good”. Sculptures are considered to be “good” if they fulfil their function and purpose.

These words are consistent with the use and meaning of African sculpture because art is intended not only to please the eye but to uphold moral values.

The ethical and religious basis of African art may explain why the human figure is the principle subject of African art.

African art often appears in ritual contexts that deal with the vital moral and spiritual concerns of the human condition. In African art aesthetics, there are clearly standards of beauty.

These standards are qualities that describe sculpture and indicates what is “good” or “bad”.

The major quality is the “resemblance to a human being” which is one of the elements used by African artists to praise a carved figure.

This element is used because African artists seldom portray particular people, actual animals, or the actual form of invisible spirits in their sculptures.

Rather sculptures were intended to be likenesses of their living subject.

Sculptures are not portraits of individuals, but they are supposed to looks if they might be.