This course will study these early West and Central African art traditions within the framework of several conceptual paradigms. We will look at these arts both as unique forms of cultural expression, representing solutions to formal and (where sufficient historical context exists) functional problems specific to those cultures; and as artistic traditions representative of universal human sensibilities. For the later Benin bronzes and the Afro-Portuguese ivory carvings, we will consider these works as a response to contact with Europeans, to the development of new and foreign markets (in the case of ivories) and as an effort to comment on the European 'Other'. The arts of sub-Saharan Africa, from prehistoric rock art to the earliest contact with Europeans on the Atlantic coast in the 15th century, provide rich and diverse subject matter. From the 2000 year old terra cottas of northern Nigeria to the bronze sculpture of Ife and Benin, these arts show the great antiquity of African artistic traditions. The arrival of Europeans on the coast about 1500 led to the development of fine and intricate ivory carving, the first instance of African production for a European market. We will also study traditional West African architecture and the development of distinctive styles of mosque construction.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture
Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA ART
Prerequisites: None
Last Updated on MAR-10-1997
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