by Christa Nwokedi

Created on: November 25, 2009   Last Updated: November 27, 2009

A brief history of African art

The first recorded African artifacts, the 6000 years old rock carvings, are preserved in the Sahara in Niger. David Coulson (http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/coulson/) discovered in 1997 a stone engraving, from 6000 and 9000 years ago. It is a giraffe slightly larger than a life-giraffe. The Nok civilization (1000 B.C. to 200 A.D.) created the earliest life-sized terracotta, by 500 B.C. The Igbo Ukwu bronze work, Ile Ife bronze and brass casting, and Benin bronze were famous in West Africa. Ancient Egyptian and natives of many other regions of Africa contributed to African traditional art. The work with ornamented ivory and precious stones were prestigious all over West Africa, as well as art work with clay, wood, fabric, raffia, and beads, and other natural material. Following the cultural and political map of Africa, artifacts like masks; figures of ancestors, kings, deities, animals, and objects for sacrifice were produced for spiritual or ceremonial purposes by different societies.

Traditional African artists believed in the power of life, and expressed emotions, mystical and spiritual experiences of their community, in clear form. The traditional African artist was a highly honored member of a community, and regarded his work as a service to the society, and performed it with absolute concentration. During the colonial time, artists protected their art work from colonial domination. In the middle of the 19th Century, European explorers, and adventures carried thousands of artifacts of African Art to Europe. Museums of Ethnology and History kept them in Paris, London, and Berlin (http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/mv/afrika/e/afrika3.ht m). The exhibits could not be categorized within the aesthetic framework of Europe's art. Therefore, the true value of African art was not recognized until the beginning of the 20th Century. When in Europe futurist and cubist movements challenged their traditional aesthetic rule; artists discovered the expressionistic powerful creations of African art. A wave of interest in African art inspired the re-organization of form and color; and the integration of emotional and philosophical aspects in many European arts and crafts; (painters: Picasso, Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Modigliani; sculptors John Lautner, Patricio Pouchulu; architects Antonio Sant'Elia, Le Corbusier, Pier Luigi Nervi, Theo Van Doesburg and Erich Mendelsohn). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_art.

Today, traditional and contemporary African art is equally accepted by the world, beside European, Oriental, Asian, and American art. The fascination of traditional African art, the powerful expressions of emotion in clear language of form, and liveliness of colors have not lost their power. The values of traditional African art still enhance the African modern and contemporary art, as seen in the work of the paintings and sculptures by Ben Enwonwu (1921 - 1994), the cement sculptures by Sunday Jack Akpan and Aniechi Okon Akpan, and paintings by Bruce Onobrakpeya, Ehi Obinyan, Muraina Oyelami, Nike Davies Okundaye, Tola Wewe, Godfrey Semwaiko, and Douglas Musyoki and many other from all over the African continent.

Bibliography
Kunst der Welt
by Elzy Leuzinger
Holle Verlag, Baden Baden, 1959

Zementskulpturen aus Nigeria
Institute of Foreign Affairs
Iwalewa Haus - Exhibition, Bayreuth, 1988

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