African Art and Culture

Traditional African art is closely related to African culture, daily life, and religion. You’re going to visit some Web sites that contain various works of African art. You’ll record some basic information about the art and the countries and cultures from which the art comes. You’ll then write a story about one of the art works. Does your own culture have any works of art that are similar to the African ones you see here? Think about it; you’ll answer that question at the end of the activity.

1. Go to the following three Web sites to see some examples of African art.

• National Museum of African Art: http://www.si.edu/nmafa/
  In particular, see "The Art of the Personal Object"
  
• Art and Life in Africa: http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/chapters/KML.html
  
• African Art: Aesthetics And Meaning: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/dic/exhib/93.ray.aa/African.html
  

2. Select five pieces of art from these three sites. All of your art should not be from the same exhibit. Make sure that at least two are from the Art and Life in Africa exhibit. In the "Basic Art Information" section in the table below, answer the questions about each work of art.

3. After you’ve entered the Basic Art Information, go to the National Geographic Society’s Online Atlas at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/index.html to find out about the country where the art was created (remembering that the art was created by a particular culture within that country). Or, if your art comes from the Art and Life in Africa exhibit, you will see some links to country and culture information. Fill in the "Country Information" section in the table.

4. After you’ve completed the table, locate each country on a map and mark it on your own blank map of Africa or the world.

5. You now have some basic information about your pieces of art and the countries from which they come. Look at your list and choose one of the art works to write a story about. You’re going to write a story pretending that you live or lived in that part of Africa and used that object, saw other people use it, and/or saw it being made. The story should be told from your own perspective. In other words, you’ll use the word "I" when telling the story. The purpose of writing this story is to be able to creatively explain the way in which this object, or work of art, was used in the traditional African culture.

Before writing your story, return to the sites you’ve visited to look for more information on the culture that created the art. In the space provided below, take some notes about the culture’s customs, religion, and daily life so that you can use this information to make your story more interesting and detailed.

If your teacher asks you to, draw pictures to go along with your story. Or, you might be asked to create the story on the computer, in which case you can save the picture of the art directly from the Internet and put it into your story. Your teacher will instruct you on how to organize your story.

6. Look back at your story and at the notes that you took from the five pieces of art you found on the Web. Answer this question:

What are some of the main purposes of traditional African art?

7. Do you have anything in your culture that is similar to the African art you have seen, either in the way it looks or in the way it is used? Think about items used in your home, religion, or ethnic culture. If you have a hard time thinking of something, why do you think this is difficult? Could you write a story about how a work of art or some sort of beautiful object is used in your culture? Try to think of anything that could someday be worthy of being placed in an art museum or a virtual art museum as the African art works have.