The diverse nature of African art - Article by Arcy Art Oil Paintings
See African Paintings by South African Artist
Throughout the centuries, African artists have created African
art in various media that underscore the dynamic quality of Africa's
visual traditions. A collection of African art will inevitably
reflect change as African artists respond to new ideas, materials
and sources of inspiration.
Tradition-based African art help shape and reflect established
formal, functional and aesthetic canons. Artworks, which are used
in everyday and ceremonial settings, address individual and community
needs and serve social, religious and political ends. Humans and
animals are often the primary subjects in African art and they
usually depict desirable and undesirable aspects of human behavior.
Deities, ancestors and other spiritual beings that are portrayed
in African art embody the breadth of African religious beliefs
and practices.
The creators of tradition-based African art are known and respected
members of their communities. Unfortunately, those who created
many of the exquisite African art now found in museum collections
remain unknown because their names were not recorded when the
objects were collected many decades ago. In seeking to identify
the makers of unsigned works of art, art historians have turned
to historical records, oral histories and stylistic analysis to
attribute works to a particular artist or workshop. Such research
helps us better understand the relationships between African artists
and patrons and the circulation of African art in both the local
and the global marketplace.
Works of contemporary African art stress individual vision and
innovation and often address local (usually urban) and global
audiences. They find their place within both African and global
networks of interpretation and exchange. Their subject matter
is broad yet frequently focuses upon visions of personal, national
or pan-Africanist post-colonial identity and addresses struggles
seen and heard within the larger contemporary art arena. Africa's
contemporary artists work in a wide range of media, selectively
filtering the global exchange through local channels and bringing
local aesthetics to bear upon broader artistic debates and practices.
