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Arts of AfricaDE ANZA COLLEGE
INTERCULTURAL/INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DIVISION
COURSE OUTLINE – Final Version
Degree Applicable
Effective Quarter Fall 2006
INTL 95
I. Catalogue information
INTL 95 History of Art: Visual Arts of Africa 4 Units
(Also listed as ARTS 95. Student may enroll in either department, but not both, for credit.)
Advisory: English Writing 1A or ESL 5
Four hours lecture
A general introduction to the visual arts of Africa, covering diverse art forms, including sculpture, painting, performance, ceramics, textiles and architecture from antiquity through the colonial period to the present. Topics addressing the religious, cultural, social, economic and political contexts of the art will be explored. Compares arts from Africa to other world art traditions and assesses the contributions of African arts in a global context.
II. Course Objectives
A. Develop and use interpretive skills to analyze diverse art forms and architecture through an integration of the disciplines of art history, archaeology, anthropology, museology and history.
B. Examine major artistic traditions from representative cultures in light of religious, cultural, social, economic and political contexts.
C. Develop research and writing skills, analyzing African art forms and exploring connections between art and Africa’s diverse cultures and history.
D. Explore the origin and history of artistic traditions, examining stylistic characteristics through visual analysis and determining how historical and cultural changes are reflected by style and technique.
E. Compare and contrast the development of artistic traditions within different regions of Africa and recognize influences and cultural exchanges.
F. Assess the impact of European contact and colonialism upon African cultures and both the maintenance and change in artistic traditions after European contact.
G. Compare and contrast African arts to other world art and architectural traditions, acknowledging contributions and cultural exchanges.
H. Evaluate ethical issues regarding the collecting and exhibiting of African arts, the role of the international art market, the impact of tourism and the appropriation of African cultures by artists from outside of Africa.
I. Evaluate various approaches to the study of gender in the production and use of African arts.
III. Essential Student Materials
None
IV. Essential College Facilities
Smart Classroom equipped with computer, LCD projector, internet access, opaque projector
V. Expanded Description: Content and Form
A. Develop and use interpretive skills to analyze diverse art forms and architecture through an integration of the disciplines of art history, archaeology, anthropology, museology and history.
1. Critically evaluate key terms used in studying African art such as
“traditional”(in comparison to contemporary expressions), “art” and “artifact”,
and “tribal” when referring to small-scale societies. Briefly introduce the history
of the term “Primitive art” and “Primitivism”.
2. Introduce art historical methods, such as approaches to iconography and iconology, in African art. Develop skills in reading architectural plans.
3. Assess some of the major contributions of and changes in archaeology as it pertains to African arts and antiquities from the nineteenth century to contemporary times. Include a critical assessment of colonial context and racist views towards early African cultures.
4. Explore recent advancements in technology used in studying art at archaeological sites.
5. Investigate how anthropologists and geographers have described African arts and cultures from diverse points of view including the importance of linguistic and demographic studies to understanding different regions of Africa.
6. Analyze the history of museum collecting and exhibiting African art and
cultures and critically assess how this history has changed and how it reflects
changing attitudes non-African scholars and collectors have towards African
peoples.
7. Investigate potential problems of cross-cultural translation as it pertains to the
study and presentation of African art, recognizing the multiplicity of meanings
African arts have in varying contexts. Explore contributions of African scholars in
the study of African art.
B. Examine major artistic traditions from representative cultures in light of religious, cultural, social, economic and political contexts.
1. Analyze the role of African arts within traditional religious contexts (animism)
and question the definition of “art” as applied to ephemeral art such as altars or
cumulative arts used in ritual. Recognize the role of art in divination.
2. Compare ways African art has been used as an expression of social status or
political power including subject matter, such as the royal iconography of the
Kingdom of Benin, as well as textiles and elements of dress. Include arts used in social or cultural identification such as scarification.
3. Assess the value of visual arts in maintaining oral history and in communicating social values, such as the Ashanti linguist staff or Kente textile patterns.
4. Compare the social position of artists and contrast the role of the individual artist in diverse cultures. Introduce examples of scholarly literature recognizing the individual artist in African societies and evaluate possible problems with such an approach as well as the problem of anonymity (not recognizing the artist) in past scholarship.
5. Recognize the role African arts play in maintaining social relationships within African societies such as masks used in age-grade ceremonies (various life stages), funerary practices, ancestral worship and memorials, such as Ibeji, twin memorials among the Yoruba, and birth and fertility art and rituals, such as an Akuaba among the Ashanti.
6. Place traditional African arts and sculpture within the larger context of performance and analyze the social context of masquerades.
7. Recognize the importance of nomadic arts and cultures in Africa’s history, such as the arts of Berber groups of North Africa, and the importance of body arts and adornment such as jewelry within Africa.
8. Briefly introduce Africa’s vast architectural history through important archaeological sites, such as Great Zimbabwe, ancient Nubia, Axum, the Roman and Islamic ruins of North Africa, Coptic Christian monuments such as Lalibela. Also critically assess damage to archaeological sites through modern projects such as the Aswan Dam.
9. Compare ways African arts can be used in economic and cultural exchanges, such as marriages or divorces, and the importance of economic resources and exchange in the creation of art.
10. Acknowledge the creative impact of recent post-nationalist art movements in Africa. Analyze examples of contemporary African art addressing important topics such as the AIDS epidemic, Apartheid and Post-Apartheid politics and history, civil wars, political oppression and refugee migration, globalization and the presence of international corporations in Africa and contemporary art in response to tradition.
C. Develop research and writing skills, analyzing African art forms and exploring connections between art and Africa’s diverse cultures and history.
1. Explore diverse primary sources used in researching African art such as archaeological site plans, historic photographs and drawings, colonial documents and journals.
2. Use examples of arts works and analyze methods of exhibiting art from a
museum visit in researching and writing paper assignments.
D. Explore the origin and history of artistic traditions, examining stylistic characteristics through visual analysis and determining how historical and cultural changes are reflected by style and technique.
1. Evaluate different theories and interpretations of the origin of certain artistic traditions, use of subject matter (iconography), materials and the development of techniques.
2. Recognize the early development of African arts including examples from Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures, such as the rock art of Algeria and Namibia.
3. Apply skills in visual analysis to recognize stylistic characteristics of specific cultures, time periods and regions.
4. Analyze ways style or visual detail can reveal insight into historic and cultural change as well as the cultural diversity of Africa.
5. Explore the relationship between two-dimensional and three-dimensional design in African arts.
E. Compare and contrast the development of artistic traditions within different regions of Africa and recognize influences and cultural exchanges.
1. Examine patterns of cultural exchange between areas in Africa, including the role of commerce, migration and the rise of political hegemony of certain dynasties of rulers and Kingdoms.
2. Compare and contrast similarities and differences in materials and techniques, function including ceremonial and social context, position, gender and status of the artist and relationship of artist to patron.
3. Recognize how cultures influence other cultures in the production and use of art, including the continuity of art traditions of earlier civilizations.
4. Critically evaluate the “one tribe, one style” approach common in 20th-century African art historical scholarship.
F. Assess the impact of European contact and colonialism upon African cultures and both the maintenance and change in artistic traditions after European contact.
1. Critically evaluate the impact of colonialism, especially the destruction of art work and cultural resources, upon the region. Analyze the destructive changes in demographics, labor and land exploitation, indigenous religious practice resulting from missionary activity after European contact.
2. Explore how art changed during the Colonial period, the definition and value of the term ‘syncretism’ (blending of artistic traditions or cultures), and how some aspects of culture were maintained despite formidable odds.
3. Acknowledge new traditions and creative innovation after contact with Europeans. Recognize African cultures are active and dynamic art producers today.
4. Analyze photographs from the Colonial era and their value as historic and art historical documents.
G. Compare and contrast African arts to other world art and architectural traditions, acknowledging contributions and cultural exchanges.
1. Assess the impact of the Islamic world upon African arts, exploring the
influence of Islam upon early African Kingdoms through Trans-Saharan trade and
analyzing continuity and change in Islamic arts and architecture created in Africa’s past, as well as contemporary expressions.
2. Explore select examples of Christian art in various regions of Africa, including Coptic Christian art in East Africa and East Africa’s contribution to Christian iconography.
3. Briefly introduce the many ways African artistic traditions influenced the Americas through the history of slavery and the diaspora, including recent immigrant populations in the U.S. and influence on African-American culture.
4. Explore ways African artists have contributed to the contemporary international art world.
H. Evaluate ethical issues regarding the collecting and exhibiting of African arts, the role of the international art market, the impact of tourism and the appropriation of African cultures by artists from outside of Africa.
1. Introduce a brief history of how collecting by Europeans began in Africa under colonialism, origin of major museum acquistions, evaluate question of repatriation (return of objects taken during colonial period), introduce examples of repatriation.
2. Evaluate how non-African audiences have responded to exhibitions of African arts, including popular appeal of “primitivism” and “lost” civilizations and the appropriation of African art forms by European and American artists.
3. Assess the role of the international art market in the ethics of removing cultural artifacts and art from countries of origin and the role of UNESCO in preservation of archaeological monuments, such as the ancient city of D’Jenne, Mali. Critically evaluate the history of looting and destruction of cultural patrimony for African countries. Include case studies of looting such as the ancient terracottas of Central Sudan.
4. Explore the impact of tourism on indigenous arts, looking at how tourism affects archaeological studies and sites, contemporary artists and their artistic production, and how modern African nations use indigenous art and culture to expand and enhance the tourist industry. Specific case studies will be explored, such as the Dogon of Mali whose masking traditions have been impacted by tourism and the arts of the Maasai in the game parks of Kenya.
I. Evaluate various approaches to the study of gender in the production and use of African arts.
1. Gender roles in the production of various traditional arts and social position of
the artist.
2. Gender roles in African ritual and performance.
3. Problems in the recognition of women artists in early anthropological studies
and 20th-century art history.
4. Contemporary artists addressing topics relevant to gender in art and African
traditions, such as Trigo Piula of the Democratic Republic of the Kongo.
VI. Assignments
A. Reading assignments
B. Written assignments
1. A visual analysis paper requiring analysis of original works of art in a museum
setting.
2. A research paper requiring a bibliography of at least six sources.
C. Collaborative group work.
1. Group exercises conducting research in the library.
2. Group discussions of worksheets, readings, and brief primary sources provided in class.
3. Brief in-class group presentations
VII. Methods of Instruction
Methods of instruction may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Lecture and visual aids
Discussion of assigned readings
In-class essays
In-class Exploration of Internet sites
Quiz and Examination review performed in class
Homework and extended projects
Museum fieldtrips
Collaborative learning and small group exercises
Collaborative projects
VIII. Methods of Evaluating Objectives
A. In-class participation and collaborative group work, during which the student’s skill in interpreting relevant issues will be assessed.
B. A visual analysis paper for which the student will visit a specified museum in the Bay area and critically analyze works of art on the basis of cultural, political or social function and visual appearance (style). The visual analysis paper will be four to five pages in length.
C. A research paper in which the student will be evaluated on her or his ability to analyze, evaluate and synthesize primary and secondary sources. The research paper will be six to eight pages in length and will include appropriate documentation. The instructor will provide guidance throughout the researching and writing process.
D. Three exams, including a final exam, using the following formats:
1. Objective questions identifying works of art, geographic region and culture, historical period, dates, and media; definition of terms; additional questions in “short answer” format which require knowledge of the cultural, political, social contexts as well as issues of patronage, collection history and archaeology.
2. Written essays comparing and evaluating works of art from different cultures or periods on the basis of context as well as visual analysis.
IX. Texts
*Visona, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poynor, Herbert Cole, and Michael Harris. A History
of Art in Africa. N.Y.: Harry Abrams, Inc., 2001.
Supporting References
Abiodun, Rowland, Henry .J. Drewal and John Pemberton III. The Yoruba Artist: New
Theoretical Perspectives on African Art. Washington: Smithsonian Press, 1994.
Bacquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 2002.
Bassani, Ezio, Michael Bockemuhl and Patrick McNaughton. The Power of Form:
African Art from the Horstmann Collection. Milano: Skira, 2002.
Ben Amos, Paula and Arnold Rubin. The Art of Power/ The Power of Art: Essays in
Benin Iconography. L.A.: UCLA Press, 1983.
Beumers, Erna and H.J. Koloss. Kings of Africa: Art and Authority in Central Africa.
Utrecht: Museum Fur Volkerkunde, 1992.
Blier, Suzanne Preston, ed. Art of the Senses: African Masterpieces from the Teel
Collection. Boston: MFA Publications, 2004.
Blier, Suzanne Preston. The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. London:
Laurence King, 1998.
Carrier, David, “The Taste of Angels in the Art of Darkness; Fashioning the Canon of
African Art” in Art History and Its Institutions: Foundations of a Discipline.
N.Y.: Routledge, 2002.
Clarke, Christa and David Binkley. A Personal Journey: Central African Art from the
Lawrence Gussman Collection. Purchase, N.Y.: Neuberger Museum of Art,
2001.
Cole, Herbert. I Am Not Myself: The Art of African Masquerade. L.A.: UCLA Press,
1985.
Connah, Graham. African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Dewey, William J. The World Moves, We Follow: Celebrating African Art. Knoxville:
University of Tennessee, 2003.
Drewal, Henry and John Pemberton III, et al. Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and
Thought. N.Y.: Center for African Art, 1989.
Ezra, Kate. The Royal Art of Benin. N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum, 1992.
Fall, N’Gone and Pivin, Jean Loup, eds. An Anthology of African Art: The Twentieth
Century, N.Y.: DAP, 2002.
Garlake, P. The Hunter’s Vision: The Prehistoric Art of Zimbabwe. Seattle: University of
Washington, 1995.
Geary, Christraud. Images From Bamum: German Colonial Photography at the Court of
King Njoya. Washington: Smithsonian Press, 1988.
Hall, M.L. Farmers, Kings, and Traders: The Peoples of Southern Africa, 200-1860.
Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987.
Harney, Elizabeth. Ethiopian Passages: Contemporary Art from the Diaspora. Wash:
National Museum of African Art, 2003.
Heldman, Marilyn. African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia. New Haven: Yale Press,
1993.
Herreman, Frank, ed. Material Differences: Art and Identity in Africa. N.Y.: Museum for
African Art, 2003.
Herreman, Frank, ed. Resonance from the Past: African Sculpture from the New Orleans
Museum of Art. N.Y.: Museum for African Art, 2005.
Horowitz, Deborah, ed. Ethiopian Art. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2001.
Jegede, Dele. Contemporary African Art: Five Artists, Diverse Trends. Indianapolis
Museum of Art, 2000.
Kasfir, Sidney L. Contemporary African Art. N.Y.:Thames and Hudson, 1999.
LaDuke, Betty. Africa Through the Eyes of Women Artists. Trenton, N.J.: Trenton, 1991.
Lamp, Frederick John, ed. See the Music, Hear the Dance: Rethinking African Art at the
Baltimore Museum of Art. Munich: Prestel, 2004.
Lawal, Babatunde. The Gelede Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in an
African Culture. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
Magnin, Andre, Alison de Lima Greene, et al. African Art Now. N.Y.: Merrell, 2005.
McEvilley, Thomas. Fusion: Western African Artists at the Venice Biennale. N.Y.: The
Museum for African Art, 1993.
McIntosh, Roderick. The Peoples of the Middle Niger: The Island of Gold. Malden, Ma.:
Blackwell Press, 1998.
Morris, J. and E. Preston-Whyte. Speaking with Beads: Zulu Arts from Southern Africa.
N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1994.
Paydar, Niloo Imami and Ivo Grammet, eds. The Fabric of Moroccan Life. Seattle:
University of Washington Press, 2002.
Perani, J. and F. Smith. The Visual Arts of Africa: Gender, Power, and Life-Cycle
Rituals. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998.
Petridis, Constantine. South of the Sahara: Selected Works of African Art. Seattle:
University of Washington Press, 2003.
Phillips, Ruth. Representing Women: Sande Masquerades of the Mende of Sierra Leone.
L.A.: UCLA, 1995.
Phillips, Tom, ed. Africa: The Art of a Continent. N.Y.: Guggenheim Museum, 1996.
Prussin, Labelle, ed. African Nomadic Architecture: Space, Place, and Gender.
Washington: Smithsonian Press, 1995.
Ross, D.H. Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity.
L.A.: UCLA, 1998.
Subiros, Pep. Africas: The Artist and the City. Barcelona: Centre de Cultura
Contemporania de Barcelona. 2001.
Tawadros, Gilane and Sarah Campbell. Fault Lines; Contemporary African art and
Shifting Landscapes. London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 2003.
Thompson, Robert Farris. Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African
Americas. N.Y.: Museum for African Art, 1993.
Van Wyck, G. African Painted Houses: Basotho Dwellings of Southern Africa. N.Y.:
Harry Abrams, 1998.
Vogel, Susan, ed. For Spirits and Kings. N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum, 1981.
Walker, R.S. Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings. Washington: Smithsonian
Press, 1998.
Willett, Frank. African Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2002.
Video resources:
African Art: Its Cultural Meaning. Princeton, N.J.: Films for the Humanities and
Sciences, 2003.
African Art: Legacy of Oppression. Princeton, N.J.: Films for the Humanities and
Sciences, 1999.
Africa: A History Denied. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Video, 1995.
African Art and Women Artists. Princeton, N.J.: Films for the Humanities and
Sciences, 1992.
In and Out of Africa. L.A.: Center for Visual Anthropology, USC, 1992.
The Art of the Dogon. N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum, 1988.
Wonders of the African World. N.Y.: PBS, 1999.
Internet resources:
www.nmafa.si.edu National Museum of African Art
www.africanart.org The Museum for African Art
www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/ Smithsonian Natural History Museum
www.africaserver.nl/front_uk.htm General reference on Africa
www.vmcaa.nl Virtual Museum of Contemporary African Art
www.africanculturalcenter.org African Cultural Center – General reference
www.allafrica.com All Africa Global Media news source
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