Week 8 assignment: essay – interrelationships reflection apa format | Applied Sciences homework help
- Would you like to see a work of this kind in a lake near you? 3. What would be the best vantage point to observe and participate with Spiral Jetty? 4. How does Smithson’s use of the spiral connect this sculpture with its natural
surroundings? FOCUS ON African Sculpture Sub-Saharan African sculpture has exerted an important influ- ence on Western art since the late eighteenth century, but it was especially influential on nineteenth- and twentieth-century artists such as Paul Gauguin, Constantine Brancusi, Amedeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse, and especially Pablo Picasso, who developed a large personal collection of African sculpture. Picasso’s experiments in Cubism owe their origin to the influence of African sculpture, which had become widely known in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Because most African sculpture was carved from wood, much of the older artistic heritage has been lost to weathering, repeated use, and even termites. Very little sculpture was made from stone. In certain periods, cast metal sculpture was created for kings in important courts, especially in the Benin culture in Nigeria. Benin cast sculpture, such as Head of an Oba (Figure 5-22), was meant to celebrate a ruler. The head was displayed in a temple shrine to connect the next ruler to his predecessor as part of a dynasty, which, in this case, began in the fourteenth century. While some of these cast works are profoundly realistic, in general realism is not the aim of African sculpture. Yet the power of the Head of an Oba is undeniable. The face has powerful eyes and lips, and a sense of bulk and density implied in the garment covering the neck as well as the woven hat and what appears to be hair or fiber held with beads. One senses an expression of power, respect, and authority in this work. The figural distortions common in African sculpture were what most interested Picasso and other Western artists in the early twentieth century. The artists’ response to those distortions freed them in important ways, permitting them to emphasize portions of a face or figure to intensify its strength and significance. It also helped Picasso and others create a sense of freedom from being tied to a realistic representation. It gave them a new way to con- ceive of proportion, shape, and beauty. But the purpose of distor- tion in African sculpture is less an artistic value than it is an effort to respect the life forces these artists perceived in the enlarged FIGURE 5-22 Head of an Oba, 16th century, Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo peoples. Brass. H. 9¼ × W. 85⁄8 × D. 9 inches. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979. Accession Number: 1979.206.86. This work is an example of the Benin lost-wax metal sculpture technique. The original is modeled in bees wax. Casts are formed from clay applied to the original. The casts are dried in the sun. Then the casts are fired in a pit in intense heat that both fires the clay and melts the bees wax. The fired clay casts are then used to form the bronze sculpture. Source: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979/The Metropolitan Museum of Art jac16871_ch05_091-120.indd 114 12/11/17 11:39 AM eyes, the oversize head, the abdomen, the prominent genitalia, all of which were sources of power for their culture. For a contemporary Western art lover the cultural values are usu- ally unknown, but the effect of the distortions is perceived as being emotionally expressive and visually intensifying. The Luba Helmet Mask (Figure 5-23) is considered one of the most important holdings of the Royal Museum for African Art in Belgium. The modeling and finish of the wood are remarkable, a testament to truth to materials. The powerful nose and deep sculpted eyes dominate, but the bull horns may suggest that the Luba chief, on whom this mask may be based, has supernatural powers. Invisible from the front is a bird carved in the back, also perhaps symbolizing special powers. Originally the lower part of the mask was covered by about ten inches of grass, making it possible to wear the mask in a cere- mony. Like the Head of an Oba face, this mask exudes extreme dignity, implying that the individual is of high station and great value. One of the most unusual pieces is Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Figure 5-24). It is remarkable first because female masks of royalty are quite rare. It is carved from ivory and then decorated with iron and possibly copper details. It dates to the six- teenth century and was designed as a commemorative mask for the king (Oba) to memorialize his mother, the queen. The use of white ivory connected the image to the ocean because the idea of whiteness implied the purity of the god of the sea, Olokun. Only one other figure of this type is known, a female sculpture in the British Museum. FIGURE 5-23 Luba Helmet Mask. Luba people, southeastern Congo. Circa 1880. 25½ inches high. Royal Museum for African Art, Tervuren, Belgium. This is a strongly modeled mask of what may be an important person. The ram’s horns and the bird carved on the rear of the mask may imply supernatural powers. Many African sculptures refer to magical powers and the supernatural. EO.0.0.23470, Collection RMCA Tervuren; Photo: R. Asselberghs, MRAC Tervuren FIGURE 5-24 Queen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba, 16th century. Nigeria, Court of Benin. Ivory, iron, copper. H. 93⁄8 × W. 5 × D. 3¼ inches. Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972. Accession Number: 1978.412.323. Such portrait masks of women were rare. This was made for Esigie, the king of Benin, to honor his mother, Idiaby. It is an idealized representation, but it was a great honor. There is only one other like this mask, in the British Museum. ©Peter Horree/Alamy 115 continued jac16871_ch05_091-120.indd 115 12/11/17 11:39 AM The Maternity Figure (Figure 5-25) cele- brates the life force in woman, with a child held proudly. This work may be viewed from several positions because it is an example of sculpture in the round. Its powerful parallel lines are expressed in stylized breasts, large arms, and oversized feet, implying stability and security. Maternity groups are com- mon in African sculpture and some may have been influenced by Western images of the Madonna and child, but the African versions tend to be more dynamic, as in the case of this sculpture from Congo. The Veranda Post: Equestrian Figure and Fe- male Caryatid (Figure 5-26) is remarkable for its brilliance in carving and the modeling of the figures in a highly complex relationship. But it is even more remarkable for the fact that we know who the artist was, Olowe of Ise, who may have carved this functional sculpture in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Like the female in Maternity Figure, the woman below has an elongated neck, prominent breasts, careful scarification, and strong angular lines. She represents ideals of Yoruba female beauty. Supporting both the horse and its rider, she is a symbol of power and influence. Other works by Olowe are often a tribute to the power and freedom of the women in the community. This piece was one of several commissioned by a king for a structure in a Yoruba palace courtyard. Olowe is considered the greatest of Yoruba scultors. Olowe of Ise was a master carver whose work has been identified because of his distinctive style. The figures portrayed in the piece represent ideals of Yoruba dignity, strength, and beauty. The Dallas Museum of Art purchased a sculpture by Olowe in 2004 for more than $530,000. FIGURE 5-26 Olowe of Ise, The Veranda Post: Equestrian Figure and Female Caryatid, Early 20th century. Wood. 71 × 11¼ × 11 inches. Source: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1996/The Metropolitan Museum of Art PERCEPTION KEY African Sculpture 1. Which of the paintings in Chapter 2 seem most influenced by the African sculpture discussed here? 2. To what extent do these African sculptures seem to reveal the psychology of the figures? 3. Distortion is a powerful device in African sculpture, but it is also powerful in West- ern art. Comment on the distorted necks of the woman in Veranda Post, the mother in Maternity Figure, and Parmigianino’s The Madonna with the Long Neck (Figure 4-4). How does the use of distortion affect your ability to participate with these works?