African Art is perhaps one of the most original forms of art in the world, mainly because of two important reasons. The first reason is the fact that the generic term "African Art" represents, in fact, the coagulation of regional art forms from people across a vast and diversified continent. From that point-of-view, the art of the continent, or the "African Art," will bear and contain all these different representations at a continental level.
The second reason is that African Art is also a combination of "visual imagery, spiritual beliefs and social purpose" (Gluckman, 2007). From this perspective, African Art is functionally diversified, which means that each of these approaches (the religious, the spiritual or the social ones) will have, as final result, a different output, each valuable in itself, especially if one adds the fact that many of the art objects also had an utilitarian value.

Despite this diversity, there are…...

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Bibliography

1. Monica Blackmun Visona et al. History of Art in Africa. Prentice Hall, New York. (2001)

2. Gluckman, Jason "Ancient African Art." Ancient African Art. 7 Jan. 2007 EzineArticles.com. 4 Dec. 2009 .

3. Blier, Suzanne. Africa, Art, and History: An Introduction. In A History of Art in Africa. Pearson. 2001.

Response 2

It is true that African art seems to show greater respect for cultural tradition than Western art. In the West, if someone wants to say that they are not an artist, often they say 'I'm not creative.' Innovation rather than replication is valued. But in Africa, if someone was frustrated with a work of art they were attempting to create, the African would likely be upset at the work's lack of resemblance to previous pieces of art. African art is about perfecting a craft and a technique to make something with a societal purpose, like the Ngady Mwaash mask, which is used in a religious ritual, not as an object to be admired in a museum. African art makes no distinction between art and crafts, as is common in Western culture. Arts and crafts are synonymous. In Africa, a practical craft like a piece of pottery designed to hold…...

Traditional African Art
Africa as a continent houses many varieties of different tribes and traditions. These entail a variety of different styles in art and culture. Art and culture for African tribes are closely intertwined. The most prominent art forms emanating from Africa include sculptures and masks. These relics vary in materials and form according to the tradition and purpose for which they are made.

The most prominent sculpted works are from the Niger and Congo River basins. culptures from these areas are made primarily from wood. North African works are strongly influenced by the Islamic tradition of the Middle East, whereas south of the ahara, styles are more African in a localized sense. Like African masks, sculptures are influenced by socio-political, racial, linguistic, ecological and geographical factors. The Ibomari used sculpture mainly for home decorations, while Congo sculptures had a deeper meaning. Congo people used sculptures to commemorate, honor, and solicit…...

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Sources

Rebirth. "African Mask History." 2000.  http://www.rebirth.co.za/African_mask_history_and_meaning.htm 

Traditional African Art." 2004. http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Metro/5252/african.htm

Exhibit 2 - One of the more surprising and, frankly, awe inspiring portions of the collection focused on the paintings done in Ethiopia in the 15th-17th centuries. Much of Ethiopia had become Christian by that time, holding a long tradition of Coptic Christianity from the Egyptian areas in the very early Middle Ages. The colors presented, as well as the serene nature of the characters are as poignant and emotional as any Baroque European artist. One wonders, though, if there isn't some disassociation between the indigenous cultures and the subject matter in that all the holy characters are clearly Caucasian in a land in which most worshipers are dark skinned.

Exhibit 3 -- According to the museum, textiles are one of the most vivid and expressive means of artistry in Africa. The complexity and color of the garmet often reflects the person's status, and in many cases the designs on clothing…...

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REFERENCES & WORKS CONSULTED

"National Museum of Afrian Art," (2010). Smithsonian Institution. Cited in:

 http://africa.si.edu/collections/index.htm 

Visona, M., et.al. (2007). History of Art in Africa, 2nd Edition. New York:

Prentice Hall.

Exploring their visual arts and artifacts helps improve understanding about Myanmar, Iran, Central African Republic, and Cuba. The ancient art and artifacts from these countries predate their modern statehood, making it challenging to find, for example, art that can be definitively located within what is now the Central African Republic. However, Iran has remained relatively contiguous since its heyday as the Persian Empire, and Cuba has boasted a vibrant modern art scene. That, and the citys substantial Cuban population makes it easier locate items of visual culture easily around New York.Central African RepublicThe museums tend to curate collections of sub-Saharan African art together. African art is displayed in the Museum of Natural History, as if African people can be more readily situated in the context of plant and animal life, hearkening to outmoded racist and colonial beliefs and primitivism. Moreover, the displays in the Museum of Natural History do not…...

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References

Asia Society.

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Museum of Natural History.

As with water methods of visually perceiving patterns, divination serves as a literal mirror for the cosmos. The visual cues of divination such as cowry shells or the patterns made by mice sometimes serves as a pictorial language spoken between nonhuman and human participants. That language is not one used in human communications, even though it may inform human social order and modes of cognition.
The language of divination represents communication between human and super-human forces. A diviner acts much like a translator would, communicating the perceived patterns of cosmic order to an individual or to the community. Divination is integral to all traditional African religions as well as to the religions of most other cultures. The function of divination is artistic, epistemological, and expressive. Divination also creates, maintains, and interprets social and spiritual order.

orks Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African Arts. Summer…...

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Works Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African Arts. Summer 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0438/is_2_35/ai_94010411/?tag=content;col1 

"Exploring Africa." African Studies Center. Retrieved April 14, 2009 from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m14/activity2.php

Peek, Phillip M. African Divination Systems. Indiana University Press, 1991.

Pemberton, John III. "Divination in Sub-Saharan Africa." Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination. 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from  http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/essayPemberton.html

Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa
Zwelethu Mithethwa says, "I chose color because it provides a greater emotional range. My aim is to show the pride of the people I photograph" (National pp). Born in 1960 in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mithethwa holds diplomas from the Michaelis School of Fine Art from the University of Cape Town (National pp). As a recipient of a Fullbright Scholarship, he studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology and in 1989 received a master's degree in imaging arts (National pp). Mthethwa left teaching in 1999 to devote himself fulltime to his artwork (National pp). He has received national and international recognition and has had over thirty-five solo exhibition in galleries and museums in the United States, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland and South Africa (National pp). Residing in Cape Town, Mthethwa is best known for his large-format color photography, however he also works in pastel and paint (National pp).

Zwelethu…...

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Works Cited

Jamal, Ashraf. "Zwelethu Mthethwa.  http://www.artthrob.co.za/99apr/artbio.htm 

Culture Base.  http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?939 

National Museum of African Art.  http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/insights/index2.html 

Van Dyke, Kristina. "The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994." African Arts. September 22, 2002; Pp.

Art
Asia and Africa in estern European Art

Globalization is generally associated as a modern phenomenon, however, it is a global movement that began with the Greeks and did not accelerate until the renaissance era. The est, going back to Alexander the Great, has a long history of interactions with Asia and Africa. Ideas and goods were consistently traded. This trend of globalization accelerated with the age of exploration in the 16th century when Europeans came into further contact with Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Driven by the quest for gold and natural resources estern European traders navigated the world. This had a profound effect back home, as Europeans developed an interest in the exotic. The interest blossomed during the 18th and 19th century, during the height of estern power and colonialism. Curiosity into the foreign permeated all levels of society. Artists incorporated Asian and African artistic styles into their own. This…...

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Works Cited

Soltes, Ori. "They All Came to Paris." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .

Soltes, Ori. "Asia and Africa in the Western Mind." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .

Admittedly, these two teams were faced with a daunting challenge in acquiring and interpreting those works of art that were most appropriate for their exhibition goals, and interpretive efforts must use some framework in which to present the resources in a fashion that can be understood and appreciated by the targeted audiences.
Nevertheless, there is little or no discussion concerning the fusion of artistic styles in the two catalogs, with a preference for a neat and orderly, date by date, presentation of representative works that typify the points being made by the exhibition. Despite these shortcomings, both catalogs were shown to be authoritative references that were supported by relevant citations and imagery. Likewise, both catalogs provide useful overviews of the materials that are being presented preparatory to their interpretation, helping place the information in its historical context.

Conclusion

The research showed that interest and appreciation in colonial Latin American art has experienced…...

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Works Cited

Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. Introduction in Art of Colonial Latin America. New York: Phaidon

Press, 2005.

Paz, Octavio. Metropolitan Museum of Art: Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries. Los Angeles: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pierce, Donna, Gomar, Rogelio R. And Bargellini, Clara. Painting a New World: Mexican Art

Palmer C. Hayden and Laura Wheeler Waring were two of the painters of the Harlem Renaissance, and they focused on painting stylized portraits of prominent African-Americans and scenes of black life from a variety of perspectives.
4)

The dynamism of the machine age is exhibited not only in the engineered workings of inventions like automobiles and early airplanes, but also in the Futuristic paintings of the period. There is a blend of very strong geometry and straight lines that combine to create larger images of fluidity and movement that almost seems impossible when the smaller constituent elements of the painting are focused on. It is as though magic and passion are meeting science and cool logic, which is a way of describing things like the combustion engine as well. This period was a time when the world seemed to be moving in two directions, at once looking forward to the amazing…...

Art movement DADA
The phenomenon Dada is notoriously difficult to describe; some critics hesitate even to use the term "movement." Focusing on Dadaists' reflections about the phenomenon itself, we will try to delineate a general image of the Dada in the context of the European avant-gardes of the 20-th century. e will also try to analyze the historical and political context inside which the dada phenomenon occurred. Our main focus will be on two main tenets of Dadaism: the "self-critical" feature of Dada's self-image as it emerges during the main phases of its history, especially during its early phase, and the political commitment of Dada during its last phases of development.

Dada "artworks" were usually conceived as all-in-one theatrical performances, art happenings, counting music, dance, poems, theory, costumes, as well as paintings. Jangling keys, gymnastic exercises called noir cacadou, and screaming presentations of sound poetry or other texts accompanied these performances. All…...

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Works cited

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproductibility and Other Writings on Media. Eds. M. Jennings, B. Doherty, T.Y. Levin. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008: pp.34-45

Caws, Mary Ann. The Poetry of Dada and Surrealism: Aragon, Breton, Tzara, Eluard and Desnos. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000: pp.12-34.

Dachy, Marc. The Dada Movement, 1915 -- 1923. New York: Rizzoli, 1990: pp.56-78

Hugnet, Georges. Dada. In: The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art. vol. 4, no. 2/3, 2006: pp. 3-18.

Splashes of color like red and several shades of blue are added to the collage in a "dragonfly, wing-like" formation. A cutout photograph of a boy is pasted on the "wing" of a lighter shade of blue, perhaps to note a sense of calm to his surroundings.
The Hawkins' exhibit will consist of 80 objects, a retrospective of his nearly a quarter of a century career. The work is described as "at its core, about the pleasure of intense looking." Third mind is described as referring to another piece of Hawkins' work, "ichard Hawkins: Of two minds simultaneously," which means to be undecided, uncertain or unsure, the description states. Hawkins is aware of the duplicity that this body of work creates, which is stated to be intentional.

The Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1879 as a school and museum. The museum holds art from African-American artists to silk textiles.…...

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References

1. The Art Institute of Chicago. "The Art Institute of Chicago: Exhibitions." 2 December 2010 the Art Institute of Chicago 2010. .

2. The Art Institute of Chicago. "The Art Institute of Chicago: Exhibitions." 2 December 2010. The Art Institute of Chicago 2010. .

3. George Eastman House. "Current Exhibitions • George Eastman House." 2 December 2010. George Eastman House 2000-2010. .

4. George Eastman House. "Photographs by Jessica Lange • George Eastman House." 2 December 2010. George Eastman House 2000-2010. .

e learn that art can indeed reflect life but it can also inspire it beyond what the human mind can dream.
orks Cited

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

Richard Powell. African-American Art. 2005 Oxford University Press. http://www.aawc.com

Rodriguez, Junius P.. "African-American Experience: Art." African-American Experience. 12 September, 2008. http://aae.greenwood.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 278.

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, (1994). 69.

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 294.

Rodriguez, Junius P.…...

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Works Cited

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006.  http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com 

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

The traditional estern woman would not wear the mark of the warrior, the war paint, or other decorative markings. but, in the idealized world of the advertisement, a woman can as well be a warrior for a cause, as man a soldier for that in which he believes. As well, gender is used to contrast the softness and over-refinement of a highly technological and industrial world with the rigors of everyday life in the African environment. Here also, the message is that traditional gender roles must be abandoned if we are to become one; if we are to recognize our genuine and universal heritage. This heritage is symbolized by the naked purity of the African tope.
An Ideological Description:

Beyond its gendered and Eurocentric vs. Afrocentric text, the advertisement carries a very powerful subtext about the need for all of us to recognize our "Africanness." Gwyneth Paltrow is a estern woman…...

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Works Cited

 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=28520584 

Boehm, Christopher. Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.

From the Tour: Titian and the Late Renaissance in Venice." The Collection, National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2006. URL:  http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg23/gg23-1226.0.html .

African estaurant evival
New York is home to people from all over the world, and it is well-known that they often bring with them cuisine from their homelands. Foodies descend on food courts in subterranean malls in Queens, ussian bakeries in Brooklyn, and ethnic food trucks pretty much anywhere throughout the five boroughs. For being a cosmopolitan city with such cosmopolitan tastes, surprisingly little attention is paid to the diversity of African food. The continent of Africa is rich in food tradition and, increasingly, we are seeing these traditions manifest throughout New York. This trend is occurring in many places, in particular Manhattan and Brooklyn. In fact, several openings over the past few years have dramatically altered the African dining scene, and this development is very much worthy of coverage. This citywide exposure to the African food trend makes it an excellent topic heading into the summer eating season.

There has been…...

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References

Kugel, S. (2007, March 18). Sampling a Continent at Home. Retrieved from nytimes.com:  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/travel/18weekend.1.html?_r=0 

Laing, N. (2013, October). New York's First African Restaurant Week Offers New Flavors and a Dash of Culture. Retrieved from fo2w.org:  http://fi2w.org/2013/10/14/new-yorks-first-african-restaurant-week-offers-new-flavors-and-a-dash-of-culture/ 

Pearlman, E. (2014). Ponty Bistro. Retrieved from blacboardeats.com: http://www.blackboardeats.com/sp/ponty-bistro-gramercy-new-york-3

Spiropoulos, R. (2014, June 28). Dining African: 3 Restaurant Biz Success Stories Savor N.Y. African Restaurant Week. Retrieved from blackenterprise.com:  http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/new-york-african-restaurant-week-wraps-in-style/

El Anatsui has revolutionized contemporary African art in several ways through his innovative use of found materials and transformative installations. One of the key ways he has done this is by challenging traditional notions of what art materials can be and how they can be used. By using discarded objects such as bottle caps, aluminum foil, and discarded metal pieces, El Anatsui has shown that ordinary materials can be transformed into something extraordinary. This challenges the idea that art materials must be expensive or difficult to obtain in order to create artwork of value.

Furthermore, El Anatsui's use of found materials....

El Anatsui: Revolutionizing African Art with Found Materials and Transformative Installations

El Anatsui, a Ghanaian artist, has played a pivotal role in revolutionizing contemporary African art through his pioneering use of found materials and transformative installations. His innovative approach has not only expanded the boundaries of artistic expression but also challenged traditional notions of African art.

Found Materials and Recycled Objects

Anatsui's signature works are composed of discarded bottle caps, flattened aluminum cans, and other found objects. These seemingly mundane materials are transformed into shimmering tapestries and sculptural forms that captivate viewers. By using recycled materials, Anatsui not only raises environmental awareness but....