World Art Appreciation -- African Black Art

Author: Zhang Zikang, Liu Hongjun, Kang Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: Black Africa, also known as Tropical Africa, refers to the African interior inhabited by Black people south of the Sahara. Many residents of this region still live in tribal society environments, believing in ancestor worship and animism, while maintaining primitive tribal concepts and mythological thinking in many aspects. Nok terracotta sculptures and bronze figures are the oldest carvings in Black Africa. Their carvings include ritual figurines and dance masks, embodying supernatural power and becoming part of religious belief. In Black African tribal sculpture, regional characteristics and ethnic factors are clearly reflected. These different stylistic features serve as markers for ethnic divisions and the attributes of ethnic groups. Over long-term evolution, these forms, which have accumulated mythological creative experience across countless generations, have become standardized, forming characteristics of simplicity, refinement, and luster. The naivety, innocence, absurdity, and expressiveness of Black African sculpture attracted the attention of European art masters such as Picasso, Klee, and Nolde, who developed a strong interest in tribal art—specifically Black African art.