Module 10: Blog Review

African Art: Legacy of Oppression:

Belgium's Tervuren Museum has the biggest collection of Central African art. In the Congo, there are more than 250 tribes and with these tribes comes many artistic styles. African art influenced Picasso and other European artists. Masks were used because they thought to contain magic and were full of emotion. The masks were supposed to dictate how people acted and scare them to act correctly. Masks were also used to intimidate enemies, but they proved to be failures as they did not stand up to the weapons the enemy had. African art explores the nature of existence.

African Art:

Art is a part of life in Africa, in clothing, hairstyles, traditional African rituals, and utensils. Ritual artifacts were made of wood and straw. Most museum pieces are from within two hundred years because they deteriorate due to the materials used. Artwork is passed down to the generations. The oldest African art is found in regions that are drier, like the Sahara. Paintings in drier regions are of animals, to strengthen the hunt. African art, most of it, flows from the artist's images that they had in their head. There is a lot of diversity in African art, but each culture in Africa adds their own to the traditions.


I chose the videos on African art because I've always wanted to travel to Africa and I'm always willing to learn more about what the continent has to offer. How a culture uses art and depicts their art says a lot about them.

I liked the videos and found them interesting, but I thought that the speaker in the African Art: Legacy of Oppression video talked very fast, making it hard for me to take notes as I listened/watched. The videos did not really expand my knowledge, I felt that it just touched base with what I already know from past years in school.

The videos relate to the text because they talk about African art and how it is unlike any other region's artwork. The text talks about what is traditionally used in African art and the videos tell and show examples of the symbolism of the artwork.