Art Resource GuideGroup 3: Pages 47-77

Raul Lopez Wesley Nguyen Anthony Tran

Tony Vu Ali Mesallem Erika Albinto

• Sapi = ancestors of contemporary cultural groups • Tempe, Kissi, and Boloum in Sierra

Leone

• Portuguese visitors collected ivory objects by Sapi carvers

• Many African cultural groups consider dogs to be attuned to the spiritual world

• Ivory was a highly coveted material for Africans & Europeans• prestigious and wealthy sign

• William Fragg grouped all African ivory objects as

“Afro-Portuguese ivories” in 1959

Sapi-Portuguese in Sierra Leone Fifteenth-Sixteenth Century

Lidded Salt Cellar

• Portuguese found highly skilled artists in the Benin Kingdom • along the western coast of

Africa, south of Sierra Leone

• The Benin Kingdom was founded in present day Nigeria around 900 C.E. lead by series of leaders known as Ogiso (“Rulers of the Sky”)

• Benin Kingdom grew through warfare

• They made any types of artwork

• Most prized were made of cast metal, ivory, and coral

Plaque, Benin Kingdom Court Style, Edo Peoples, Nigeria, Mid-Sixteenth Century

{

• Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson lead the attack on Benin City

• British looted Oba’s palace, destroyed the city, took artworks, and exiled Oba

• Many of the artworks are now in museums and some people of Benin want them back. • Even though better

off in the western museumsBenin Invasion

{• Cultural group in the costal area of Ghana• Referred as the Gold Coast by Europeans prior to independence• Part of the Akan language group• Power held in tribe by the chief• Each town in the Fante region has own Asafo organization

• Asafo: military associations imporant to Fante Society

Fante People

• Flags (frankaa) and cement shrines (posuban) are important to the Asafo

• Posuban: usually multistoried shrines that houses items of special importance in community such as drums and flags

• Basically, a warehouse with

a fancy name• Frankaa: elaborately

decorated with highly symbolic imagery

• Made on commision• Naturally, members of

different Asafo groups have preferences for their artist

• Usually tailored by males who gained knowledge through apprenticeship

Asafo Flag by Kweku Kakanu

{NIGERIA AND YORUBA PEOPLES

• Yoruba people believed the world was created at a place called Ile-Ife, now southwestern Nigeria

• Evidence shows this site was populated as early as 350 B.C.E.• Ile-Ife: a thriving city-state since the 11th century• Makes Yoruba one of the largest ethnic group originating in the area• Ruled by kings who supposedly had a connection to the world of

deities• Beads were one of the most highly sought luxury items acquired by

the Yoruba through European trade

• Adire- a type of tie-dyed cloth that was traditionally made by Yoruba women

• Some adire wrappers displays elaborate decorations• Frontal pose emphasizes on the regalia of the royal figures• Also emphasizes the culture of the Yoruba• To either side of the medallion is repeated scenes• Has motifs from different cultures

WRAPPERS AND MID-20TH CENTURY

Page 6 in A.R.B. shows Wrapper by Yoruba Peoples similar to this

Face Mask, Guro Peoples, Côte d'Ivoire, Mid-Twentieth Century

• European traders working in Africa were active throughout the forested area along the Atlantic coast

• A large portion of this region (referred to as Guinea by European, was colonized later by the French

• Prior to the colonial period, there were many interrelationships among the various ethnic groups throughout the region.• For that reason, one can find

similarities in artistic traditions through the coastal areas in the present-day countries of Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, etc.

{• Guro = a culturual group in Côte d'Ivoire

• Neighbored by the Baule, Yaure, Wan, Anyi, and Attie groups• Known for their rich traditions in masquerade• Artists from all of these groups produce carved wooden masks and sculptures that are quite similar in style• Unlike the Edo and Yoruba people, the Guro and other groups in this coastal region have traditionally not been ruled by kings

Guro People

Guro People cont’d• Cultural groups such as

the Guro and Baule are relatively egalitarian• Ruled by a council of

elder males who are not seen as divine, but are accorded special status for their age and wisdom.

• For the Guro and related groups, masquerade plays an especially important role in upholding the social order

• It is for these activities that the most significant art objects are created

• The Mami Wata face mask consists of two discrete parts.• Mami Wata can be

translated as “Mother Water”

• The bottom half is a highly stylized face mask.• Typical of masks in this

region, the face mask is dominated by the colors red, black, and white.

• The face mask is topped with a superstructure

Masquerade

• Masquerade is very important among many of the cultural groups in Côte d'Ivoire.

• Some have powerful ritual significance, others are for entertainment• Can be both

entertaining and sacred at the same time.

• Masqueraders, who among the Guro are men, dress in full ensembles and perform with music for entertainment of the community.

Côte d'Ivoire• Côte d'Ivoire became a

French colony in 1897• Unlike many West African

countries ruled by a small group of government officials, Côte d'Ivoire had a relatively sizable population of French citizen

• The French approach to colonization in Côte d'Ivoire was to force assimilation.• They placed great emphasis

on French language, history, literature, and culture.

• Masquerade survived the colonial period and continues to flourish today• Brought together music,

dance, costuming, and emphasizes shared social values.

El Anatsui, Ghanaian• El Anatsui was born in

Anyako, a town located in Ghana’s Volta Region.

• In the year Anatsui was born, his country was a British colony known as the Gold Coast.

• Anatsui received a formal art education at the College of Art of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

• The British educational system imposed on its colonies a worldview that focused almost exclusively on European history and tradtions.

After completing his formal artistic training and establishing himself as a teacher in Ghana, El Anatsui received an invitation to join the art faculty at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka.

By the 1970s Anatsu began to emerge as a major artist in Africa and earned recognition internationally.

He moved to Nigeria in 1975 and became associated with a group of artists called the Nsukka Group.

At the time, the most recognizable artists associated with contemporary African art lived in Europe and the Americas. Anatsui, instead continued to live and create art in Nigeria.

• Through his expansive career, Anatsui has favored materials that are local.• Broken ceramic pots and discarded cassava graters are featured in his sculptural

installations • His recent works: wall installations made of discarded metal cans & bottle

caps• Example: most famous Fading Cloth

• The Fading Cloth name refers to formal qualities of the intense colors in the center

• Seen up close, this piece contains various colors that seem entirely random; from a distance, the pieces come together to create large bands of color.

The Fading Cloth by El Anastui

{• British Empire was built over centuries and encompassed locations across the globe• At the height of the Age of Empire, Great Britain was driven for political power• Commodities and trade were important for global expansion• Imports of spices and teas came from foreign land which later became colonies • These imports were first seen as luxuries then they later became necessities• The colonies helped with the financial stability of the empire through British

markets/exports

The Colonies, Commodities, and Trade

{• The Chinese

plate and Indian watercolor painting depicted use of designs and techniques in works used in the context of imperialism

Plate, China, Eighteenth Century (1739-43)

Selected Work• This was part of a set with fifty plates and four dishes created for Leake Okeover and his wife, Mary Nichol, • aristocrats from

Staffordshire, England• Decorative style &

number of dishes/plates showed that it was meant for only appearance, not for used

• Made of porcelain • highly wanted on the

European market because its qualities made it preferable to other kinds of ceramic wares

• First porcelain objects developed around 600 C.E. in the northern regions of China

• First porcelain pieces to arrive in Europe came during the early fourteenth century through Silk Road

• Porcelain can be shaped in many ways, but still fragile, which makes it a desirable trade item

• More porcelain became available to the Europeans once trade sea routes were established by the Portuguese

• Once Europeans got their hands on the porcelain, it was embellished and turned it into showpieces

• Europeans desired dining items to be made out of porcelain, such as mugs, teacups, and candleholders

• Porcelain combined Chinese expertise and European design

Porcelain

A common Indian Nightjar (caprimulgus asiaticus)

India, eighteenth Century

Selected work info

• This painting was executed by an Indian artist for a European patron

• Unknown artist • Size = about a piece of

notebook paper• Many Indian artists

from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries adapted their styles to meet the demands of new European patrons

• Company School Painting: a.k.a. kampani kalan, refers to works that were produced by Indian artists for British patrons

• Company School artists were professional painters • Styles: some traditional Indian miniature

painting and some influenced by European artistic conventions

• East India Company: joint-stock company that has a special relationship with the British Crown• held a position of dominance in India

and areas stretching into parts of Asia• Key commodities for East India

Company: tea, cotton, and indigo• European reps. desired images

that captured their new and interesting new home

• Company School paintings depicted general subject matter of nature

• Lucknow School: region where paintings that displayed a wide range of subjects were produced

Company School

• Company School paintings emerged in southern India, but traditions developed in other locations

• Paintings used watercolors instead of gouache• Gouache: the medium more traditional to Indian miniature paintings

• Both gouache and watercolors capture the smallest detail on a tiny scale• Lord Impey and Marquess Wellesley supported the Company School paintings• These paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries are similar to modern day tourist

photographs• Started to die off when photography was introduced in 1840s

• Patrons desired documentation; photography showed valued documentary content than their beauty

• Born in 1783 possibly in Boston; died 1815

• Lack of documentation about his life

• Father died early on in his youth; mother married Peter Pelham in 1748

• Pelham: painter and engraver • Copley established basics of art

from him during his teen years • Established rep. as portrait

painter in 1750’s; 1760’s rep. reached to Europe.

Focus: John Singleton Copley

• London, 1766, exhibited paining “Boy with a Squirrel” which caught the attention of Benjamin West • The boy is Copley’s half

brother • West encourage Copley to

move to London, so Copley set sail to London in 1774• There he travelled Paris,

Rome, Florence, and more.

• Continued to make Colonial painting while in London

• Died in London 1815

{•Took place in 1775, prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord.•Rode from Boston to Lexington to warn fellow Patriots of the British incoming• Revere was actually one of several riders.• Henry Wordsworth Longfellow only acknowledged Revere in his poem, creating a false impression that Revere rode alone

The Midnight Ride!

{

• 1786, Revere sat for Copley for his portrait

• At this point he was known as an artisan silversmith

• Took the family business around the age of 34; same age as when he sat down for his portrait

• Was also a skilled goldsmith and advertised himself as a dentist

• Active member of his church , politics prior to his ride ; joined the Sons of Liberty: opposed British colonial policies.

Paul Revere, the Silversmith

• Stamp Act (1765), passed by British Parliament, a retroactive declare that all printed works would be taxed upon.

• The tax was actually small, but colonists saw it unreasonable for parliament to tax the American colonies without colonial representation at parliament• “No taxation without representation!” echoed the protesters…

• Repealed in 1766, but more “unreasonable” taxes followed• Example: Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a response of a similar

tax on tea.

The Sons of Liberty and the Stamp Act

{

• 1878-1887 in Mumbai, India• By Frederick William Stevens

• British Architect• Known for his Gothic style

• Celebrate jubilee of Queen Victoria• Originally head quarters for

the Great Indian Peninsular Railway• Influences: European & traditional Indian architecture

•Italianate Gothic style• Inspired from Italian &English churches

and St. Pancras Railway Station• Symbolizes colonial rule

• Crown=Progress• Lion & Tiger=European & Indian power

• Name of seventeenth-century wise Hindu King

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

(Victoria Terminus Building)

{

• 1823-1880 in Melbourne, Australia

• Represented European notions of progress

• Designed by Joseph Reed • Designed public, commercial, and

ecclesiastical architecture

• Firm: Reed & Barnes

• For the Melbourne International Exhibition

• High European ideas about progress

• Ideas from church architecture, Gothic and Classical influences

• Attention to city’s growth & progress

• Main section exists, but side wings demolished

Royal Exhibition Building

{• Completed in 1894• Design by Arthur Blomfield

• English architect and member of Royal Institute of British Archietcs

• Most recent in succession of significant Anglican churches in Georgetown• Small chapel in 1810, but additions were made• One of the tallest wooden churches (height: 143 feet) • Based on a Latin Cross with a central tower• Gothic design features, successful alteration of a traditional European style

St. George’s Cathedral

Who helped Copley establish art into his life during his teen years?

A. Benjamin WestB. His fatherC. His stepfather, Peter PelhamD. Paul Revere E. Taught himself

Questions!!!

What is the definition of Sapi? A. First paintings emerged in southern

India B. Gothic style architecture C. Ancestors of contemporary cultural

groupsD. Multistoried shrines that houses items

such as drums and flags

E. Taught himself

• The Chinese plate and Indian watercolor painting depicted use of designs and techniques in works used in the context of:

A. Aristocracy B. Royal Expedition

C. Imperialism D. Slavery E. Commodities

{or False

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus used to be called the Victoria Terminus Building.

True

{

True or

Guro people and other groups around the coastal region have been traditionally ruled by kings

False