Module 10 - Video Blog

1.    Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

     I decided to watch African Art and African Art: Legacy of Oppression because I knew that I wanted to do my mask assignment resembling an African mask so it was a good opportunity for me to learn more about those kinds of masks before I designed my own. I also wanted to make sure that I knew a little about the African culture and their reasonings for the creations of the masks before I designed my own.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

     African Art- this video is about the villages of sub-Saharan Africa where traditions are still strong, art is an integral part of daily life. This illuminating program examines the symbolism, aesthetics, and functionality of African art through the vast region's sculpture, masks, architecture, ornaments, clothing, and utensils. In addition, indigenous African religious beliefs are explored through rituals—a spiritual form of performance art—and funerary statuary. Prehistoric rock art is also presented, and the conceptual nature of African art is stressed. Location footage underscoring the rich mosaic of cultures to be found in sub-Saharan Africa provides the backdrop for the program.

     African Art: Legacy of Oppression- this video talks about Belgium's Tervuren Museum contains the world's largest collection of Central African art, which consists of approximately 250,000 pieces. Noted journalist Paul Solman discusses the power and the true price of this collection with art historian Ramona Austin and journalist/author Adam Hochschild. In the immense Congo region, there are more than 250 different cultures, so there is a broad range of artistic styles to be found there. Austin is particularly drawn to the emotionally riveting abstracts, with their modernistic qualities and generalized forms that influenced Picasso and other European masters. She also admires the intricate detailing lavished on everyday objects. Hochschild says that when Belgium's King Leopold II colonized and brutally exploited this territory during the late 1800s, ivory and rubber were not the only things sent back to Europe.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

     Our text had a section on African art which connected to the videos that I chose to watch. More than any other artistic tradition, the arts of African challenge us to expand our ideas about what art is, what forms it can take, what impulses it springs from, and what purpose it serves. The great African art of spiritual agency, and perhaps the greatest of African arts, is the masquerade. It involves sculpture, costume, music, and movement but the mask does not have any spirit powers related. The videos also touched on these topics as well as many others.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

     I really enjoyed the videos because it helped me grasp the African culture and their connections to the masks with their cultural beliefs. Although the readings helped me get the historical background on the African culture, the videos showed actual footage which made it more surreal to me, and actually fascinated me with the unique African masks.