tribal/primitive/antique African art

Tribal, ritual, ethnic, ethnographic, classical, traditional, antique, "primitive", art
from sub-Sahara Africa

"Art plays an essential role in the lives of the African people and their communities. It serves a much more vital purpose than merely to beautify the human environment, as art is usually employed in contemporary Western societies.
The beauty of African art is simply an element of its function, for these objects would not be effective if they were not aesthetically pleasing. Its beauty and its content thus combine to make art the vehicle that ensures the survival of traditions, protects the community and the individual, and tells much of the person or persons who use it."

Tribal Art is rapidly growing in popularity. An even broader audience has been able to enjoy ‘Tribal Art’ thanks to major exhibitions in recent years in London, Paris, Berlin, Munich and Düsseldorf.
   At the start of the 20th century, however, Tribal Art was already arousing great excitement among artists and art collectors. At a time when “Negro Art” was still looked upon as the innocent product of primitive peoples, cubists such as Picasso, Braque or Gris were already drawing inspiration from the strikingly new qualities of form; expressionists such as Kirchner, Nolde or Schmidt-Rottluff were captivated by the elementary power of this native art and Gauguin was painting scenes from his travels to countries of the South Pacific. Non-European art greatly influenced the work of these great artists as it continues to influence modern art of the present day.
   Over the course of the decades, great art lovers such as von der Heydt (Rietberg Museum, Zurich) or Mueller (Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva) have established significant art collections, which alongside the “colonial legacy” provide the mainstay of the museums’ inventories all over the world. Today it is artists and art enthusiasts such as Baselitz, Arman or Fritz Koenig who discover the unique qualities of tribal art and assemble special collections which they make available to the public in exhibitions.
   We have now understood that this art form cannot be referred to as “primitive art”. It is a fact that this art speaks to us, and as it does so it draws us into the world of those who created it. Even when using the term ‘tribal art’ one must remember that it derives from a rich diversity of cultures which finds expression in the wonderful works of this extraordinary art."
(source = http://www.andre-kirbach.de/02-Introduction.html in 2007)

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puissance plastique

de gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum

This document was updated most recently 2009-07

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Keywords in other languages for this page:

Afrika, Afrikaans, Afrikaanse, antropologie, antropologisch, beeld, beelden, beeldhouwkunst, beeldhouwwerk, beeldhouwwerken, boek, boeken, caoline, clan, clans, Congo, Congolees, etnisch, etnische, ethnisch, etnische, etnografie, etnografisch, etnografische, ethnografie, ethnografisch, ethnografische, hoed, hoeden, hout, houten, houtsnijwerk, kleur, kleuren, Kongo, kunst, kunsten, kunstenaar, kunstenaars, masker, maskers, neger, negers, negerkunst, pigment, pigmenten, pluim, pluimen, pop, poppen, primitief, primitieve, raffia, rafia, sculptuur, sculpturen, speelgoed, stam, stammen, tekstiel, textiel, totem, totems, tribaal, veer, veiling, veilingen, veren, verf, geverfd, vezels, vruchtbaarheid, zaire

Africaines, Afrique, art premier, arts premiers, congolais, congolaise, fecondite, fetiche, fibres, geometrie, grenier, livre, livre, metiers, masque, masques, negre, negres, patine, poupee, poupees, robe, style brut, teintures, tribale,

Afrikanisch, Afrikanische kunst, Holzplastik, Schwarzafrika

bambola della fertilità, caolino, conchiglie, femminile, legno, maschera, metallo, patina, pelo, pigmenti, perline, fibre vegetali, piume, statua

e-mail: Paul dot Nieuwenhuysen at vub dot ac dot be

Tribal, ritual, ethnic, ethnographic, classical, traditional, antique, "primitive", art
from sub-Sahara Africa

To a page that lists motivations for studying and collecting African art

To links that lead to other WWW sites on tribal African art

To a big page that shows masks and headdresses in the African art collection

To a big page that shows statues, sculptures, fetishes, dolls, figures in the Africa art collection

To a page about African textiles

To pieces / objects available from the African art collection

Tribal, ritual, ethnic, ethnographic, classical, traditional, antique, "primitive", art from sub-Sahara Africa

To a page that lists motivations for studying and collecting African art

To links that lead to other WWW sites on tribal African art

To a big page that shows masks and headdresses in the African art collection

To a big page that shows statues, sculptures, fetishes, dolls, figures in the Africa art collection

To a page about African textiles

To pieces / objects available from the African art collection

Tribal, ritual, ethnic, ethnographic, classical, traditional, antique, "primitive", art
from sub-Sahara Africa