Historical, Artistic, and Cultural Highlights
This discussion uses selected objects from the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection to illustrate a few basic forms of African art: the figure, the mask, art to be worn, and useful items. It attempts to answer the question "Why does it look like that?"
The information provided here is by necessity limited. Your CMA docent will fill in the details of meaning and context, and provide insight into how objects were made. Suggestions for further research are provided later in this booklet.
The Body and the HeadHuman beings and human activities are the major subjects of the African artist. However, human anatomy is not an obsession, as it was in
Renaissance Italy. Furthermore, traditional African art pays no particular attention to scenes drawn from life, and neglects portraiture almost entirely.
African art is preoccupied with themes of appropriate demeanor and successful relationships. These themes are acted out by figures who could represent any man or woman, in an ideal state.
One function of such figures is to enact proper social roles. The museum's
Baule Spirit Spouse Figures represent ideal mates. The Baule traditionally believe that each person has a spouse in the spirit world who can cause trouble if not properly respected. Spirit spouses are represented in our world by small wooden figures. Their dignified poses, carefully arranged hair, and the cosmetic scarification on their torsos and backs are all marks of desirability in Baule culture. Figures such as these are kept in a special place in the owner's room, where they are given the same sort of hospitality that might be afforded a human visitor. They are clothed and given jewelry (ours have ankle bracelets still attached), kept clean, and given offerings of food. Caring for these ideal mates provides fulfillment that can be hard to find elsewhere. Some Baule have a better relationship with their spirit spouse than with their earthly one.