The form of figural art in Africa was mainly determined by its religious, ritual and magical function. There are certain aspects of beauty (the curve and the round are basic criteria of beauty) and majesty meaning like elongated skulls, long torsos and expressionless figures.
The African artist was stressed in his art to represent his vision of perfection on good or a bad entity rather than referring to a certain individual although keeping resemblance to a human being. The proportions are unbalanced in such a way so they shift the center of gravity in order to augment the most important quality/strength intended to be depicted. African Mask
Another characteristic is luminosity or the play of light and shadow over the sculpture. One persistent aspect is the self-composure, a straight and upright posture and symmetrical arrangement of the part of the sculpture with very little asymmetric occurrences.
The simplicity of expressing by carving a state of mind inspired many notable figures from abstract art and it still represents a source of inspiration.Another notable African influence to the way we communicate and vibrate artistically is music. African rhythm and polyrhythm along with the pentatonic scale music in conjunction with European and Native American influence generated many genres like rumba, blues, jazz, rock and roll, and newer eclectic-fusion type.
Picasso Mask
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