The great revelation of modern art was the
active
absorption by Western artist of “primitive”
African
art. Much like Japanese art influenced the
Impressionist, African art changed the way
artist
approached the subject. African art did not
imitate natural forms, as in the West, but
instead
invoked the essence of the subject matter
through a complex arrangement of forms, of
positive and negative space. Of all the tribal
arts
that influenced the pioneering Braque and
Picasso, the Senufo rank among the most
important and influential. Little of this
sculpture
is realistic, proportions are exaggerated,
details
omitted; yet it is unequivocally human. The
artist,
by freeing himself from the constraints of
naturalism, producing a work of art that
conjures
a feeling, a sensation of a human being that
is
perhaps more real than a photograph of our
reflection in a mirror. The sculptor has
created a
man enthroned upon a stool. In tribal
tradition,
the stool is the penultimate symbol of
authority.
This man is most likely a king or at least a
tribal
leader. His facial features utilizes the
aesthetic
language of the Senufo including the pointed
chin
and pursed lips, the nasal structure, the
almond-
shaped eyes, and the decorative body
scarification. In the Western tradition, facial
structure identifies the distinct individuality of
a
person. However, in African art, the facial
structure is the result of a strictly maintained
artistic tradition that relates the figure to
other
ancestor sculptures and places the work
within
the Senufo artistic heritage. Instead, the
artist
uses the intricate patterns of scarifications to
suggest the figure’s personal identity. In this
example, the fabulous grid motif carved onto
the
back of the figure again suggests his high
ranking
status among the tribe due to the beauty of
his
elaborate scars. Although this sculpture
probably
represents a specific ruler among the
Senufo, the
artist is more concerned with representing
the
abstract idea of authority and than a specific
individual. This masterpiece of African art
awes
us with its unique interpretation of the human
form and allows us to rediscover our own
being in
a newfound light.
- (PF.5909)
|
