In the early twentieth Century. creative persons like PABLO PICASSO and ANDRE DERAIN were inspired by the bold abstract designs that they discovered in African tribal masks. They collected and used these plants of art to act upon their ain manner. In consequence. they used African civilization to review the tired tradition of figure picture in Western Art. As a consequence. we now tend to look up to the bold design and abstract forms of African masks through European eyes. We appreciate them as exhibits on museum walls. cut off from their original significance and charming power. However. this is non how they were designed to be viewed. African masks should be seen as portion of a ceremonial costume. They are used in spiritual and societal events to stand for the liquors of ascendants or to command the good and evil forces in the community. They come to life. possessed by their spirit in the public presentation of the dance. and are enhanced by both the music and ambiance of the juncture. Some combine homo and animate being characteristics to unite adult male with his natural environment. This bond with nature is of great importance to the African and through the ages masks have ever been used to show this relationship. The Materials of an African Mask

African masks are made from different stuffs: wood. bronze. brass. Cu. tusk. terra cotta and glassy clayware. raphia and fabrics. They are frequently decorated with cowry shells. colored beads. bone. animate being teguments and vegetable fiber. The bulk of masks and sculptures. nevertheless. are made of wood for two grounds: 1. Trees are in plentiful supply in the wood.

2. The Carver believes that the tree has a religious psyche and its wood is the most natural place for the spirit in the mask. Before any tree is cut down. a forfeit may be offered as a grade of regard to the spirit of the tree bespeaking its permission for the carving. Its life is governed by the same natural and supernatural forces that inspire the creative person and his community. This type of ritual is common to many civilizations that have a close religious bond with nature. Wooden masks are frequently colored with natural dyes and pigments created from veggies. workss. seeds. tree bark. dirt and insects. Occasionally they are splashed with sacrificial blood to increase their religious power. The tools used to do a carving – traditionally the Adze – are besides endowed with their ain peculiar liquors. When tools are passed down through different coevalss. they sometimes inherit the spirit and accomplishments of their old proprietors. They. like the creative person. his carving. and the tree from which it came. are all portion of that ‘oneness’ of nature – the ecological vision that informs all African tribal civilization. The Use of Pattern in African Masks

Bold form. either painted or carved. is a powerful and expressive component in African mask design. Most forms tend to be geometrical and symmetrical and are used in a assortment of ways. Different geometric forms are sometimes used to separate between male and female masks. Square and triangular checker board grids are frequently carved to adorn subdivisions of a design. A assortment of complex braided hairdos adorn the top of the caput. Some forms are frequently used as a signifier of coded information. Parallel. zigzag. cruciform. curved and coiling lines. stand foring scarification Markss or tattoos. are often used to decorate the planes of the mask face. These can denote societal position or hold charming or spiritual powers. Intertwining crosses and geometric signifiers are frequently seen as inside informations on African masks. With the spread of the Moslem religion in Africa. some of these designs show an influence of the cosmetic ideals of Islamic Art. The Elementss of Style in an African Mask

There are two chief forces that influence the manner of an African tribal mask: 1. The traditional manner that is dictated by the societal and spiritual beliefs of the community. 2. The single vision of the Carver.

African tribal creative persons do non seek to make a perfect representation of their topic. Although some realistic portrayals are made. others celebrate more abstract qualities like aristocracy. beauty. bravery. mischievousness and temper. They create an idealised version. stressing those elements that they consider most of import: COMPOSITION – Formal symmetrical agreements of line. form and signifier in figures and masks evoke unity and self-respect. TEXTURE – Skilled workmanship. all right item and quality of finish are of great importance to the African tribal creative person. Highly polished surfaces which represent a vernal healthy tegument reflect the thought of beauty and virtuousness. while unsmooth dirty surfaces suggest fright and immorality. Many African carvings portray the idealised human figure in its prime. brimming with wellness. strength. and observing birthrate or virility. SHAPE – African masks take on many signifiers. They can be egg-shaped. handbill. rectangular. elongated. cordate. animate being or human. or any combination of these. The simplification and abstraction of ocular elements in the art of the African Mask stress its expressive power. When we look at EXPRESSIONIST ART of the twentieth century. we tend to believe of it as a European manner. One expression at elements of African art shows you where this ocular vocabulary was born. Planing an African Mask – Step 1

Fixing your stuffs
* To get down with you need two similar sized sheets of thick paper or card. one visible radiation in tone. the other dark. * The contrasting tones will be used to make a balance of positive and negative characteristics in the design. * You will besides necessitate a pencil. scissors or trade knife. and some gum.

Arranging your paper
* Fold the light sheet in half down its perpendicular length and cut along the fold. * This should give you two equal halves.
* Take one of the light halves and topographic point it over the dark sheet as in our illustration above. making one half dark and one half visible radiation. * Arrange these sheets in portrayal format.

* Following: Planing the eyes… . .
Planing an African Mask – Step 2

Planing the eyes – 1
* Draw a stylized oculus about midway down the light sheet of paper. Simplify this pulling into basic forms that contain small item. * Stylized and simplified characteristics are used to assist show abstract qualities like aristocracy. unity. bravery. fright and temper. * The form that you choose for your oculus and the angle at which you set it will impact the expressive qualities of the design.

Planing the Eyes – 2
* Cut out the oculus form. toss it over and put it on the dark sheet to
organize a symmetrical agreement. * You will now get down to see the counterchange of form which will be used throughout this mask design. * The purpose is to make a perfect balance between dark and light. and positive and negative.

Planing the Eyes – 3
* The illustration above depicts some alternate designs for conventionalized eyes. * Note how each brace of eyes has been simplified into basic forms without much item. * Simplified features on a mask communicate quicker and are more seeable from a distance. They besides have a greater expressive impact than more elaborate images. * Following: Planing the nose… . .

Planing an African Mask – Step 3

Planing the nose – 1
* Draw one half of a stylized olfactory organ on the visible radiation colored paper. * The olfactory organ should stretch from merely above the eyes to approximately halfway between the eyes and the underside of the sheet. * Stylized and simplified characteristics are used to assist show abstract qualities like aristocracy. unity. bravery. fright and temper.

Planing the nose – 2
* Cut out the nose form and somersault it over.
* Place it on the dark sheet and aline it with the perpendicular border of the light paper. * This will finish its symmetrical form and keep the tonic counterchange of the mask design.

Planing the nose – 3
* This illustration depicts some alternate designs for conventionalized olfactory organs. * Note how each olfactory organ has been stylized and simplified into a basic form without much item. * Simplified features on a mask communicate quicker and are more seeable from a distance. They besides have a greater expressive impact than more elaborate images. * Following: Planing the mouth… . .

Planing an African Mask – Step 4

Planing the oral cavity – 1
* Draw one half of a conventionalized oral cavity on the visible radiation colored paper. * Although the place of the characteristics in this mask is conventional. you do non hold to follow normal facial proportions in mask design. * Variations in the placement of the eyes. nose and oral cavity will make different expressive effects in your design.

Planing the oral cavity – 2
* Cut out the oral cavity form and somersault it over.
* Place it on the dark sheet and aline it with the perpendicular border of the light paper to finish its form. * Note that the interior of the oral cavity has besides been cut out and flipped onto the light side of the design to make the semblance of an gap.

Planing the oral cavity – 3
* This illustration depicts some alternate designs for conventionalized oral cavities. * Note how each oral cavity has been simplified into a basic form with stylized inside informations. * Note once more how simplified characteristics on a mask communicate quicker and are more seeable from a distance. They besides have a greater expressive impact than more realistic images. * Following: Planing the form of the face… . .

Planing an African Mask – Step 5

Planing the form of the face – 1
* Draw a simple form for the lineation of the face on the light paper. * This form could be egg-shaped. handbill. rectangular. elongated. cordate. animal-shaped or human. or any combination of these. * Different outline forms will give you different expressive effects.

Planing the form of the face – 2
* Cut around the lineation of the face but leave the face form in topographic point.
* Now take the remnant background form. toss it over to the other side and aline it with the perpendicular Centre line. * This will make the background for the negative side of the face. The staying infinite will go the background for the positive side of the face. * This illustration is designed to organize the form of a bosom – a symbol frequently used in mask design. * Following: Decorating the face… . .

Planing an African Mask – Step 6

Decorating the face – 1
* You can adorn the face of your mask by pulling some tattoo designs or scarification Markss on the light side of the face. * These cosmetic markers are frequently used on masks to pass on coded information or societal position. * They can besides stand for charming or spiritual power.

Decorating the face – 2
* Cut out the tattoo or scarification Markss. toss them over and put them on the opposite side of the design to make a cosmetic symmetrical agreement. * Symmetrical agreements of line. form and signifier in masks evoke a sense of unity and self-respect. * Following: Styling the hair… . .

Planing an African Mask – Step 7

Styling the hair – 1
* On the light background draw a conventionalized design to stand for hair or plaits. * A consecutive. simplified. additive design is used here to contrast with the curves on the remainder of the mask.

Styling the hair – 2
* Cut out the conventionalized hair plait. toss it over and put it onto the dark side of the design. * This completes the symmetricalness and is the concluding counterchange of the agreement. * The layout of the mask is now complete.

The Finished African Mask Design
* Once you have completed the agreement of your design. paste the light forms down onto the dark background. * Take attention to guarantee that a orderly line is formed down the center of the mask where the two halves of the design meet. * An accurate symmetricalness across this line is indispensable to the success of your image. * Following: Adapting the design……

Planing an African Mask – Step 8

Adapting your mask design – 1
* Using different combinations of coloured cards will impact the temper of the mask. * Color has a strong consequence on our emotional response and it may besides be used symbolically. * Two tones of green have been used on this mask to propose the colour of the wood.

Adapting your mask design – 2
* Contrasts of form and colour can be used to increase the expressive power of your mask. * Experiment with different combinations to see if you can better the impact of your mask design. * Following: more adaptations……

Planing an African Mask – Step 9

Adapting your mask design – 3
* You can texture the card for your mask design with assorted stuffs such as pigment. acrylic gesso. gum. sand. coloured tissue etc. * Rough. worn and weather-beaten effects give the mask design an reliable old-timer expression.

Adapting your mask design – 4
* Whatever stuffs you use. you must maintain a strong tonic contrast between the opposite halves of the mask. * You want your mask design to be bold and simple so that it may seen clearly from a distance. * Subtlety is non a quality you look for in tribal masks. * Following: even more adaptations……

Planing an African Mask – Step 10

Adapting your mask design – 5
* Using card with a metallic or brooding surface can bring forth interesting effects in the manner it scatters and changes the visible radiation and tone of the mask design. * It besides modernises the manner of these images which start to take on a sci-fi quality. * Sci-fi imagination is frequently based on the iconography of ethic or ancient civilizations.

Adapting your mask design – 6
* Basically you can utilize any stuffs that are capable of being cut and pasted to do our mask design. So seek to experiment with any suited media or techniques that comes to manus. For illustration. the image opposite illustrates how our mask lesson has been adapted for the technique of marqueterie – the film editing and gluing of thin veneers of dark and light forests to make aAfrican Masks – Woyo

WOYO MASK
Woyo masks are normally painted with contrasting colourss against a white background and are frequently worn with a full length costume made from banana foliages. The colourss used in a Woyo mask have symbolic significance and are sometimes repainted to regenerate its power. Woyo masks are carved for the ritual dances of the ‘ndunga’ . a male society responsible for keeping societal order. The Woyo believe in witchery. Ordeals by fire and toxicant are used to find the guilt of those who haveAfrican Masks – Bwa

BWA MASK
Bwa masks are believed to possess particular powers which are controlled by those who wear them. These masks are plank shaped with a round face at one terminal and a crescent Moon at the other. Their wearer looks through a hole in the oral cavity. The eyes are based on an bird of Minerva and the aquiline nose comes from the hornbill. Both these birds are thought to possess charming powers. The plank subdivision is decorated with geometric forms which are an indispensable design component in many African masks and carvings. Geometric form creates an external beat which echoes the internal religious energy of the graphics. It can besides be used as a coded linguistic communication where the design communicates secret cognition to those in the know. The designs on this Bwa Mask. which is used to observe boys’ induction into maturity. represent information about the myths and morality that the male childs must larn before they can be accepted into big society. been practising black magic.

African Masks – Lulua

LULUA MASK
The Lulua were celebrated for adorning their organic structures with intricate scarification Markss and tattoos. They besides applied these designs to their sculptures and masks. The masks. which are rare. are normally incised with geometric form and colored with a ruddy pigment. The pointed signifiers on the top of the caput represent the Lulua hairdo. The Lulua. antecedently called the Bena Lulua. are related to the Lwalwa and like them. the work forces Hunt and the adult females farm. * dramatic design.