Africa Explores

'Africa Explores' looks at the major themes in African art of the twentieth century. Although contact with the West has been important influence during this period, the research presented here finds that Western things and ideas are only particles in a matrix of preexisting African styles and philosophies. The artworks are discussed in the context of Africa's past and present, revealing some surprising messages.The objects illustrated here reflect an extraordinarily broad range of media and styles. Included are such unfamiliar creations as full-size coffins in the shapes of an onion, an airplane, and a Mercedes-Benz, and realistically painted life-size cement sculptures made for modern tombs. There are paintings an canvas, glass, flour sacks, and metal. Masks created recently for the traditional masquerades performed at contemporary funeral ceremonies and entertainments are considered beside much older traditional objects, such as Benin bronze plaques and Kota figures, that are no longer made for their original use but continue to have a strong presence. Africa Explores demonstrates the continuing vitality of traditional art, thanks to its capacity to change and to absorb new ideas and situations. The book shows that traditonal art was never static and did not die on contact with the West, but coexists with a modern culture that is also uniquely African.