The Functions of African Art

The Functions of African Art

Image: Male Nkigi Ghost Figure
Size in cm: 58 x 12 x 14
Weight: 200gr.
Origin: Ghana

For the most part works of art were created by several tribal artists working according to tradition. Yet, in spite of all his restrictions, the African artist managed to express his own imagination and technique. If new technique proved be good, it became part or ever growing tradition.

Much of the world's art is religious. So too is African art. Ancestor worship, spirits, magic, and other aspects of the religion of African tribes is reflected in the art. Art was also created for ceremonies of marriage, for funerals, and for the festive celebrations of people.

We in the West can value a work of art for its beauty alone. But in Africa every line, every form, and every arrangement of shapes on a work of art has a meaning. An African sculptor seldom creates art just for the pleasure of doing so, just for the purpose of creation something beautiful. Nearly everything has a function or purpose.

Statutes are carved to honor ancestors, kings, and gods. Masks are created for festive occasions. Jewelry, trinkets, and beads are sometimes used to indicate wealth, growing up, authority, or marriage. Guardian figures are fastened to coffins to invite good spirits to protect the dead and to chase away evil demons. Combs, spoons, bowls, stools, and other useful items are carved to make them decorative. But an object of art is always meant to be useful first and beautiful only second.

The use of masks was an important part of the spirit world that existed in the lives of the African people. They were used at initiations, for example, when a boy was accepted as an adult hunter. Their main purpose was to scare away evil intruders.

Among the masks most widely admired, at least by people in the Western world, are those of the Bambara of the Sudan region. They have graceful lines and a smooth finish, which show the craftsmanship of the artists. Sometimes they are covered with feathers or other decorations. Often worn on top of the head instead of over the face, the designs of the masks are usually based on the horns of an animal, reaching heavenward.

Art galleries in KwaZulu-Natal

Art galleries in KwaZulu-Natal

Source: South African Info

AFRICAN ART CENTRE
94 Florida Road, Durban
Found in the centre of Durban, the African Art Centre exhibits the work of both young and established black artists, working in contemporary and traditional styles. There is a strong representation of printmaking, beadwork, woodwork, sculpture, textiles and ceramics.
Website

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE
22 Sutton Cresent, Morningside, Durban
This non-profit gallery often hosts travelling shows with a Gallic bias. It also supports work by local artists.
Website

ANDREW WALFORD SHONGWENI POTTERY GALLERY
Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal
Internationally renowned Andrew Walford's hilltop studio and gallery is situated in indigenous bush overlooking the Shongweni Dam and Nature Reserve. His stoneware and porcelain is inspired by nature. By appointment only.
Website

ARTSPACE DURBAN
3 Millar Road, Stamford Hill, Durban
ArtSpace Durban offers a contemporary visual arts gallery adjacent to and in collaboration with dedicated artists studio spaces. ArtSpace offers exhibition, marketing, sales, promotion and venue hire facilities to both artists and those interested in developing the contemporary visual arts by way of organisations or project development. ASD offers a professional artists agency function focused on networking, collaborative commissions and large-scale public and private sector partnerships and projects.
Website

BAT CENTRE
45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour, Durban
This non-profit centre, originating from a grant by the Bartel Arts Trust, exhibits temporary shows by young, mainly black artists and craftspeople. It encourages first-timers in the Democratic Gallery and more established artists in the Menzi Mchunu Gallery. Housed in a converted wharfside building, it has a café and overlooks the harbour. It is also a popular venue for music gigs.
Website

CARNEGIE ART GALLERY
Old Library Building, Scott Street, Newcastle
Lying in the centre of Newcastle, this municipal gallery boasts a small but rich permanent collection of South African contemporary art. A collecting policy built around the theme of landscape and a particular focus on the art and craft of the Newcastle region give the collection coherence.
Website

DURBAN ART GALLERY
Second floor, City Hall, Smith Street, Durban
Housed in the Durban City Hall, this municipal gallery has a permanent collection specialising in Victorian painting and South African contemporary art. The bulk of the European collection was donated in 1920 and includes British, French and Dutch paintings, objets d'art such as French and Chinese ceramics, early glass vases by Lalique and bronzes by Rodin. The collection focus is now largely concentrated on works that reflect the rich multi-cultural diversity of Durban and South Africa. The gallery hosts a wide range of travelling shows of national and international interest.
Website

DURBAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ART GALLERY
Library Block, Durban Institute of Technology, 51 Mansfield Road, Berea, Durban
Established to bring art to the student body of the Durban Institute of Technology (formerly Technikon Natal), this educational gallery focuses on student work and travelling exhibitions. It has a permanent collection of South African contemporary art with a special focus on KZN artists such as Andrew Verster, Clive van den Berg and Bronwen Findlay.
Website

EMPANGENI ART AND CULTURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Turnbill Street, Empangeni
Non-profit gallery with a permanent collection and rotating exhibitions. The Empangeni museum is situated in the Old Town Hall erected by the sugar farmers of the town in 1916. Extensively renovated in 1995 it was reopened as a museum in April 1996. It houses a representative collection of contemporary art from KwaZulu-Natal including works by Andrew Verster, Trevor Makoba, Dennis Purvis, Andries Botha, Gert Swart, Raphael Magwaza, Diamond Bozas, Bonnie Ntshali and Nesta Nala.
Website

IMBIZO GALLERY
Shop 7A, Ballito Lifestyle Centre, Ballito
(032) 946 1937
The Imbizo Gallery, located in beautiful Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, features paintings by leading artists in a wide variety of styles. The Gallery is also home to a superb collection of bronzes and pots. Check the website for news of exhibitions.
Website

JACK HEATH ART GALLERY
Fine Art Department, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
(033) 260 5170
Based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the gallery's collection focuses on contemporary South African art, particularly graphic prints and ceramics. It also includes a few fine examples of European art. The gallery frequently holds exhibitions by Masters students and contemporary KZN artists.

KIZO ART CONSULTANTS AND ART GALLERY
Shop G350, Palm Boulevard, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Umhlanga, Durban
(031) 566 4324
The Kizo Art Gallery is owned by Craig and Barbra Mark, who have more than 20 years of experience in the South African art industry. They have coordinated exhibitions are over the world, including in the USA, the United Kingdom, India, Switzerland, and at the United Nations. The gallery plays an active role in arts awareness programmes. Kizo is also the founder and coordinator of The Heritage Arts Festival, the premier arts festival in KwaZulu-Natal. In addition, in a world first, it is also behind 2010 Fine Art, which is an art collection officially endorsed by Fifa to celebrate the 2010 World Cup..

KZNSA GALLERY
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban
This non-profit gallery services the members of the KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts. Housed in a custom-designed building by an award-winning architect, it has a regular exhibition schedule showing work of established artists of provincial, national and international reputation working within a contemporary arts framework. The gallery also supports younger up-and-coming artists and is involved in community outreach initiatives.
Website

MARGATE MUNICIPAL ART MUSEUM
Address: Civic Centre, Dan Pienaar Square, Margate
(039) 688 2000
This municipal gallery has a permanent collection of contemporary South African art and also hosts temporary exhibitions. Focusing mainly on two-dimensional work with pieces by Dennis Purvis, Tinus de Jonge and Andrew Verster, the collection also has a small ceramics section including works by Ian Calder and Jonothan Keep.

TAMASA GALLERY
36 Overport Drive, Berea, Durban
(031) 207 1223
A small commercial gallery, Tamasa exhibits a broad variety of contemporary KZN artists.

TATHAM ART GALLERY
Corner Longmarket Street and Chief Albert Luthuli (Commercial) Road, Pietermaritzburg
Housed in the former Supreme Court building in Pietermaritzburg, the Tatham collection was initiated in 1904 with donations of Victorian art. Supplemented in 1923 by a collection of glassware, porcelain and Oriental rugs as well as 19th and early 20th century French and British art works, the collection has grown to include Degas, Renoir, members of the Bloomsbury group, Picasso, Matisse and Hockney. The current collection focus is on creating a historically representative and contemporary collection of work by KwaZulu-Natal artists, and a programme of temporary exhibitions ensures public exposure to a range of travelling and locally curated exhibitions.
Website

Traditional African Art

Traditional African Art
Image: Ape Mask from the Dark Africa Collection
Size in cm: 14 x 30 x 20
Weight: 100 gr.

Traditional art describes the most popular and studied forms of African art which are typically found in museum collections.

Wooden masks, which might either be human or animal or of mythical creatures, are one of the most commonly found forms of art in western Africa. In their original contexts, ceremonial masks are used for celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, and war preparation. The masks are worn by a chosen or initiated dancer. During the mask ceremony the dancer goes into deep trance, and during this state of mind he "communicates" with his ancestors. The masks can be worn in three different ways: vertically covering the face: as helmets, encasing the entire head, and as crest, resting upon the head, which was commonly covered by material as part of the disguise. African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that the spirit of the ancestors possesses the wearer. Most African masks are made with wood, and can be decorated with: Ivory, animal hair, plant fibers (such as raffia), pigments (like kaolin), stones, and semi-precious gems also are included in the masks.

Statues, usually of wood or ivory, are often inlaid with cowrie shells, metal studs and nails. Decorative clothing is also commonplace and comprises another large part of African art. Among the most complex of African textiles is the colorful, strip-woven Kente cloth of Ghana. Boldly patterned mudcloth is another well known technique.

Getting hold of African American Art

Getting hold of African American Art

Image source: North Carolina Central University Art Museum

If you’re looking add African American art to your home, you need to know where to find it.While it might seem like an easy task, finding prints or paintings that are authentic and high quality isn’t always simple. There are three main venues that you can use to find African American art, however, but each has its advantages and disadvantages. Here is what you need to know.

Galleries are the first place to go when you’re looking for authentic pieces that are displayed by the artists themselves. You can also find an assortment of up and coming artists that are showing their work, enabling you to find an African American art piece while it’s still new and not as valuable as it will become. You can find these galleries by looking in your local phone book or simply talk to the curator of your local modern art museum. By talking to the museum, you can get an inside scoop as to where this art can be found. The only downside to galleries is that they can be difficult to find at first, and the pieces of art can be very expensive. Sometimes, these pieces of art will not grow in value, so you are taking a risk when buying newer pieces.

With online stores, you can gain access to a number of great prints, paintings, and sculptures that are hand created or reproduced pieces of African American art. These pieces are sometimes easier to locate online as they can be found in mass numbers as well as through a number of retailers. You can also find a wide variety of styles and prices to fit your home and your budget. The main concern with buying art online is that some of the pieces may not be produced by who the seller says they are produced by – in other words, you can find some that are fakes. However, if you take the time to investigate the seller and determine whether or not they are reputable, you should have no problems with your purchase.

Another option that the internet provides for buying African American art is online auction sites. These sites tend to offer an easy way to find specific time periods of art as well as numerous pieces that are for sale at any given time. By allowing you to bid on the works, you will be able to set your price and your limitations on that price. These sites also offer safe payment options as well as options for larger ticket items. The main concern with these sites is also the authenticity of the pieces of art. Since you’re not always able to investigate the background of the seller, you may be spending a lot of money for something that isn’t the real thing.

Finding African American art has become easier in today’s age of the internet and many local galleries, but when you’re shopping, you need to be careful that what you’ve paid for is what you’re actually getting in return.

Arty Crafts of South Africa

Arty Crafts of South Africa

The vibrant variety of cultural groups living in South Africa, and its rich artistic heritage, means that there are countless opportunities for visitors to purchase a wide range of traditional handicrafts. Almost everywhere you go there will be artists selling their wares and by purchasing authentic souvenirs, you can not only take home an attractive keepsake, but also promote local economies and provide these entrepreneurs with a sustainable income.

All of the major cities including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Port Elizabeth have huge markets dedicated to selling local arts and crafts, and it's often here that you can pick up the most unique crafts at the best price. Smaller towns also have some charming markets, some of which are permanent, while others run monthly, or during peak tourist season. Bargaining is acceptable in some markets, but realise that you are supporting the livelihood of local vendors.Crafty Cape Town

Cape Town is cosmopolitan, arty and the perfect place to pick up a unique souvenir. The 'Mother City' is home to a brilliant variety of craft markets, which sell good quality, authentically South African pieces at ideal prices.

The cobble-stoned Greenmarket Square in Cape Town's centre is a lively craft market, selling African carvings, masks and drums, beadwork, jewellery, clothing, leather work and ceramics. You'll definitely be able to find something as a personal souvenir, or as a gift to take home to someone special. The Red Shed Craft Workshop, and the Waterfront Craft Market are both indoor markets situated at the V&A Waterfront, and are open seven days a week, selling clothing, jewellery, and other fine crafts. For a vibrant flea market experience, head to Greenpoint Market on Sundays, where you can purchase a wide variety of crafts, including African art and beads. Weekends are the time for craft markets across Cape Town, and Hout Bay, Constantia, Kirstenbosch and Rondesbosch hold regular craft fairs.

Zulu Finery

If you're in KwaZulu Natal, visiting the spectacular Drakensberg or the region's gorgeous beaches, you have to pick up some of the beautiful traditional Zulu handicrafts that originate in this area. Although highly decorative and colourful, Zulu beadwork is not just attractive jewellery, but also has an important symbolic significance in Zulu culture.
Traditional Zulu clothing and beads used to be worn throughout the year, but now are normally worn only on ceremonial occasions. Beads are intricately woven into the history of Zulu people, as they were used for traditional finery since they first became available through trading, mainly from India. These glass beads were highly valued in South Africa, because the science of glass-making was as yet unknown in the country. Beads therefore became precious, and were crafted into adornments to be worn for traditional customs, or as a sign of social status.
Certain messages are sent through the specific colours and design of a beadwork item, and this means that the stunning creations you may buy in a craft shop or market might have a wonderful deeper meaning. The language of Zulu beadwork is based around the shape of the triangle, and seven basic colours. The three corners of the triangle represent father, mother and child. So a triangle pointing down represents an unmarried woman, and pointing up it represents an unmarried man. Two triangles joined at their base are for a married woman, and two triangles joined at their points in an hourglass shape stand for a married man. The vivid colours of Zulu beadwork also express particular ideas, both positive and negative. Black, for instance, stands for both marriage and sorrow, while green means both illness and contentment.
You can buy amazing Zulu crafts, including jewellery and décor items, at markets and curio shops all over KwaZulu Natal, or for a really authentic experience, visit a Traditional Village like Dumazulu in Hluhluwe, where Zulu residents demonstrate the skilful processes of basket-weaving, spear and shield making, pot-making and beadwork.

Swazi Creations

Swaziland, the tiny but culturally rich nation within South Africa's borders, is renowned, along with its fantastic wildlife, for its wonderful art and craft shops and markets. Wooden sculpture, soapstone carvings, glassware, mohair, tapestries, pottery and clothing are among the beautifully-made crafts that can be purchased in Swaziland. The really traditional Swazi craft is grass weaving, and expertly-woven mats and baskets are attractive and useful items that are sold everywhere in the country. One type of basket is so closely and skilfully woven it can even store liquids.
Roadside markets are especially great places to stop off on a road trip to the lively capital, Mbabane, as you can purchase some traditional crafts at bargain prices and also meet the friendly Swazi people.

A piece of Africa

Crafts in South Africa are more than just souvenirs of a region. They reflect the country's rich cultures, and whether you're taking home a quirky wire creation, a beaded masterpiece, or a gorgeous woven basket, you'll always have something unique to remind you of your wonderful trip to South Africa.

Misconcepting the Value of Art

Misconcepting the Value of Art

Knowing the amount of art can crave some accomplishment and experience. If you’re starting on a accumulating and do not apperceive how to amount art, again advantageous you, back you can consistently get the advice of an art appraiser. However, if you adjudge on advancing the amount for yourself, again be abiding that you abstain authoritative some of the accepted mistakes apropos the matter.
Most bodies gluttonous the amount of a allotment tend to artlessly attending at the amount account and from there on, achieve the amount of the assignment in consideration. However, there is abundant to amount than simple bazaar prices. Pricelists can be actual misleading, back artworks’ ethics are not alone bent by its price; actuality are some of the affidavit why, and some added disregarded factors back valuating an art.

Great Continuums

It can additionally be adamantine for you to amount the allotment if the amount ambit of the artisan is too great. For example,an artisan can accept hundreds or alike bags of bargain records, alignment for instance in amid $1000-$200,000. If you are not a competent able appraiser, for abiding you'll apparent accept little or alike no abstraction area the allotment would fit in with a continuum that is all-inclusive as that.

Significance Is The Key For an artwork to be accurately valued, its acceptation should be determined. Thus, you should get to apperceive how the allotment would akin in account to how excellent, well, or bad it is done, compared to the added works of the aforementioned artist. Techniques acclimated in the allotment and its all-embracing aesthetics comedy a role here. So, if your allotment at duke is absolutely good, yet you’re not able to apperceive or see how acceptable it is, again for abiding you’re activity to amount it way low from its justified value.

No Auction Records

There are instances too in which the cogent works of a assertive artisan accept never been awash in any affectionate of auction. It’s absolutely accustomed for the finest and accepted pieces by an artisan to advertise for huge amounts of money, about tens of bags or alike more, at galleries. However, that aforementioned artisan can accept aerial bargain annal alone in akin of low or mid-thousands of bucks. Thus, if your artisan has not had any cogent assignment of his through any auction, again you can additionally amount the assignment acutely low.

It’s A Bargain!

Sometimes, if an bargain is ailing publicized, they authority sales or bargains in adjustment to sell. Thus, you can acquisition abundant art that are priced way low from their absolute amount in this affectionate of auctions. There are additionally instances in which alone distinct bidders are able to admit the acceptation of the art at hand. During this affectionate of situations, the allotment can additionally be awash at a low amount if there are no added bidders who appetite to accompany the piece.

Unearthing History Matters

Additionally, actual acceptation would additionally amount in account your art. The added it is historically significant, the college its amount is. Factors like the allotment actuality able to transcend its artisan due to what it represents, back it was created, area it was done, and added agnate mitigating aspects, comedy a role with its history significance.Thus, if you haven’t baldheaded the actual acceptation of your art, again it would apparently accept a low amount for you.

Art Poster Auctions

Art Poster Auctions
Picture source: Wikipedia Online Free Encyclopedia

Nude Woman with Necklace ("Femme nue au collier") by Pablo Picasso, 1968. Oil on canvas, 113.5 x 161.7 cm. The face is of his second wife, Jacqueline Roquet.

Art poster auctions are very popular. Owning great pieces of art has gotten easier. A properly framed art poster can be as nice as owning an original painting and it is far less expensive.

I have found many different art styles in art poster auctions. The most expensive art poster in the abstract style sold recently on eBay was a 1959 Picasso entitled Las Menines. The poster sold for $560.00. There was an original and authentic art poster auction recently in the art deco style that caught my eye. The poster was from 1961 and was for Breakfast at Tiffany. The poster sold for over three thousand dollars. World’s Fair art poster auctions seem to do very well.

I saw an auction for the 1939 New York World’s Fair that sold for more than fifteen hundred dollars. There was another art poster auction for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair that went for just under fifteen hundred dollars. In the Asian art poster auction market, there seems to be some really odd things.

I found a poster that depicted McDonald’s hamburgers invading Japan. The poster got fourteen bids from six different people and it closed at four hundred fifty five dollars. In the category of Impressionist art poster auctions, I found one for the 2006 Jazz Festival in New Orleans that sold for over four hundred dollars. It was done by a Cajun artist named James Michalopulos and featured Fats Domino. The colors in the poster were brilliant.

I found that the category of Modern art posters seems to get the most auction listings. There is one art poster that keeps being re-listed because it just doesn’t sell. The poster is from the Elvis movie Love Me Tender. Apparently the owner of this poster has determined that it is worth one thousand dollars and will not take less than that. He hasn’t sold it yet, but I wish him luck.

There were another Modern art poster auctions that really did well as far as I could tell. They were Greyhound travel posters. There were a couple of art poster auctions that sold recently. They were both created in the 1950’s and both of the posters sold for around three hundred dollars each. After researching so many art poster auctions, I have come to the conclusion that my parents and grandparents should have collected every piece of advertising they ever came across. They would be worth a small fortune by now!
The Sante Fe Railroad as a subject is prominently sold in art poster auctions. These must be highly collectable because they generate a lot of bids. If the art poster auction is for an old original poster of the Sante Fe Railroad, it will fetch upwards of four hundred dollars.

I found an art poster auction that was listed by the artist himself. He made a black ink drawing for the Pearl Jam concert in Rome in 1996. This original drawing was what the poster was made from. Pop art poster auctions cover a lot of different topics. One of my favorites was a 7-up soda advertisement from 1970 that featured The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. The item did not sell, but it was fun to look at. In the style of Realism, art poster auctions abound.

I found one that was an advertisement for United Airlines and depicted the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This poster sold for over one hundred fifty dollars. The most interesting art poster auctions I found were for rock concerts.

I liked the one listed for at 1956 Rolling Stones concert and there was another one for a Grateful Dead concert in Hawaii. They sold for a combined total of over seven thousand dollars. The interest in these art poster auctions was overwhelming. Advertising seems to be a big theme in the art poster auctions that I looked at. I found advertisements for just about everything.

I liked the poster for Russian beer that was created in the late 1920’s. It would look fantastic framed in my neighborhood bar. The buyer of this particular poster bought it for $475.00. Concert posters are fun to look through. Art poster auctions feature a lot of posters for concerts. I found one that was made by Jim Pollock for a Phish concert in 2000 in Hartford.
I liked it, but I am not a fan of Phish and the three hundred dollars that it went for seemed a little pricey to me.