African Tifwebe masks
When I again entered the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, I immediately asked the security guards where the African collection was located. I passed through the Chinese and Japanese galleries but nothing drew my attention more than the African mystique. As I entered the room a distinct smell came across my noise, one that suggested undiscovered grounds. This is an art criticism paper, in which I will describe, interpret, and evaluate the Female Mask, c. Late 19th Century. The Female Mask is a combination of wood, fiber, hide, pigment, and shell. The Female Mask rests in a case and its height is about 55-inches, width about 32-inches, and depth about 24-inches. The mask has four distinct components that embody the headdress. The first component is the similar style of the hooded sweatshirt shaped, woven under-dress. This material seems to be ruggedly sewn from a fibrous material that is a light maroon color, with distinct hints of light and darker concentrations of a brown tone throughout the under-dressing. Each sleeve of the dressing has three-finger gloves perfectly sewn into the dres
The masks were used the by secret men's society as powerful tools for social control and protecting, they were displayed at important funerals, visits, and inaugural ceremonies. Standing in front of that case, I could almost picture in my mind the sights and sounds of the ceremonial dance. The third major component of the Kifwebe mask is the mask itself, made of intricately carved wood about the size of a basketball. The beard's overall shape resembles the poorly drawn alphabetical letter of M. These two "halves" connect to form the frontal view of the mask. The dressing covers the entire upper body of the female who wears this mask. EVALUATION I thought this was an excellent art piece not only to evaluate, but to learn about as well. The mouth is also hollowed out, and goes into the mask to let air and sound project. The Female Mask however, had different spiritual content than that of their male counter-parts. The crest of the nose looks much like that of the crest of the antelope. Much of the content resides in these distinct features, from the contoured grooves, to the highly abstract facial features. These grooves are also found on the sides of the nose and mouth, and are contoured to the end of these features. The importance of ceremonial rituals, and social hierarchy were extremely evident in these native civilizations. The texture of the under-dressing is that of a chain-mail stitch pattern with all seams cleverly hidden, expressing the attention to detail.
Common topics in this essay:
Female Mask,
Oceania Americas,
INTERPRETATION Kifwebe,
Chinese Japanese,
Art Museum,
female mask,
kifwebe mask,
component kifwebe mask,
Mask Late,
half mask,
component kifwebe,
songye people,
Arts I9,
Masquerade INTRODUCTION,
connection ceremonial celebration,
ceremonial celebration,
cheek chin,
fibrous dressing,
paying tribute life-sustaining,
geometric grooves,
upper half,
celebration paying tribute,
tribute life-sustaining resources,
|
Acceptance Essays
