Visual literacy

• IFE sculpture

  • Figure honoring the king, head of the Yoruba tribes
  • Exaggerated symbolically with enlarged head to indicate intelligence and leadership
  • Made using the lost wax method
  • More naturalistic and rounded figure and face due to being made in softer wax
  • King displays symbolic headpiece and decorative jewelry befitting royalty
• Belief systems in tribal communities

  • Spiritual world constantly interacts with the physical world of man and nature
  • Tribal elders use rituals and ceremonies to discipline younger members according to tribal customs
  • Ancestors played an important role and were worshiped in various ways
• Celebration of fertility in women and the earth

  Celebrated in festivals and carved images, honoring women for bearing the next generation of the tribe
• Initiation of young boys in tribal communities


  Secret bush camps where older men, often wearing masks, would instruct boys in tribal lineage histories, moral behavior, practical skills, and traditions
• Benin sculpture developed in the same region as IFE

  From the 11th to the 16th century
• IFE sculpture

  • Bronze sculpture, 40 cm high
• IFE civilization developed in the North Western area of Africa


  From the 7th to 11th centuries AD
• Mother of the Benin sculpture, head of Queen


  11th century
• Lost wax method

  Clay mould is made and heated to get rid of the wax, then molten metal is poured into the mould
• Benin sculpture of a queen

  • Formal, symmetrical portrait
  • Peak reached by Benin sculptors in the 16th century
  • Lost wax method used for construction allowing for three-dimensional rounding of features
  • High cone-like headdress with a woven pattern created by plaited hair
  • Tight choker necklace around her neck, probably typical of her tribal customs
  • Serene and composed expression on the face
• Benin sculpture

  • Head of Queen
• Materials used for African masks

  • Bronze
  • Terracotta
  • Wood
• Neolithic period is notable for its architecture in the form of monumental graves and altars made of large stones known as megaliths
• Most power figures were created for an individual, who may share its powers with others. Some were intended to serve an entire community, promoting a more general state of well-being
• Pippa Skotnes created a coloured etching titled "Bushman Art" in 1987, depicting transformation between man and animal using two sticks to mimic an approaching animal
• Post and Lintel was the first construction method developed in the world, using a lintel as the horizontal member over a space supported by two vertical posts
• Creation of power figures

  1. Carved wood sculptures given spiritual power by a ritual specialist

  2. A variety of ingredients chosen to attract and concentrate spiritual power within the figure
• African tribes used masks in multimedia displays including sound, scents, movement, and costumes
• The Mboom mask has a prominent forehead, geometric patterns on the surface, shells combined with beads on the jaw line, and bead decorations on the eyes, nose, and lips. The back forms a Helmet
• Power Figures ingredients

  • Herbal medicines
  • Animal parts
  • Pieces of metal
  • Variety of fibers
• Venus of Willendorf, dating back to 30,000 - 20,000 BC, is a Paleolithic sculpture found in Austria. It is a votive figure carried by a pregnant woman to ensure the birth of a healthy baby
• Horns from fierce animals were frequently added to power figures to intensify their strength
• Stonehenge, located in Salisbury Plains of England, was built around 2,000 BC. It consists of concentric circles of stone and a central altar, displaying order, symmetry, and harmony
• Western world people use masks as decoration
• The Mboom mask, from Zaire in central Africa, was carved from wood to fit over a head. It could represent a primordial ancestor empowering an initiation ceremony
• Purposes of power figures

  • Healing
  • Divination
  • Protection
  • Oath taking
• Pattern


  The repetition of motifs
• Proportion in sculptures

  • Michelangelo's sculpture of Mother Maria holding the dead body of Christ on her lap
  • Medieval sculpture of a grown man on the lap of a woman
• Rhythm/Movement


  Ways of combining art elements to produce the sense of flow or movement in an artwork
• Types of balance

  • Symmetrical balance
  • Asymmetrical balance
  • Radial balance
• Unity/Harmony


  Wholeness resulting from the successful combination of the elements of an artwork
• Contrast in artworks

  • Bright colors combined with dull colors
  • Angular shapes with round shapes
• Focal point is the area of interest to which the viewer's eye is drawn when viewing the artwork
• Composition is very important in the creation of artworks and can often make or break the success of an artwork
• Henri Matisse: 'Harmony in Red, 1908 on canvas'
• Emphasis


  Developing points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts in the work
• Balance


  Arrangement of elements to create stability in an artwork
• Composition is the combination of art elements to form a pleasing whole
• Proportion


  The size relationship of parts to a whole and to one another
• Contrast


  Visual differences in an artwork creating interesting compositions