We hope that you find this guide useful and welcome any suggestions or comments you or your students may have. We thank you for your active participation in helping to further your students' development of cross-cultural understanding and involvement in art and museums.

GETTING STARTED

An effective method for approaching African art is through child oriented questions. We have divided this guide into four main sections or questions that may be presented separately or together. Each section is accompanied by appropriate vocabulary and suggested projects. The four sections are:

  1. "What should I know about Africa?" An introduction to African geographic, regional, cultural, and topographic diversity. Vocabulary: Savannah, rain forest, plains, ethnic groups, Sub-Saharan, non- sedentary/sedentary
  2. "How was this object used? What purpose did it serve?" A discussion of object's functions and contexts. Vocabulary: functional, initiate, raffia, context, "out of context," masker, masquerade, ancestor, fertility
  3. "Why does this object look the way it does?" A discussion of African aesthetics. Vocabulary: ideal beauty, stylized, realistic, naturalistic, abstract, symbol, emphasis, scarification, prestige
  4. "Is this object traditional or modern?" A discussion of the differences between the traditional functions of African art objects and the realities of modern life in Africa. Vocabulary: techniques, traditions, traditional, modern, context

SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

For Teachers

  • Herbert Cole, Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa
  • Fred Lamp, African Art of the West Atlantic Coast
  • Jecelyn Murray ed ., Cultural Atlas of Africa
  • Christopher Roy, Art and Life in Africa
  • Susan Vogel ed., Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art
  • Frank Willet, African Art, an Introduction

For Students

  • Deborah Chocolate, My First Kwanza Book
  • Eloise Greenfield and Muriel Feelings, Maja Means One: Swahili Counting Book and Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book
  • Dakari Hru, Joshua's Masai Mask
  • Virginia Kroll, Masai and I
  • Margaret Musgrove, Ashanti to Zulu:African Traditions
  • Eva Sutherland, Playtime in Africa
  • Diane Wolkstein and Marc Brown, The Banza

Introduction | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Slide List | Museum Visit