They begin their journey in the South, they travel by day and night, they feast on goat meat, and encounter many traditional villages.

They visit the Turkana in the Saguta valley filled with bandits, and the nomadic Samburu and Gabra across expanses of the Chelbi desert and in the reaches of the Ethiopian highlands.

They travel far to find few antiques. Missionaries were found who have preserved artifacts that are now difficult to find in the bush, though this could not be filmed tough negotiations were a success.

These pieces will be available soon on AfricAntiques.com.

See you for the next trip!

Thank you for watching!

During the French colonization in Congo, the connection between Africa and France began increasing drastically. The French colonists were traveling back and forth, between Africa and France, taking back a plethora of varieties in masks and sculptures that were displayed in museums all over Europe. As the new artifacts arrived in Europe, the media began churning over exaggerated stories about cannibalism and the savagery of the people of Congo. As the African art stirred up media in Europe, Picasso discovered the beauty of the raw and primitive forms of art that held so much emotion and expression. Soon, Picasso had his own collection of various pieces of African art and was therefore able to combine several different characteristics from several African tribes to reach the pinnacle of modern art. As Picasso’s artwork was inspired by many different art pieces from numerous tribes all over Africa, it is difficult to speculate that one tribe influenced his art. However, we can see a very clear resemblance with Picasso’s style in the Songye tribe sculptures and masks, and the Dan tribe masks. In order to understand how African art influenced Picasso, we must first learn of the tribes’ culture with respect to the masks and the role they played in society.

The Songye is a tribe found in central Democratic Republic of Congo. This tribe is well known for their masks andsculptures, also known as powers or fetishes. The sculptures were mostly carved in a sort of distorted human figure from wood with the addition of a shaman, also referred to as a fetishist, concocting a magic paste that was applied onto the wood (Ament). These Songye masks and heads of the fetishes have distinctive characteristics that are immediately noticeable such as the protruding lips, the swollen oval eyes, and the rectangular noses. In the fetishes, the body is usually carved to a straight and vertical posture, while the hands rest on the sides of the rounded abdomen. The shoulders are squared and the neck is sometimes decorated with metal rings. The knees are usually slightly bent and feet are mostly carved flat. Materials such as animal skins or copper bracelets are normally added to increase the magical powers of the sculptures. Finally, nails are sometimes hammered into the face and all over the body, which represents small pox, a common disease they believed to be caused by evil. In practical terms, fetishes were principally made for protection from evil spirits and forces, but also served other minor purposes such as for good health, success in fertility, and wealth. During the rituals, the masks or in the Songye language, “Kifwebe”, represented spirits and the tribesmen wore them for ceremonies such as the ritual for the initiation of becoming a man (Ament). The overall depth, culture and traditions behind what we see only as art and the unique look of the pieces makes it seem disproportional and surreal. These are the main aspects from the Songye tribe that lured Picasso into the world of contemporary art.

Similarly, the Dan tribe, found in the western province of Ivory Coast, had significant resemblances in shape and form in their ritualistic masks with the Songye masks and Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon”. The unique features that are commonly found in the Dan mask include a round forehead, a pointy chin, pouting lips, and smooth and flat cheekbones carved out of wood. Occasionally, the masks include a beard usually made from some form of fiber such as straw. Masks held the most importance in the Dan tribe. Other sculptures were merely different representations of the same values that the masks symbolized (Rand). Although the mask was of highest value in the tribe, it is incomplete without the rest of the attire. In addition to wearing the masks, the tribesmen wore outfits that were made from animal skin or fur, feathers, or raffia (species of a palm tree found commonly in Africa). The masks alone were considered to have the ability to hold a tremendous amount of powerful spirits and the tribesmen used them for ceremonies and rituals that emphasized the importance and significance of the mask. They also valued this specific artifact because they believed that the mask would bring peace and structure to the villages. The spirits that possess the masks are called “Gle” (Rand). The Gle are said to be spirits that roam the dark forests waiting to enter the village and into the masks. The Dan tribe believe that the only way that the spirit can enter the village is if the “dreamer” of the village dreams of the full masquerade outfit, mask and clothing. This is because the spirits were only visible in dreams and the mask in the dream portrayed the spirit’s character. The dreamer of the village is not just any commoner of the tribe but has to be a man that has been inducted into the men’s society, a very common African tradition. Once the dreamer tells the council of elders of the village, the elders decide whether they should make the masquerade and also whether the dreamer should wear it and perform in the rituals (Rand). This surrealistic tribe’s depictions of spirits, dreams, and dark sense of the mask may be paralleled to the abstract form found in Picasso’s “Les Demoiselle D’Avignon.” However, the most obvious and noticeable similarities with “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” are found in the carvings and the design of the masks. With the knowledge of the two culturally diverse tribes and the purposes, we can now understand the minute details that Picasso was attracted to that revolutionized modern art.

Picasso seems to have had several influences and phases in his career but one of the most important was his Black Period, also known as époqueNegre or Negro Period (Richardson).  This period of time was around the year 1906.  Picasso was always an aesthetic but he searched for a catalyst for his work that would lead to innovation. He found this in African Art and used its primitive powers to depart from classical ways and lead him in a new direction.  Picasso’s first interests in African art came from a trip to the Trocadero Museum in Paris, which he had said changed him forever. The art show included African masks and totem art that he would soon use in his own practices. The power of these African art pieces was in their sheer ability to capture and express raw human emotion and intensity.  Another reason Picasso is said to have had a fleeting obsession with African art is because of his in treats with death. Many of the totem pieces that he saw were used to exorcize evil spirits.  Picasso’s work has a strong attraction to death and his fears and expression of death is evident.  Also another factor of his obsession with death could be the death of his little sister at the age of four. A friend and poet Alice Toklas successfully summarizes one of the Picasso’s pieces during his black period by describing the piece as being “painful and beautiful… and oppressive but imprisoned” (Richardson).  The Black Period was a time in which Picasso could go against the mainstream classical art of the time and pave his own way.  Picasso had a serious issue with the shallowness of impressionism and in a sense looked to the Black Period to receive what he saw as his artistic integrity (Richardson).

Even though Picasso declined the influence of African art on his work, there are obvious similarities and parallels. It is easy to merely speculate as to the role African art had in Picasso’s work but it can truly be seen if you analyze certain examples.  If we look again at “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” we can see the similarities with the features of the fetish and sculptures mentioned above. This piece was a portrait of five prostitutes that began what can be described as Picasso’s exorcism painting and the work to first show signs of African Art (“Drawing Attention…”). First and foremost, two of the women have what seem to be African masks on their faces, similar to a combination of the Songye figures and the Dan tribe mask. Before this time period Picasso had began experimenting with different dimensions and bodily disfiguration but nothing as extreme as his “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon.” In Picasso’s mind, African Art also represented certain masculinity.These paintings represented extremes in sexuality and aesthetics.Representing both masculinity and femininity as well as masterful painting and crudeness (Richardson). The hatched straight lines create an atmosphere of savage directness. The angular geometry of facial features is confrontational. You can see this more so in the noses of the figures where a sense of aggressiveness is created. This all points back to African art (Ball). Picasso, like many other Europeans of the time and other artists, viewed Africa as an icon of savagery.  Picasso, however, saw this savagery as a source of vitality and a certain renewal that he thought to be invaluable for his work and the general direction of painting as an art form.  In this piece, Picasso uses African art as a way to express savagery in both his use of masks and his hacking brush strokes that are violent and impulsive (Richardson).

The reason “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” was so powerful is because of its radical nature.  The piece still stirs up controversy today even after a hundred years. It is powerful and one of a kind because of its transitional painting style that took primitive and futuristic ideas to create a masterpiece. Picasso inspired new ways of thinking and expression with this piece as it paved the way for radical contemporary art (Ball). This piece exemplifies the deeply profound influence African art had on the development of Picasso’s Cubism movement, which later spawned all the diverse genres of art found in the present day.

In conclusion, with a better and detailed understanding of the culture of the two tribes and Picasso’s greatest work of art, “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon”, we can see that African art had major influences on Picasso’s career. Even though the tribal art and Picasso’s art serve completely different purposes, paying attention to details in each can help us discern the immense similarities between the two forms of art. Not only can we see the major physical resemblance but also knowing the background of the African masks and culture gives us better understanding of Picasso’s expressed emotions in “Les Demoiselles D’Avignon.” African art was a pivotal point in art history and this was the source of Picasso’s legacy.

Bibliography

*Essay written by David Chan Key – student of African Art History

Ament, Robert J.Sahara Gallery Art.Sahara Gallery, Inc. 2008. Web. 2011.

Ball, Laura.The Saatchi Gallery. London Contemporary Art Gallery. 2003-2011. Web.

“Drawing attention to Africa’s art.” Irish Times 18 Apr. 2006:  Web. 9 Dec. 2011. Newspaper Source.

Gore, Charles.Masks and Modernities. African Arts. 2008: Vol. 41 Issue 4, page 1-7, 5. Magazine Article.

Johnson, Judy A.Ancient Africa: Overview of Art & Architecture in Ancient Africa.Overview of Art & Architecture in Ancient Africa. 2011: page 1. Print.

Murrell, Denise.African Influences in Modern Art.Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000-2008. Web.

Rewald, Sabine.Cubism.Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. Web.

Richardson, John.A Life of Picasso, Volume II: 1907-1917 – The Painter of Modern Life. Random House, November 5, 1996. Book.

Jones: We both come from families whom have been in Africa for generations collecting artifacts. My family came as missionaries from the United States, spending the majority of this time in East and Central Africa.

Key: My time in Africa is quite different from Jones, as my family came to be the first to facilitate trade between Asia and the East African region. Much art was being discovered during this time, and with connections with those in power much was accessible and continues to be.

The general consensus is that there are no original and old pieces left in Africa. What do you think about this?

This is not true. Having lived in Africa for long we have connections to ex-colonial and expatriate families that have been living in Africa for generations buying African artifacts from a century ago.

This explains the provenance for our pieces. Unless coming from major collections in Europe, we usually do not mention by name as this is still an important source, though they are renown families in the East and Central African region. Perhaps in the future we will start adding the names of these families.

We also get pieces coming from missionary camps that are still located deep in the African bush – once in a while top quality pieces still come out and we are in a good position to acquire them.

Recognized dealers from Europe still come to Africa to buy what is available in this exclusive market – but we would rather not mention any specific names.

Your website also has information on the African Culture and on African tribes, why do you do this?

Besides collecting African art, we are very passionate about the African culture and the African tribes. Many are disappearing, and information on them is generally hard to come by. Being in East Africa and having many resources available to us, we feel it is our duty to contribute to the preservation of the African cultures. As we grow we will have more and more articles on African culture and tribes – so stay tuned!

Feel free to ask any more questions on the comment section below and we’ll get right back to you.

Their devotion to African art and the African people was overflowing from the moment we talked, and never have I seen intellect collide with creativity in such an a beautiful way, as it does in the minds of these young men.

They are very brave to open a gallery at this time, especially one that is concentrating mainly on traditional African art, though because of the top quality artifacts of old they have managed to preserve thus far I have no doubts in their capabilities.

As the co-founder of African Heritage Pan African Galleries in Nairobi with the late Joseph Murumbi, Africa’s most renowned  patron of the arts, back in 1972, I am especially excited about their venture.

By coincidence, I just happened to read an article in the New York Times about a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which features both traditional  African masks and masks created of cast off items by contemporary African artists.

This article raises many issues that may be of interest.

First of all it indicates that the accessibility to  purely traditional African masks and art is becoming  more limited, and that the  majority of people entering the international  art market are turning to contemporary art.

This is explained because  of the availability of contemporary art as compared to the  traditional arts which are rapidly vanishing.  Even traditional functional items which have attracted collectors in recent years are now becoming scarce when compared to readily available works by promising young contemporary artists.

Thus galleries are forced to  follow this trend and are overwhelmingly showing contemporary works.

This raises  more related issues.

Traditional artists, like those who have carved masks for generations for their  own tribal ceremonies or who are working in genres that are identifiable as “traditional” no longer have a customer base among their own people.

Thus they have  turned to providing masks and other cultural items for an export or tourist  market for the past few decades.  So-called “cultural purists” have objected to these items which they identify as “copies”,   as if Africa is frozen forever in a time warp and can neither go backwards or forwards.

IF these objects are no longer used in traditional ceremonies, what are these  traditional  African  masters (and their heirs)  supposed to do?  Stop the only craft or trade they have ever known because their customers are no longer  their neighbors?

This “purism” among the art community in the West has taken  on ridiculous forms.  Certain buyers of masks  for  shops in Western  museums or galleries want proof  that the mask has been “danced”, so “dances” may be  conveniently arranged so that the mask passes this first test of provenance.

A museum director of one of the  leading museums  in Los Angeles insisted that all  the new masks  be remove from the museum shop due to criticism from “purists” that these items  are “ fake”.

I do not think that such a  patronizing  attitude exists in relation to  other cultures as compared  to African items.

Certainly museum shops cannot be expected to sell only “old” items, nor could their customers afford to buy them. This problem is easily solved with labeling.

When  I owned  African Heritage,  I  always carefully labeled items as to whether they were produced by a craftsman from the culture it represents and its approximate age.

However, if (for instance)  an Ashanti AkuAbua (fertility doll) was carved by a Kamba carver in Kenya, it was so labeled and the price reflected this.

So just at the time that the old items are disappearing and there is no longer a ready market for them in Africa, the Western  “cultural purist” comes along and tells them to stop work, that they should no longer  produce these “new” items with no consideration at all given  to the history and expertise of the maker or the quality of the objects he makes.

Furthermore this attitude  is devastating to Africans who want to buy “traditional” items, especially the younger generation.

I think there should always  be a place to show   high quality  items produced by master traditional artists and that there should always be some latitude for changes from the traditional base, to allow for the artist’s own  originality .

Romuald Hazoume; “Ear Splitting”

At the other end of the spectrum I am not complaining about artists who make masks from old plastic cans and camera lenses (like those displayed in the subject exhibition at MOMA).

Far  from it, I think what has become known as ‘Junk” art can be extremely artistic and clever, but is it art?

There are many different variations of “Junk” art now appearing in galleries.

The mammoth “hangings” created entirely of bottle tops and metal debris by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui are  excrutiatingly  beautiful and they are based entirely on Ashanti textile  traditions, ie the famous royal Kente and Adinkira cloths worn for royal ceremonies.

These spectacular works of art have caused a stir in art circles and critics struggle with words for them.

El Anatsui; “Dusasa II “

And the “Mass Communications” (left image) metal sculptures fashioned  by Uganda John Odochameny  from the debris of the technological age (recent ones include the addition of cell phones) are more than intriguing and have found quite a following.

However, I do not mean to get away from attempts to concentrate on traditional forms, rather I applaud what Jones and Key and others have done and continue to do.

I always tell my visitors to African Heritage House, that if they want to collect and preserve and protect traditional items, now is the time to do it.

When I finished African Heritage House in 1994, one could find masses  of  items on the market of almost all the items on display in the house, now they are gone.

Some have disappeared without the present generation even knowing that they existed. I wish Jones and Key all the best in this courageous adventure.