Moravian College Syllabus
ART 222 African Art Fall 2018
8/27/2018-12/15/2018, Tues and Thurs 1:10-2:20 pm, HILL310
Professor Kearns
kearnsm@moravian.edu
marthamkearns@gmail.com (immediate message only)
Availability
Best time for a conference is immediately before or after class. If this is inconvenient, a meeting
can be scheduled in advance in my office, Tuesday or Thursday 12:15-12:45 pm. The office is in
the Art Department, South Campus.
Course Goals
Students will gain an aesthetic and cultural understanding of the art of Africa, from prehistory to
the present day. Sculpture is the primary medium studied in the course, but textiles, painting,
artisan works and architecture are also included. Students will examine how religion and
cultural influences affect the development of regional and national styles. The influence of the
African diaspora on art and culture in Europe, Latin America and the United States will also be
considered. Students will acquire the critical vocabulary required to analyze and interpret
African Art, and apply it in both discussion and writing.
(This course meets LinC M5/Cultural Values and Global Issues Requirement)
Required Text for purchase or loan from the Moravian Art Department. The loan
is free; you sign out the text and return it at course end. The Art Department has only 10
copies of the book available on a first-come, first-served basis. Note that the text, being the
best documentation of the History of African Art yet published, is unfortunately also out of
print, so it is available to you on our class Canvas site. Note: As an undergraduate, you
may also receive the text through student rental services online.
Africa: The Art of a Continent. Edited by Tom Phillips, NY: Prestel Publications, 2004.
Course Requirements
1. Students must attend all classes and bring the required text as needed.
2. Students must complete two analyses, a midterm, a final project, and a final exam.
3. Students must attend the African Art Museum Field Trip as assigned.
4. Students must complete peer group sessions as assigned.
Attendance: The Art Department established this department-wide attendance policy to apply
to students in all art classes. For classes that meet twice a week: After the second unexcused
absence, final grade will be dropped by one full letter. After the fourth unexcused absence,
student will receive a failing final grade. (attendance policy continued next page)
ART 222 African Art
Fall 2018 Tuesday and Thursday 1:10-2:20 pm Hill 310
Page 2
Attendance Policy, Continued: An excused absence is one confirmed by a note from the
Dean’s Office, Student Services, the Learning Center, or verified with a doctor’s note
(within 24 hours of illness). Death in family should be confirmed with Student Services.
Documentation is required for sports. Students may be excused from class, with
advanced notice, for games or matches, but not for practice. Students should provide the
instructor with a schedule, if they know you will be missing any classes due to a game or
match. Practice is not an excused absence. Students must make arrangements to cover
any missed class material and turn in assignments on the appropriate date.
Job interviews or doctor’s/dentist’s appointments are not to be scheduled during class.
Missing Portions of Class: The following count as unexcused absences
• More than 15 minutes late for class
• Failure to bring supplies to class
• Failure to return from break
• Leaving class half an hour or more early
• Being tardy more than 3 times. Tardiness: being 5 to 15 minutes late for class
Students: If you are late or absent, it is your responsibility (not the professor’s) to find
out what you missed and to catch up in a timely manner.
Estimated time required outside of class:
Reading of texts, 5 hrs per week
Writing
• Analysis I, 6 hrs
• Peer I, 6 hrs
• Analysis II, 6 hrs
• Peer II, 5 hrs
• Peer III, 5 hrs
Field Trips
New York MET 12 hrs
Greatest Works Presentation, 7 hrs
Exam Preparation, Midterm and Final, 12 hrs
Seat time, 33 hrs
Academic Code of Conduct Policy: Please reference the College policy in Student Handbook.
Cheating on exams or quizzes will not be tolerated and will result in a 0 or F. Written
assignments are designed to engage students with material covered in class through visual
participation and personal reaction. Papers must be your own thoughts, impressions and
reactions. The Internet can provide valuable source material, but you must participate by
visiting the artwork yourself, in person, and offering your own viewpoint. Plagiarism in
any form will not be tolerated, it is stealing in the academic field.
ART 222 African Art, Tuesday and Thursday, 1:10-2:20 pm
Proposed Schedule of Meetings Fall 2018
Page 3
Evaluation
Grading: 35% of your grade is determined by written work; 35% by exams,
15% by Peer Seminars and Peer Participation,10% by the Final Project, and
5% by attendance.
Papers: there will be Aesthetic Analyses required on two different topics.
Criteria for these will be given beforehand. Aesthetic Analysis I is 15%,
and Field Analysis II is worth 20%.
Peer Seminar I, II and III: each is weighted 5%. Peer Seminar I is an individual
critical essay and a group discussion. Peer Seminar II and III are short individual
student power point presentations. Criteria for each will be given beforehand. Peer
Participation means your conduct in class lectures and in groups is helpful or not to the
learning of your peers and to the overall classroom environment. Use of a cell or laptop is
forbidden unless it is for class notes, peer group work or a medical emergency,
as these practices take away from a positive learning environment.
Exams: There will be a Midterm and a Final Exam, identifying, comparing, and
analyzing images from the text. The Midterm counts as 15%, and the Final Exam 20%.
Final Project: A power point presentation will show the aesthetic, cultural and
historical influences of each group’s choice for Greatest Works of African Art,
77,000 BC. to 2018 AD. The Final Project/Greatest Works of African Art
counts for 10%.
Disability Statement:
Students who wish to request accommodations in this class for a disability should contact
the Academic and Accessibility Support Center, located in the lower level of Monocacy
Hall, or by calling 610-861-1401. Accommodations cannot be provided until
authorization is received from the Academic and Accessibility Support Center.
Moravian College faculty are committed to providing a learning environment free from
gender discrimination and sexual violence. Should a student disclose a concern of this
nature, the faculty member is obligated to inform the Title IX Coordinator, who will assist
the student in determining resources for support and resolution. Fully confidential
reporting options include the Counseling Center, Health Center, and Religious Life
(chaplain). Survivors are encouraged to seek immediate assistance by contacting the
Advocates at (484) 764-9242. For more information, please visit
www.moravian.edu/titleix.
ART 222 African Art, Tuesday and Thursday, 1:10-2:20 pm
Proposed Schedule of Meetings Fall 2018
Page 4
Week 1/
August 28 and August 30
Introduction, African Aesthetics, Weltanschauung, Paleolithic to
Predynastic Egypt. Read Africa: The Art of a Continent,
pp 8-37, 179-191, 103-105, 548-552.
Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Read Africa: The Art of a Continent,
pp 41-115.
Week 2/
September 4 and 6
African Aesthetic and Cultural Influences in Minoan, Mycenean, Etruscan
Civilizations, Classic Nok to Meroe. Read Africa: The Art of a
Continent, pp 48-9, 107-115, 194-5,534-43,553-8,478, 484, 326, 526531.
African Aesthetic and Cultural Influences in the Greco-Roman World,
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, p 543, 536-8, 553-8.
Peer Seminar I Black Athena (hand out) Due Tuesday, September 4
Week 3/
September 11 and 13
Ancient West Africa, Coptic Christianity, Islam, 500 BC-1500 AD
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 178, 196,230, 240,
326-412/179, 198-99, 327, 406, 468-70, 478-83, 488-95, 576-82, 538-43,
559-61, 586-91.
Greatest Works of African Art Meeting #1 9/11
Aesthetic Analysis I Due 9/13
Week 4/
September 18 and 20
South Africa, Igbo-Ukwu to Ife in West Africa, Ife Aesthetics
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, p 178, 182-4,194-6,
327-45, 383-95, 404-08.
Peer Seminar II: African Art in situ Due 9/20
Week 5/
September 25 and 27
Nigerian Sculptural Continuity, Ife to Benin
Read Africa: The Art of A Continent, pp 327, 412-431.
Greatest Works of African Art Group Meeting #2 9/27
Week 6/
October 2 and October 4
Ancient Djenne-Juno, Ancient Mali, Dogon
Read Africa: The Art of A Continent, pp 479-95.
Midterm Thursday, October 4
AR 222 African Art, Tuesday and Thursday, 1:10-2:20 pm
Proposed Schedule of Meetings Fall 2018
Page 5
Week 7/
October 9 and 11
Divination: continent-wide spiritual and cultural tradition
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 231-9, 244-8, 268-9, 288-91
Week 8/
October 18, Thursday only (Fall Break 10/15-10/16)
Divination (Continued)
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 427, 454, 456, 527.
Week 9/
October 23 and 25
Benin, African Art to the 18th Century
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 337-345, 395-403.
Peer Seminar III: African Diaspora Art Due 10/23
Week 10/
October 30 and November 1
African Art, European Colonialism in the 19th Century,
Diaspora of African Art to Europe
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 231-325, 440-6,
448, 452-5, 517, 132, 150, 162, 166, 174-5.
Note: Required museum field trip to the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, NYC, scheduled for Friday, November 2
Week 11/
November 6 and 8
West African Art to the 19th Century, African Art and Modern
European: Cubism/Expressionism
Read Africa: The Art of A Continent, pp 327, 412-431, 337-45,
395-403, 231-325.
Field Aesthetic Analysis II Due Tuesday 11/6
Week 12/
November 13 and 15
Central African Art/Kongo to the 19th Century, African Art and
New York City's Harlem Renaissance
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 145-53, 170, 346, 348, 355,
358, 363, 366-7, 372, 382, 392, 440-3, 500-2, 513, 517, 522.
Greatest Works of African Art Group Meeting #3 11/15
Week 13/
Tuesday November 20 only, Happy Thanksgiving
Early 20th Century African Art, African Diaspora in the Americas
Read Africa: The Art of a Continent, pp 142-3, 146-7, 153,
158-9, 204-8, 256, 260, 276-8, 280, 300, 305, 312, 357-8, 421-6,
432, 436, 447-52, 456-7, 460-3.
AR 222 African Art, Tuesday and Thursday, 1:10-2:20 pm
Proposed Schedule of Meetings Fall 2018
Page 6
Week 14/
November 27 and 29
Contemporary African Art, 1980-present
Read Africa: The Art of A Continent, pp 218-9, 372, 472,
465-6, 501, 520-2, 525, 544-6, 570-1, 573-5.
Greatest Works of African Art Final Meeting #4 11/29
Week 15/
December 4 and 6
Greatest Works of African Art Presentations,
Peer Evaluations and Voting 12/4 and 12/6, Winners
Announced Thursday 12/6
Week 16/
December 14/Final Exam Week
Final Exam is Friday, December 14, 2018, 10:15 AM, Hill 310
ART 222 Professor Kearns
African Aesthetic Elements of Sculpture
1. Practical Function is how and where the sculpture is used. The practical function
includes but is not limited to sculpture to be worn, i.e., masks, or sculpture to fit
into an altar or sacred setting, i.e., ancestor figures. If the work is in its original
setting and still being used it is identified as in situ, in context.
2. Spiritual or Cultural Function is the religious and/or cultural use of the sculpture within
and for the community as a whole. The work of sculpture almost always functions as an
embodiment of the religious and cultural beliefs and rituals of the community. The Spiritual
Function includes but is not limited to sculpture of humans or animals honored for the wellbeing or power they give to the community, i.e., Yoruba Ibedji twins.
Note: the element of function, both practical and spiritual, is primary for almost all
traditional African sculpture, though there are exceptions.
3. Media is wood, clay, stone, or melded glass or metal alloys, i.e., faience, iron, which
can be carved, modeled, or fired. Included in this element is the texture, which may
be rough, smooth, lined, painted, embedded with gems, etc. Wooden African sculpture is
almost always created out of a single trunk or limb.
4. Shape is created by the interplay of positive and negative space and is dictated by
the three elements above. There are two basic categories of shape: geometric or regular, and
organic or biomorphic. Note: the element of line may be implied or
invisible here, that is, it emerges from the shape.
5. Space is internal and external. Internal space is both negative and positive. External space
is the optimum viewing distance and possibly movement the work requires. For example, a
sculpture in the round asks the viewer to walk around it. Monumentality may refer to a
work small in size but demands the viewer step back.
6. Mass is the volume or weight of the work.
7. Proportion is derived from the work’s practical and spiritual functions.
8. Scale is more than size. It is the work’s relation to its setting. Categories are
human scale, based on the size of a human being, grand, larger than a human,
and colossal, the largest, in relation to mountains or the sky, i.e., The Sphinx.
9. Composition is the arrangement of the above elements. The basic designs are
symmetrical, an equal balance divided by an axis or line, asymmetrical, an
equilibrium of corresponding parts, or radial symmetry, equidistant parts
emerging from a center point in a circle.
10. Style in African sculpture is abstract, rarely realistic, and based on the functions.
11. Subject Matter is important for its symbolism, i.e, what it represents in meaning
12. Emotional Intensity or Passion is the emotion, mood, or communication the viewer receives
before the work. The feeling may be reverence, protection, wonder, etc.
13. Artistic Unity is the harmonizing of the above elements into a work of visual beauty.
African Visual Aesthetic Elements
Textiles, Apparel, Painting, Graphic Art, and/or Body Adornment
1. Practical Function is how and where the work is used, and often, by whom. The practical
function may be but is not limited to textiles woven for rugs, apparel, and/or wall tapestries. If
the work is in its original setting and/or is still being used it is identified as in situ, in context.
2. Spiritual or Cultural Function is the religious and/or cultural use of the visual work
within and for the community as a whole. It functions often as an embodiment and/or as a
signifier or visual code of the religious and cultural beliefs and rituals of the community. An
example of this is Bonnet, attributed to male rites of passage or warriorship, originated by the
Acholi of Uganda (see text, p 139). Spiritual Function includes its use in a practice which is
religious or sacred to the community, and the visual work may, fully or in part, itself be holy.
Note: function, whether practical and spiritual, is primary for almost all traditional African
visual art, though there are exceptions.
3. Line, visible or invisible, is used to create directionality, compositional focus, and/or
dimension. It may be regular, i.e., dotted, vertical, spiral, or lines in relation to one another, i.e.
converging or parallel, or irregular, i.e., an uneven wave.
4. Color is light at differing wave lengths. Hue is full or diffused light and most often refers to a
change in a primary color, red, yellow, and blue, or the seven principal colors on the visible
spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (or blue-violet) and violet. Included in color is
Light Value, comparative lightness or darkness, or the amount of light reflected on its surface. In
the African visual palette there is also Color Contrast, the putting together of two or more colors
which are vibrant or saturated.
5. Shape is regular two dimensional geometric, i.e., an oval or triangle, or irregular or
biomorphic two dimensional, i.e. organic. Shape may be open or closed, and used to represent
known objects or animals or abstract forms.
6. Media is any material or surface on which line, color and shape can be applied, designed and
layered. The media may be dyed thread, dye, pigment, paint, ink, etc. In African art, the media
may also include aural material to create sound or music.
7. Balance or Composition is the overall arrangement of the above elements. Balance is
symmetrical, where an axis or line divides an exact correspondence of parts on either side, or
asymmetrical, where an equilibrium exists between each side, or has radial symmetry,
equidistant parts of a circle emerging from a center point. In African
visual art the overall composition is also created by patterning, or repetition of a design, motif,
media and/or colors.
8. Style in African visual art is often abstract, but can be realistic and a blend of abstractionism
and realism, and based on the functions.
9. Subject Matter is important for its symbolism, i.e, what it represents in meaning.
10. Emotional Intensity or Passion is the emotion, mood or tone the viewer feels and
receives directly before the work. The feeling may be joy, sorrow, wonder, etc.
11. Artistic Unity is the harmonizing of the above elements to create a work of beauty.
AR 222 African Art
Fall 2018 Professor Kearns
African Aesthetic Analysis I
Assignment: You are to choose a work of art, preferably a sculpture, which you perceive to be
beautiful, and/or a great work of art, from the text, Africa: The Art of A Continent, Paleolithic
to Benin, 77,000 BC to 1600 AD. African Aesthetic Analysis I is due Thursday,
September 13, 2018. It is a minimum of five pages, maximum eight pages, and should include
the use of one documented source and follow the format below.
African Aesthetic Analysis I Format
1. Title Page, top: African Aesthetic Analysis I
Title of Work
Media
Date
Genre (If it is also a subgenre, include here.)
Culture and Region
Title Page, bottom: Your Name, Title of Course, Due Date
2. Analysis
1. Introduction. In the first paragraph discuss the reason
or reasons why you perceive this work is beautiful and/or a
great work of art. The reason(s) you give are any that are
genuine to you.
2. Analyze each aesthetic element, following the African Aesthetic
Elements page. Use one paragraph for each element, and do address
each element in precise detail.
3. Conclusion.
The conclusion is at least one paragraph, but can be two, which
summarizes the learning or importance you received from analyzing
this work. If you have had an aesthetic experience, identify the new
understanding you received. Or, if you received new insights or
perceptions on African art, aesthetics, culture, the perceptual
process, or yourself, discuss these. Your insights or perceptions
may be personal or aesthetic, i.e., any findings that are genuine and
of value to you.
3. Addenda. One source citation. If the work is able to be downloaded from
the internet, and some in the text are, please do, but this is not a
requirement.
African Art 222
Fall 2018
Peer Group I Black Athena
Assignment: Black Athena, Vol. I, by Martin Bernal, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1989.
Read Introduction, pp 1-17, the handout, and please type your responses to the following
questions; these will be handed in and returned to you. What is important in Peer Groups is
that your intellectual participation is active, and you convey your own ideas and perceptions
honestly and lucidly. Your written response is a minimum of two pages.
Peer I Format: Page 1
Top Left Corner:
Black Athena Peer I Response
Your Name
Course Title
Due Date
Black Athena Response, begin mid-page, page 1, pp 1-2, or can be 3 to 4 pages
1. What is the author’s main thesis? Please cite one quote that, in your intellectual
judgement, states it in the text.
2. If you were able to ask the author one question about the thesis, what would your
question be? Please discuss as thoroughly as possible why you have chosen this
question. In other words, what is your thinking behind your question?
3. What was the most important new learning you received from Black Athena? Please
state the new idea, fact, or perception you learned, and discuss thoroughly why this
helped you grow in your own intellectual understanding.
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