African Art

"African art is rooted in religion. this does not mean that Africans would be so presumptuous as to make images of the great creator-god. it is rather the case that they try to put the divine power, the eternal vital force which suffuses creation, into a form that befits it, thereby ensuring its favourable disposition and enlisting its aid and protection. African works of art -- masks , sculptures and other ritual implements -- are nothing …

…mighty animals. The artist is well aquainted with the whole range of means of expression. For example jagged lines, notches, edges, and bold edges suggest energy or even the shadows of the deep ocean. Once the work is finished it must pass the test of the tribe. If the tribe approves of the work it is accecpted and passed down from generation to generation. This is how a style retains its specific character for decades.