GALERIE ART PREMIER AFRICAIN GALERIE ART PRIMITIF AFRICAIN AFRICAN ART GALLERY

Full text, digitalised by Lies Strijker and presented by the .Centre Aequatoria
Notes on the digitalisation and presentation


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IMPRIMI POTEST
Kanzenze, 12-2-1952
P. Simeon, o.m.f.
Sup. Reg.

IMPRIMATUR
Luabo-Kamina, 30-5-1952
+VICTOR PETRUS KEUPPENS
Vic. Ap. de Lulua


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(Translated into English from "La Philosophie Bantoue" the French Version by Dr. A. Rubbens of Fr. Tempels' original work. The Revd. Colin King, M.A. Translator.)

With a Foreword to the English Edition by Dr Margaret Read, C.B.E.Ph. D.,M.A., formerly Professor of Education and Head of the Department Of Education in Tropical Areas, The

The Luba


The Luba Empire was founded in 1585, in the depression of the Upemba by King Kongholo, his nephew and successor Llunga Kalala, enlarges rapidly until the kingdom territory on the left bank of the River Lualaba. At the height of the kingdom more than a million people live in tribes, various paid tribute to King Luba. At the end of XIX with DVANCED Ovimbudu of Angola and the raids of slave traders Islamic empire s'affiblit and collapsed when the Belgian colonists arrived.

The economy lm'empire Luba came from payment of tribute and redistribution of resources from agriculture, fishing and hunting, and mining.

Luba artists have created many objects related to the activity of the court, the prestige objects were usually decorated with female figures everywhere in Luba art. Because of the huge area covered by the empire there are wide variations in the corpus stylistic art Luba.


Masks:


Luba masks rare, are found mainly in the eastern part of the empire. One type of mask Luba, very similar to the masks of kifwebe Songye but has more rounded features. There are very few zoomorphic masks.


Statues:


Luba artists have sculpted female statues standing or kneeling Mboko called, cleverly taking a cut, and who served during the ceremonies of divination. The statues stand uncommon, and probably representing the forest spirits or ancestors are covered with a

Linguistically, the Songye form part of the Luba, world, itself part of the Bantu group. Indeed there is a century old inter relation between the Songye and Luba, and they therefore share many cultural traits. Some art forms are part of this, shared heritage, according to the oral tradition the founding chieftains of the first luba kingdom, were of songye origins, and it is the Songye who introduced the idea of social stratification to the Luba and consequently the first luba chieftains are said to be of Songye Ancestry.

ENVIRONMENT

The Songye used to live in a forest environment till the end of the first half of the second millennium. Slowly their habitat became more savannah-like. We can still find traces of this former forest habitat in some of the art they produce. For example the costume worn with the Kifwebe mask must be entirely made from products originating in the forest from such as bark, pelts fibers etc. Today the Songye mainly live in the savannah but pockets of forest remain in their territory.

The Songye occupy a very large area in the north of the southeastern quadrant of the republic democratic of Congo.

Due to the vastness of the songye territory, it is obvious that regional stylistic, iconic and typological, exist in the ritual art produced. Some of these are the result of cross influences with their immediate neighbors.

NEIGHBORS

To the North of the Songye territory, live the Sungu, Tetela, the western Kusu. In the northwest we will find a few luba chiefdoms. To the west the Luntu, Luba – kassaï Kete and Binji peoples resides; one can even find pockets of Chokwe people in the southwest of Songye territory. To the south of the Songye we find a variety of luba speacking, polities, the same is true, for eastern frontier where in addition to the eastern kusu, we find Luba, Hemba, Kunda, Lumbu and Buyu people. Judging from their

Dogon

Musée du Quai Branly
05th April 2011 to July 4, 2011

The exhibition features 330 stunning art pieces gathered for the first time and from collections around the world. It provides a chronological overview of the art of the Dogon eighth century to the present day, reflecting its rich diversity of styles, from first contact with Tellem to the development of European taste for the masks and sculpture in the twentieth century. The exhibition shows the impact of migration and subsequent contact with other Dogon peoples of the region's culture and art Dogon. It places a unique technical expertise conducted on the patina of statues and disclaims typologies of everyday objects and daily virtuosic and varied techniques, often presented in terms of major pieces of statuary.

primitive art
Sixteenth century seventeenth century eighteenth century nineteenth century twentieth century
Commissioners
Helene

The Senufo

scattered between the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, Mali, one million five hundred thousand Senufo, live off agriculture and occasional hunting. they live in villages ruled by councils of elders, who elect a leader. cohesion of the tribe is reinforced by the Poro society initiates, and educates the Senufo men from lâge 7 years. Senufo theology based on the presence of a powerful god, Koulotiolo, and a mother goddess Katielo, which through the rites of the Poro society ruled over the world.
The Senufo art is one of the first to have been admired by Westerners, their artistic production is abundant, and their statues and masks are characterized by a mixture of realistic detail, allied to pure geometric forms. playing on the empty and full.

Masks:

the Senufo, use different types of masks, according to the occasion. mask called Kpéliyée used by members of the Poro society has a heart shaped face surrounded by fins. mask helmet représentatnt janiforme a buffalo head is used for funerals and in times of crisis. its main function is to destroy the evil spirits, his power comes from a small cup placed on top of his skull containing magical substances. sometimes for dancing sparks out of his mouth that earned him the name "fire-eater." another type of helmet mask, a buffalo head, under a pair of antelope horns, are used primarily during initiation ceremonies poro.
Senufo artists have created three types of crest, the first

Arts of Africa first Black Arts Spring 1981 No. 77
When we examine the significance of an African mask, we do not seek to know what the "message" it provides, by virtue of some essential notion of disguise and by his presence, but rather what kind of continuum it belongs. The masks are at the confluence of pictorial traditions, oral and functional none appears (under secular unable to recognize the subjects and even less discernible. The understanding of pictorial code used requires not only a review but a review of developed components as needed through the original context. Let us offer an example of the image with respect to the buffalo in the region of Zaire Kwango-Kwilu South West (1).
Synceros caffer, the largest of African cattle is a massive animal, black, cropped hair, measuring 1.50 m at the shoulder and weighing nearly a ton (900 kg.) (Fig. 1). Its heavy horns have a spacing of one meter, are curved downward and inward and form large lumps to their bases. This animal, originally occupied the central, eastern and southern Africa, frequenting the open plains, open woods and river beds and marshes bordered by reeds. Commonly preview herds of a dozen to a hundred heads, he used to graze and graze the early morning and again at dusk, seeking shade during the hottest hours but sometimes moving at night . Females do not carry a calf for about eleven months.

Considered peaceful, was injured when he can become, for hunters, the most dangerous animal of any big game on the continent (Fig. 2). He is known for his

The works are presented in a geographical journey of productions ranging from West to East, both from Gabon to Congo:

* The Fang peoples and related
* The Kwele
* The Mbede-Kota
* The Tsogho, Galwa, Aduma, Vuvi and Teke (Tsaayi)
* The Ngbaka, and Ngbandi Ngombe
* The Mbole, Yela, Metoko, Komo, Jong, Lengola and Kela
* The Lega and Bembe

THE FANG:

THE KWELE: they live on the northern border of the Republic of Congo, and have used a type of mask called Ekuk, they are flat masks, which have incised eyes, often a white face in a heart-shaped nose triangle-shaped eyes and coffee bean. these masks were hung in homes rarely worn during ceremonies, initiation Bwetes worship, their function was to conduct a village to enable forces are beneficial Bwetes capita.

THE KOTA: Living in the eastern part of Gabon, on the border with the Republic of Congo, Kota, include a number of tribes, such as Mahongwe the Sango, the Obamba, and Shamay, who practice the same rituals and shared cultural traits. They probably migrated southward during the 18th, and now live in the valley of the river, Ogonoué in a forest environment. from their economic resources, sutout hunting and agriculture. Kota the past, had the habit of leaving their dead exposed to the elements in the forest. Under the influence of neighboring tribes, they began to bury their cefs and keep their bones (mainly the skull) to place them with

STRENGTH AND MEASUREMENT

The discovery of "primitive art": an art of strength
Shapes and shape functions
Deities and ancestors
The living wood

Force and Measurement

Develop an aesthetic of black Africa is seen as a risky business in many ways. Is it legitimate to isolate these objects, that today we call art, the general framework of their relations and their cultural constraints? Can we submit to a test that has never existed in the minds of their creators? And can we finally see in this art - if we 'take on this term - a uniform phenomenon, despite the wide variety of both regional and local styles we offer this huge continent, following lengthy Historical developments often poorly understood? Finally, remember that this approach excludes large regions, including Africa white, that is to say the Mediterranean area with its ancient history, the eastern and southern Africa whose pastoral peoples have given rise to cultures almost without images, and finally these hunting societies, which, even in our time have not passed the stage of evolution of prehistoric rock paintings which are the main evidence of an artistic production that appears at various points the continent. Similarly, we must exclude from our contribution to the aesthetics of black African art the old feudal societies, including Benin. Our discussion is therefore limited to large areas farmers, the true cradle of

The NMAfA collection includes tradition-based and contemporary works of art. Both address important issues of identity, history and aesthetics, demonstrate dynamism and reflect change as African artists respond to new ideas, materials and sources of inspiration.

Tradition-based arts help shape and reflect established formal, functional and aesthetic canons. These artworks, which are used in everyday and ceremonial settings, address individual and community needs and serve social, religious and political ends. Humans and animals, the primary subjects in African art, depict desirable and undesirable aspects of human behavior. Deities, ancestors and other spiritual beings that are portrayed embody the breadth of African religious beliefs and practices.

The creators of tradition-based African art are known and respected members of their communities. Unfortunately, those who created many of the exquisite works now found in museum collections remain unknown because their names were not recorded when the objects were collected many decades ago. In

Primitive arts in Kaos
Le Journal des Arts - n ° 220 - September 9, 2005

The young Parisian journey Kaos has quickly become the global meeting place among lovers of primitive art. With a fourth edition even richer.
It took only two years at Kaos-Course Worlds in Paris Saint-Germain-des-Prés, home of the primitive arts, to win. Modeled on that of Bruneaf Brussels (Brussels Non European Art Fair), Kaos is an open event bringing together specialist dealers concentrated in one area (ie, exhibiting in their walls or hosted by other galleries). But while Bruneaf is losing momentum in recent years, Kaos is getting stronger. Created in 2002 from an idea by Rik Gadella (among other founder of Paris Photo), the appointment of Parisian art lovers first hosted the first year 21 galleries around the axis of the Rue de Seine, then 40 participants in 2003. The formula took off in 2004 with 51 exhibitors from around the world and has already reached international fame. This latest edition was also shown the excesses of the success of Kaos: merchants had refused leased spaces on the course to enjoy the commercial success generated by the event. Without dwelling on the subject, "not to do their advertising, its management announced a reinforcement of the signage" Kaos "to foreclose any parasites.

Must
This year, 55 galleries will open the festivities on the evening of Sept. 14, in a friendly atmosphere that gives the event a very special charm