Candidates generally performed woefully. Many of them were unable to interpret the question well. They gave different interpretations which led to wrong answer.
Candidates were expected to discuss African art under the sub-headings;
(a) Naturalism/Realism:
- They are true representation of objects or figures;
- many African arts are naturalistic, especially works associated with court art;
- examples are Ife and Benin arts;
- most naturalistic works are executed in materials such as bronze, ivory etc.
` (b) Symbolism:
- Use of symbols such as reptiles, animals and objects abound in African traditional art works. These symbols serve same esoteric purpose e.g. Ibeji doll for protection, Akuaba doll for fertility, staff of authority bearing lion for strength, and eagle ¬for greatness etc.
(c) Exaggeration:
- The heads of African sculptures are intentionally carved bigger than any other parts of the body; this peculiarity appears in the majority of African figures which thus emphasises the importance attributed to the seat of the personality.
(d) Proportion:
The Africans believe that the head is the seat of power, wisdom/destiny and to recognize this unique concept, the head is given bigger proportion, usually of the size of the body (especially in free-standing and relief sculpture of human figures). There is discrimination in figure representation when it comes to gender; Male is usually depicted bigger than female. Males are given bolder and darker colour than female.
(e) Functionalism:
Most African art works are purposely useful. Surviving Examples: Chiwara masks serve in agricultural rites to ensure abundant harvest; Ibeji doll is made to protect the surviving twin, and gelede masks are conducted by the society to placate the witches in the town/village by entertaining them.
