| Revision as of 06:23, 18 April 2006 editDeeceevoice (talk | contribs)20,714 edits subheads← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 23:07, 22 May 2024 edit undoBearcat (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Administrators1,567,717 edits →References | ||
| (165 intermediate revisions by 85 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{multiple issues| | |||
| While the ]n continent is vast and its peoples diverse, there are certain standards of beauty in artistic expression and physical appearance, of propriety comportment and demeanor that are held in common among various indigenous African societies. Taken collectively, they are thought to comprise a generally accepted '''African aesthetic''', the constituent components of which are: | |||
| {{context|date=July 2020}} | |||
| {{globalize|2=US|date=July 2020}} | |||
| }} | |||
| While the ]n continent is vast and its peoples diverse, certain standards of beauty and correctness in artistic expression and physical appearance are held in common among various African societies.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Adams | first1 = M. | year = 1989 | title = African visual arts from an art historical perspective | journal = African Studies Review | volume = 32 | issue = 2| pages = 55–103 | doi=10.2307/523970| jstor = 523970 | s2cid = 145648008 }}</ref> | |||
| Taken collectively, these values and standards have been characterised as comprising a generally accepted '''African aesthetic'''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Welsh-Asante|first=Kariamu |title=The African Aesthetic: Keeper of the Traditions (Contributions in Afro- and African-American Studies) |year=1993 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-26549-5 |page=280}}</ref> | |||
| *luminosity of motion ("looking sharp") | |||
| *composure of the face, or ''cool'' | |||
| *youthfulness | |||
| *smoothness (patina) | |||
| *clarity of form and detail, complexity of composition.] | |||
| ==Cool== | |||
| In ''African Art in Motion'', African art scholar and ] professor ] turns his attention to cool in both the African and ] contexts: | |||
| ==Luminosity of motion== | |||
| ==Composure of the face== | |||
| ===Mystical coolness and the "mask of the cool"=== | |||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>The mind of an elder within the body of the young is suggested by the striking African custom of dancing "hot" with a "cool" unsmiling face. This quality seems to have haunted ] at the ] in 1673 and it struck the imagination of an early observer of strongly African-influenced dancing in ] in the early nineteenth century, who noted "thumping ecstasy" and "intense solemnity of mien." The mask of the cool, or facial serenity, has been noted at many points in Afro-American history: | ||
| In his work ''African Art in Motion'' <!-- {{ref|thompson1974}} --> , art historian ] (1974) divides cool into five distinct elements: visibility, luminosity (of motion) or "looking sharp", smoothness, rebirth and reincarnation and composure of the face (the "mask of the cool"). | |||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>It is interesting that what remains a spiritual principle in some parts of Africa and the rare African-influenced portions of the modern U.S.A., such as ] ], becomes in the mainline ] urban culture an element of contemporary street behavior: | ||
| Thompson explains the cool aesthetic in African and African American movement in ''African Art in Motion'': | |||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>] boys…have a 'cool' way of walking in which the upper trunk and pelvis rock fore and aft while the head remains stable with the eyes looking straight ahead. The…walk is quite slow, and the Negroes take it as a way of 'strutting' or 'showing off'....</blockquote> | ||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>The mind of an elder within the body of the young is suggested by the striking African custom of dancing "hot" with a "cool" unsmiling face. This quality seems to have haunted ] at the ] in 1673 and it struck the imagination of an early observer of strongly African-influenced dancing in ] in the early nineteenth century, who noted "thumping ecstasy" and "intense solemnity of mien." The mask of the cool, or facial serenity, has been noted at many points in Afro-American history |
||
| ⚫ | The cool style of male walking in the United States is called ''bopping'' ... Mystical coolness in Africa has changed in urban African-American assertions of independent power. But the functions, to heal and gather strength, partially remain. And the name ''cool'' , remains. And the body is still played in two patterns, one stable, the other active, part energy and part mind.<ref>{{cite book |last= Thompson|first=Robert Farris |author-link=Robert Farris Thompson| title=African Art in Motion |year=1974 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02703-5}}</ref></blockquote></blockquote> | ||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>It is interesting that what remains a spiritual principle in some parts of Africa and the rare African-influenced portions of the modern U.S.A., such as ] ], becomes in the mainline ] urban culture an element of contemporary street behavior: |
||
| ==See also== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| {{Aesthetics}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ==Youthfulness== | |||
| {{Africa-culture-stub}} | |||
| ==Smoothness== | |||
| {{aesthetics-stub}} | |||
Latest revision as of 23:07, 22 May 2024
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
While the African continent is vast and its peoples diverse, certain standards of beauty and correctness in artistic expression and physical appearance are held in common among various African societies.
Taken collectively, these values and standards have been characterised as comprising a generally accepted African aesthetic.
Cool
In African Art in Motion, African art scholar and Yale professor Robert Farris Thompson turns his attention to cool in both the African and African-American contexts:
The mind of an elder within the body of the young is suggested by the striking African custom of dancing "hot" with a "cool" unsmiling face. This quality seems to have haunted Ten Rhyne at the Cape in 1673 and it struck the imagination of an early observer of strongly African-influenced dancing in Louisiana in the early nineteenth century, who noted "thumping ecstasy" and "intense solemnity of mien." The mask of the cool, or facial serenity, has been noted at many points in Afro-American history:
It is interesting that what remains a spiritual principle in some parts of Africa and the rare African-influenced portions of the modern U.S.A., such as tidewater Georgia, becomes in the mainline Afro-American urban culture an element of contemporary street behavior:
Negro boys…have a 'cool' way of walking in which the upper trunk and pelvis rock fore and aft while the head remains stable with the eyes looking straight ahead. The…walk is quite slow, and the Negroes take it as a way of 'strutting' or 'showing off'....
The cool style of male walking in the United States is called bopping ... Mystical coolness in Africa has changed in urban African-American assertions of independent power. But the functions, to heal and gather strength, partially remain. And the name cool , remains. And the body is still played in two patterns, one stable, the other active, part energy and part mind.
See also
References
- Adams, M. (1989). "African visual arts from an art historical perspective". African Studies Review. 32 (2): 55–103. doi:10.2307/523970. JSTOR 523970. S2CID 145648008.
- Welsh-Asante, Kariamu (1993). The African Aesthetic: Keeper of the Traditions (Contributions in Afro- and African-American Studies). Greenwood Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-313-26549-5.
- Thompson, Robert Farris (1974). African Art in Motion. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-02703-5.
This article about African culture is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This aesthetics-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |