Selected African Motifs and Their Application on Contemporary Art Production in Nairobi
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College of Architecture and Engineering School of the Arts and Design BDS 413: PROJECT PAPER SELECTED AFRICAN MOTIFS AND THEIR APPLICATION ON CONTEMPORARY ART PRODUCTION IN NAIROBI A CASE STUDY OF THE MAASAI MARKET AND AFRICAN HERITAGE B.A. DESIGN (Illustration Specialization) SUPERVISOR: MRS. FRANSISCA ODUNDO BY: MWANGI JAMES KAMAU B05/36973/2015 Project paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Bachelor of Arts in Design degree submitted to the school of the Arts and Design, University of Nairobi. 17th May 2019 Declaration I declare that this project entitled “SELECTED AFRICAN MOTIFS AND THEIR APPLICATION ON CONTEMPORARY ART PRODUCTION IN NAIROBI” is my own work and to the best of my knowledge has not been presented to any other university for a degree or any other certificate. STUDENT Mwangi James Kamau Signature ………………………………. Date …………………….. SUPERVISOR MRS. FRANSISCA ODUNDO Signature ……………………………….. Date……………………… DIRECTOR DR. LILAC OSANJO The director, School of the Arts and Design, University of Nairobi. Signature …………………………………Date ……………………….. Page 1 of 35 Dedication This project paper is dedicated to my dad Peter Mwangi Kamau and my mom Pamela Ayuma Mwangi for their unending love and care that they have shown me during my academics. They have been a blessing to me in ensuring that I got all the required materials for my four year course at the University of Nairobi. Page 2 of 35 Acknowledgement I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who took part in making the completion of this project possible. My greatest acknowledgement goes to my supervisor, Mrs. Fransisca Odundo and Dr. Lilac Osanjo for their great insights and knowledge as well as the entire teaching staff of the School of Arts and Design. Secondly, I would like to acknowledge my family for their unending support during my four years at the University. My brother, Samson Henry has been an inspiration to me and has supported me greatly in ensuring I have conducive environment to study. Finally, I would like to appreciate the financial support and motivation given to me by Joan Spaulding from the United States of America as well as motivation from my fellow students at the School of the Arts and Design at the University of Nairobi. Page 3 of 35 Abstract Art is the product of creative human activity in which materials are shaped or selected to convey an idea, emotion, or visually interesting form .This research seeks to analyze the contributions that motifs and art from traditional Africa have made to contemporary art. This study therefore finds out how and why African art was produced and used and how contemporary artists are using this knowledge to improve their artworks. Various Traditional artworks like the Nkisi Nkondi, the Akua Ba dolls and the Chiwara masks in their traditional form are widely reviewed using available secondary data and primary data that will be collected from African Heritage. Page 4 of 35 Table of Contents Contents CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 Background of the problem ........................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Problem statement ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Research questions ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................................................................... 9 1.6 Limitations of the Study ...............................................................................................................10 1.7 Assumptions of the Study .............................................................................................................10 1.8 Definition of terms .......................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................12 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................12 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................12 2.2 Selected Traditional African Art ...................................................................................................12 2.2.1 African sculptures......................................................................................................................12 2.2.2 FERTILITY SCULPTURES .....................................................................................................13 2.2.3 AKUABA DOLL ......................................................................................................................13 2.2.4 FETISH SCULPTURES ............................................................................................................14 2.3 FERTILITY MASKS ...................................................................................................................15 2.3.1 Nimba mask ..............................................................................................................................15 2.3.2 Chiwara mask ............................................................................................................................16 2.4 AFRICAN JEWELRY .................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER THREE ...............................................................................................................................18 3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY..............................................................................18 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................18 3.2 Research Design ...........................................................................................................................18 3.3 The Location of the Study ............................................................................................................18 3.4 The target artworks.......................................................................................................................19 3.5 Sample artifacts ............................................................................................................................19 Page 5 of 35 3.6 Sampling Techniques ...................................................................................................................19 3.7 Data Collection Method................................................................................................................19 3.8 Data Collection Tools ...................................................................................................................20 3.9 Data Collection Procedure ............................................................................................................20 3.10 Data analysis and presentation. ...................................................................................................20 CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................21 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................21 4.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................21 4.1 Questionnaire Findings .................................................................................................................22 4.2 Analysis of findings......................................................................................................................23 4.2.1 Knowledge of artists and artisans about traditional African art ...................................................23 4.2.2 Characteristics of the artworks produced at Maasai market ........................................................23 4.2.3 Akuaba doll ...............................................................................................................................24 4.3 FETISH SCULPTURES ...............................................................................................................24 4.3.1 Nkisi Nkondi .............................................................................................................................24 4.4 AFRICAN MASKS ......................................................................................................................24 4.4.1 Nimba mask ..............................................................................................................................25 4.4.2 Chiwara mask ............................................................................................................................25