Global arts of Africa
- Course Code: VB931
- Dates: 15/10/24 - 03/12/24
- Time: 18:00 - 20:00
- Taught: Tue, Evening
- Duration: 8 sessions (over 8 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Thomas Balfe
Course Code: VB931
Duration: 8 sessions (over 8 weeks)
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What is the course about?
The first part of the course will focus on classical traditions of sculpture (such as those associated with the Nok, Djenné and Benin civilizations) and architecture (including the rock cut churches of Lalibela and the Great Zimbabwe complex). In addition, we examine the impact of European trade and exploration on African art making. The second half of the course looks at how African artistic traditions, broadly defined, have been developed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
As well as discussing particular artists, such as Wifredo Lam, Elizabeth Catlett and Malick Sidibé, this part of the course will raise broader issues relating to cultural heritage, artistic responses to the experience of diaspora, and the role of museums and exhibitions in shaping ideas of African art. This course contains content that some learners may find sensitive or challenging.
What will we cover?
• We will examine the stylistic traits and social functions of several major traditions of classical African sculpture, architecture and textile arts.
• We will look at how African art traditions have been developed by artists working in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
• We will discuss some of the broader debates surrounding the display, ownership and definition of African art traditions.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Discuss some of the stylistic traits and functions of classical African art, giving 2 examples.
• List 3 important twentieth-century artists associated with African art traditions.
• Analyse the ideas of 2 authors who have discussed the broader political debates surrounding African art.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information, and will be invited to take part in group discussion.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught with lecture, slide presentations, and group discussions of short readings and resources. In addition to time in the City Lit classroom, this course uses a Google Classroom to share course documents. You will be sent an invitation to join the Google Classroom within a week of the start of this course.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You might wish to bring a notebook. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list given out in class.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Visionary Experiments: American art of the 1940s and 50s
Ways into Islamic Art
Ancient Rome: Art and Architecture.
Thomas Balfe is an art historian specialising in early modern (c.1550–c.1750) northern European easel painting and the graphic arts. His current research interests are in seventeenth-century animal, hunting, fable, and food still-life imagery, and in European visual responses to the Arctic and the Americas. His co-edited book about the written claims to lifelikeness in early modern art writing was published in 2019.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.