The Hunter's Tunic as an Artwork
The Hunter's Tunic is an artwork, which involves the face of a human being composed in the 20th century from Lofa. The mask is made up of leather, cotton, metal alloy, cotton string, animal teeth, hide, encrustation, and horns. The picture contains some enclosed human eyes and open mouth, with some missing teeth. The eyes are collared in a brighter color above and lower part darker color. The picture also contains some religious style on the head, therefore raising different views related to ancient African religious beliefs. This essay seeks to explore the art history through the Hunter's Tunic as the artwork of discussion.\u00a0 The piece discusses the significant issues surrounding African mask as per the opinions of different scholars. Although African mask is merely an artwork y that is intended to demonstrate African history through carving and painting activities, it has raised different views from scholars.
Creative Thinking and Religious Beliefs
The Hunter's Tunic demonstrates how creators apply their creative thinking to show their religious beliefs. Based on the African mask, it is clear that Africans believe in death after living. According to the argument put forth by Bacquet, the dead are among the living, and they tend to possess some superhuman power[1]. The author argues about the existence of the deceased in the form of a ghost; hence, the nature of the African mask and its magical appearance.
Significance of Color in African Masks
African masks, as clearly demonstrated by the Hunter\u2019s Tunic, are painted differently based on the theme and message intended to be communicated to the audience. Tonkin identifies that once a mask is stained or dyed using different colors, it creates significant visual impact[2]. Besides, he argues that color plays a significant role in a mask, as it shows its real function. The brighter and darker colors used on the eyes of the Hunter's Tunic have a specific purpose probably demonstrating the spiritual connection between the living Africans and the dead. The appearance of the Hunter\u2019s Tunic is associated with some emotional expression of death existing among the living; hence the brighter and darker colors, which show that by the end of life, there is death. Stepan emphasizes that African masks play different social functions such as the expression of funeral and wedding ceremony, witchcraft ceremony, rain prayer ceremony, adult ceremony, sowing harvest ceremony and other religious activities[3]. Also, the shape of the mask demonstrates different social functions based on African history.
The Significance of Materials in the Hunter's Tunic
The materials used to create the Hunter's Tunic affect the work, as they enhance its preservation. The long-term existence of the particular image facilitates the value of art history. The materials of the carvings might also be used to retain the African religious culture, which would be preserved for an extended period using the mask. According to Gillon, African mask is significant not only among the Africans but to other tribes across the world, as they transfer knowledge to all concerning the ancient culture and customs[4]. The Hunter's Tunic specifically shows its true charm through the features like having a fantastic shape with some rough feeling and the religious style on the head, which demonstrates the sincere religious beliefs of Africans concerning how the dead have some superhuman power. Also, the image of Hunter's Tunic clearly shows the manner through which black life tends to be exaggerated after death whereby the eyes remaining closed with the mouth open although some teeth have disappeared means that the dead might not see everything, they have some ability to consume the living by attracting them to the dead world. Indeed, the mask demonstrates how the dead exist among the living Africans.
Connection between African Masks and Religious beliefs
African masks have connections to the intended message or theme. For instance, the Hunter\u2019s Tunic shows a ghost-like image of a dead man. The mythological content in the picture is like a monster or beast, as widely argued by Layiwola[5]. It tries to show how African religious beliefs and closely linked to their cultural practices, values, and norms concerning living and dead. African religious beliefs concerning living are that afterlife; one will die and develop some superhuman powers. This is openly shown by the horns on the head of the African mask, which contains mostly the features of a human face. It shows that once a person dies, they tend to be like animals and harshly exist among the living. Indeed, it symbolizes a strong connection between the living and the dead among Africans.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hunter's Tunic is an African work contains a mask of a human being's face. The face comprises eyes, which are brightly painted on the top and colored dark on the lower part showing that after living, there is death. Also, the mask contains something which resembles the religious style on the top of the head showing the religious beliefs of Africans regarding the dead. The appearance of the Hunter's Tunic and the materials used to make it shows its significance, therefore the need for long preservation, as it makes many people learn about art history across the world.
Bibliography
Bacquet, Jean., B. The Tribal Art of Africa. London: Thames " Hudson, 2002.
Gillon, Werner. Collecting African Art. London: Studio Vista, 1979.
Layiwola, Dele. "Gelede Metaphysics and Gender in an African Ritual Play." Ijele: Art eJournal of the African World 1, no. 1 (2000).
Stepan, Peter. Spirits speak: A celebration of African masks. Prestel Pub, 2005.
Tonkin, Elizabeth. Masking and Masquerading, with examples from West Africa. No. 36. University of Birmingham, Faculty of Commerce and Social Science, 1979.
[1]
Bacquet, Jean., B. The Tribal Art of Africa. London: Thames " Hudson, 2002
[2]
Tonkin, Elizabeth. Masking and Masquerading, with examples from West Africa. No. 36. The University of Birmingham, Faculty of Commerce and Social Science, 1979
[3]
Stepan, Peter. Spirits speak A celebration of African masks. Prestel Pub, 2005
[4]
Gillon, Werner. Collecting African Art. London: Studio Vista, 1979
[5]
Layiwola, Dele. "Gelede Metaphysics and Gender in an African Ritual Play." Ijele: Art eJournal of the African World 1, no. 1 (2000)
