AFRICAN INFLUENCES ON ART AND MUSIC

Cleveland Young Warren Easton Charter High School

Cleveland Young Ms.Verdun AP Literature February 23, 2014

African Influences on Global Art

As you look at numerous artistic works in books, the internet, museums, etc you may see a South American face sculpture with Black African features. You may see it having wide nostrils, large lips, or coarse hair. Wait many people today aren't aware of is that there is historical evidence leading certain historians to believe that there were black people in the Americas before slavery began. In fact, there is proof showing that they've had a presence in Asia, Europe, and even Australia. The proof can be shown in the designs of ancient and some modern art.

During the 1900s, the aesthetics of African culture became a powerful influence on European artists in modern art. While in the School of Paris, Picasso, Matisse, and friends blended the highly stylized treatment of the human figure in African culture with painting styles from the post impressionist works of Cezanne and Gaugin. They recognize the spiritual aspect of the

composition and adapted them into their own form to give a new meaning to Western Art since the Renaissance, helping establish early modernism. (African influences in Modern Art Thematic Essay-Heilbrunn Timeline of History, The Natural Museum of History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

These artists were among the first Europeans to collect African sculptures for display. Thousands of sculptures arrived in Europe starting around the 1870s after colonial conquests and expeditions. They were put in museums such as the Musee d Ethographie du Trocadero in Paris, and in other cities such as Berlin, London, and Munich. During this time these objects were viewed as artifacts and were of little to European citizens. They were also of little economic value as well. In fact, they were viewed as simple and primitive to these people.(African influences in Modern Art Thematic Essay-Heilbrunn Timeline of History, The Natural Museum of History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

In spite of the little appreciation by most Europeans, the artists were drawn to the sculptures for its sophisticated approach to the human figure. A sculpted head from the Fang reliquary ensemble would be a good example. The Fang work is included in the collection of London based sculptor Jacob Einstein. This sculpture represents the integration of form with function that started centuries old tradition of abstractions in African Art before the European colonial period. This piece of artwork can be considered as an embodiment of the ancestors spirit.(African influences in Modern Art Thematic Essay-Heilbrunn

Timeline of History, The Natural Museum of History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

Africans have had a large impact on Latin American culture, especially in art and music. In fact, its said that there were African immigrants in South America before North America and that the largest population of Black Africans of out of Africa is in Brazil. These immigrants brought along their customs which would help shape Latin American music, art, dance, literature, and dialect. Due to the Europeans being the minority of that time, the large African populations, and laziness of plantation owners, blacks were able to establish their own societies. Even the European languages are spoken in a sort of African accent. (Unit Three: Studying Africa through the Humanities." Exploring Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.) In spite of being here during European colonization, some historians argue that Africans have had a presence in Europe thousand of years ago during the ancient Mesoamerican empires. There has been debate on the argument of Mesoamerican temples being designed by the same people who created the pyramids in Egypt. Giant head sculptures in Mesoamerica were said to have been made by Africans due to their facial features being a lot similar to those of black Africans.

Africans have had a large impact on Latin American music. A black priest founded the first real music school in Brazil. The music there is thoroughly filled with African themes, and well-known composers such as Heiter Villa-Lobos have

enormous inspiration in the black musical heritage. Caribbean music styles just as mambo from Cuba, Reggie from Jamaica, salsa from Puerto Rico, and calypso from Trinidad has become widely known. They commonly retain a call and response type singing and polyrhythm features shared by all genres of African descent. Even the instruments being used are directly descended or of adaptations of African drums, concussion sticks, rattles, marimbas, etc.

Many modern Latin American dances are of African adaptations, which include samba, rumba, mambo, merengue, cha cha cha, and bachata. However some dances are a mixture with European or American dancing like mambo which started in the 1940s and was combined with American swing music and Cuban son music. Samba is another dance, which involves steps and rhythms but is older than mambo. Most of these popular dances were developed in social circles in an organized fashion with instrument players providing the beat. It was very fortunate that these dance moves and rhythms survived the slave trade to the New World.("Blacks in Latin America, a Brief History." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

Africans have had a significant influence on North American art and culture since the days of early settlement of that continent. The language, literature, religion, fashion, music, food, and dances all have some sort of African connection. Much of the customs performed on the United States have some sort of African connection. Urban culture in particular possesses many African features that tend to go unnoticed by many of the people living in these cities.

African influence on American music being during slavery with Black spirituals. This genre is one of the best known and earliest forms of American music. These religious songs were emotional and had a strong rhythm. These were often sung in a group and are sometimes led by an individual who has a short solo and is preceded by the chorus. These spiritual started in Southern states of the U.S and were later introduced to the other parts after slavery. Spirituals now are known as Gospel music for its dedication to God almighty.

After the emancipation proclamation freed the slaves, African Americans began to give birth to the many popular music genres we celebrate today. Jazz is a type of music that has often been called the only art form to originate in the United States. It has been said to begin in the late 1800s and to have grown from a combination of African rhythms, American traditions and instruments, and Europeans harmonies and forms. This type of jazz which is not to be confused with New Orleans jazz was widely appreciated and important to Europeans before it gained recognition in America. Jazz is a genre of improvising, or the ability to create new music spontaneously. The earliest jazz was performed black Africans who had little knowledge or training in Western music. (Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music." Heart and Soul: A Celebration of

African American Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

New Orleans jazz or dixieland jazz, which began in the early 1900s emerged from its city's own musical traditions of band music for black funeral secondlines and street parades. New Orleans was the musical home of the first notable players and composers of jazz, including cornetists Buddy Bolden and King Oliver, cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong, saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet, and pianist Jelly Roll Morton. King Oliver migrated to Chicago, and Jelly Roll Morton performed throughout the United States. The 1920s has been called the golden age for jazz. During this time, radio stations featured the increasing number of jazz musicians, helping the spread of this music. Soon it scattered to major cities such as New York, Detroit, Memphis, Kansas, St. Louis, and Atlanta. Blues is another type of music that developed from African musical expressions of black people. This genre was extremely flexible and created individual styles of performing them. In fact, the blues contributed greatly to the development of jazz. It was said to develop after the civil war from short solos and wails called field hollers that were used as communication among black plantation workers. Famous blues artists would include Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Jack Teagarden, who all have different variations in their music. Some classical music and numerous folk, rock, and country compositions also show the influence of the blues. ("Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music." Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

As the 20th century progressed, several new genres began to form in America. Soul is a sort of rock genre that began in the 1960s and had an emotional style like the blues. Hip Hop or rap music later formed in the 1980s is the most popular new music to emerge. Rap music first developed in the 1970s in New York Citys urban areas. The inspiration for this music came from Jamaican DJs who would talk over music that they would play in night clubs. The first rap hit was "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by the Sugar Hill Gang. "The Breaks" (1980) by Kurtis Blow helped to spread rap's popularity among a nationwide audience. Older rap songs focused more on the struggles of black Americans living in urban ghettos. Currently many artists rap about the lifestyle of riches and luxury. As of 2014, rap is still one of the most popular genres among the younger generation. ("Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music." Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.)

Work Cited (African influences in Modern Art Thematic Essay-Heilbrunn Timeline of History, The Natural Museum of History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.) (Unit Three: Studying Africa through the Humanities." Exploring Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.) ("Blacks in Latin America, a Brief History." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.) ("Blacks in Latin America, a Brief History." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.) "Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music." Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.