0:00:30 > 0:00:31I'm in Africa.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Africa is huge - 5,000 miles long
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and over 4,000 miles from east to west.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42That's three times bigger than the USA.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47In fact, there are 53 countries in the continent,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50with many different landscapes, from desert...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52to tropical forest...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55to savannah grassland.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57But it's not just the wildlife that's diverse.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03The 800 million people who live here come from 3,000 unique cultures.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08In Islamic countries like Sudan, the written word is of great importance
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and it's incorporated into drawings and paintings.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17And Ethiopia has some beautiful illuminated Christian manuscripts.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19But art isn't just drawing and painting.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24It can be pottery, sculpture, decorative leatherwork.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27The San Bushmen of Namibia even decorate ostrich eggs.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32And the Wudabi of Niger adorn their own bodies.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39One particular art form that many people associate with Africa is wood carving,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and you can find all forms of that right throughout Africa,
0:01:43 > 0:01:48from the fine wooden scultures made by the Makonde people of Tanzania
0:01:48 > 0:01:51to the marvellously carved wooden headdresses
0:01:51 > 0:01:52made by the Dogon of Mali.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Many of the pieces have a cultural meaning,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58so I've come to Ahwiaa... I hope I've pronounced that right!
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It's a village that is famous for its wood carving
0:02:01 > 0:02:06and I've come to find out a little bit about the significance of many of the carved pieces.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10One popular carving is the akuaba,
0:02:10 > 0:02:11or fertility doll.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16And another amazing sculpture is an interlocking chain of figures
0:02:16 > 0:02:18carved from a single piece of wood.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21It represents strength from unity.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26But not all carvers in Africa make traditional pieces,
0:02:26 > 0:02:31many contemporary artists produce work in their own individualistic style.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35This carving follows the natural shape of the wood,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39resulting in beautifully organic sculptures.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Wooden carvings from Africa completely shook the Western art world
0:02:45 > 0:02:47in the early part of the 20th century.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Artists like Picasso and Matisse,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53they saw carved wooden masks from Africa,
0:02:53 > 0:02:58wonderful statues, and it changed the way they looked at things.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03And, as a result, they completely altered their way of working.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The striking shapes of art from Africa
0:03:12 > 0:03:15gave European artists inspiration to rebel
0:03:15 > 0:03:18against the conventions of Naturalism.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Picasso loved the geometry of African sculpture,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24with its highly stylised representations
0:03:24 > 0:03:25of the body and the face.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31His painting Woman's Head is inspired by a Fang mask.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Sculptors like Epstein, Henry Moore, Giacometti
0:03:38 > 0:03:41were also very influenced by African carvings.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The white South African artist, Walter Battiss,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48borrowed extensively from rock art.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51He believed that European art languished in the doldrums
0:03:51 > 0:03:56until the West rediscovered so-called "Primitivism".
0:03:56 > 0:03:59But there's always been an interchange of ideas
0:03:59 > 0:04:01between Africa and the rest of the world.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Camel trains took Western ideas across the Sahara and vice versa.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10By the 20th century, artists in Africa were experimenting
0:04:10 > 0:04:12with all sorts of different techniques -
0:04:12 > 0:04:15sculpture, sketching, through to print-making,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17photography and painting.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26'They're big...
0:04:27 > 0:04:28'..they're bold...
0:04:29 > 0:04:30'..and sometimes...
0:04:30 > 0:04:33'terrifying.'
0:04:33 > 0:04:35But there's more to these African masks
0:04:35 > 0:04:37than the stereotypical image we get from movies.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41They have a spiritual tradition that dates back thousands of years,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45so today, I've come to take a look at the meaning behind the mask.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The Dogons are one tribe from Mali
0:04:48 > 0:04:52who still use these masks in their rituals to this day.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55At the heart of their society are the masquerade dancers.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59These masked dancers convey messages and lessons about birth and death.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01The patterns on them have different meanings.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05For instance, the zig-zags on them show the path of the ancestors,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09cos masks in Africa are mainly linked to the worship,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12or to the sacredness of the ancestors.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15And masks again, because they are linked to these ancestors,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17are elements of African knowledge.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21They come from the Bush, which is where the ancestors live,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and they bring this knowledge to you, the living community.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29These are masks linked to the initiation of boys
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and, in Africa, as you say in the property world,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34it's "location, location, location".
0:05:34 > 0:05:38In Africa, it is "initiation, initiation, initiation".
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It is at the centre of the whole understanding of African masks
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and masking tradition.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And the Chikunza mask here from Zambia, for instance,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51is the mask that comes to the village, steals the boys, they say,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54takes them to the forest, where they're initiated.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59So, the Chikunza will "swallow", in quotes, these children,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01these boys, and bring them out...
0:06:01 > 0:06:05- Swallows the boy and regurgitates as a man.- As a man.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11This is a mask from Nigeria, amongst the Ebu of Nigeria.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16These are very heavy masks, they weigh up to 200kgs.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19You couldn't really get that on your head, so how would you actually...
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- wear it?- It's actually danced by one person.- No!
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Yes, he goes in and dances the mask.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28When the mask is performing, it's not the dancer performing,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30it's the spirit performing.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35So, it forms a focal point of the communal performance
0:06:35 > 0:06:37and you can't play around with that,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39because these are sacred issues.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42There are sacred symbolisms,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45there are sacred histories, stories behind these masks.
0:06:50 > 0:06:57I'm gonna try my hand at some of the oldest art in recorded history.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Rock art.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Engravings and paintings on rock surfaces
0:07:02 > 0:07:05are probably the earliest kinds of art that humans have ever made,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10and there are many beautiful examples all across Africa,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12from the Sahara to South Africa.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And I feel very honoured to have been brought here
0:07:15 > 0:07:18to see the extent of this artwork, all this wonderful painting
0:07:18 > 0:07:21right the way along this huge rock face.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25This site in South Africa was painted by the San Bushmen.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I'm going to create my own piece of rock art,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30using the same things that they might have had to hand.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35And to give me some help, is artist and rock art conservationist,
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Steve Townley Bassett.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38- This bit here that looks like... - Yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42..the buttock muscles of some fella. That could be his leg there,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44so I'm going to start with that.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49- What sort of brush?- You could take that one, it's a medium thickness.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54That'll do. And I'll just put in that... Oh, it's nice.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- And you've mixed up all these colours?- Yes, I have.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02These are materials I've collected in the field over the years.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06One of the things that's intrigued me most about rock art
0:08:06 > 0:08:10in southern Africa, was the processes that the artists used,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13in other words, the paints, the pigments, the implements.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Where were these collected, how did they actually make the paint?
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- Yeah.- So that's really inspired me to make these things.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24- What's this one made of?- You're looking at springbok tail hairs,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28bound with beeswax and sinews.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And you bound all these colours with what?
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- The binder that we're using is egg. - Oh.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Yeah, and I believe that they would've used that.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Either ostrich egg or eggs from birds nesting in the area,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and certainly egg is a wonderful binder.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- That would preserve it on the rock? - Yes, it binds the particles together
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and also binds the particles to the rock.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53What I'm trying to recreate is one of the images I've seen on the rock
0:08:53 > 0:08:55of the shaman.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Meaning "power" and "full of",
0:08:59 > 0:09:00that's the shaman.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It was these shamans who created the rock art.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08They didn't just paint things they saw in everyday life,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12they also painted their religious beliefs and practices.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14The shaman believed strongly in the spiritual world
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and would dance himself into a trance to enter that world.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And, as he gained power from animal spirits,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23the shaman was sometimes transformed into forms
0:09:23 > 0:09:25that were half-man, half-beast.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30You can see I've put an antelope head on top of this character,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34so that it's indicating that he's already turning into the animal
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and getting the animal's power.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- In other words, half-animal, half-human.- That's it, yeah.- OK.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44It's just amazing to feel that I'm using
0:09:44 > 0:09:48the same sorts of pigment and the same sorts of brushes
0:09:48 > 0:09:53that have been used in these sites for thousands of years.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It's nice to be working on this surface because, at first glance,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00you think it's going to be like blotting paper,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02soaking up everything and spreading the moisture out,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- but it doesn't. The stuff you put on stays where you put it.- Mm-hmm.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12And a little bit of the liquid leeches out into the dusty surface,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16but you can see the way these have stayed exactly where I put them.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18The little shapes and everything
0:10:18 > 0:10:21has just stayed perfectly... Wonderful.
0:10:21 > 0:10:27It's great to think that all these colours are ground up from stuff
0:10:27 > 0:10:28- you find on the site.- Correct.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33I'm also painting a large antelope called an eland.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It was one of the most important animals to the San Bushmen
0:10:36 > 0:10:38and appears time and time again
0:10:38 > 0:10:40at many different sites.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Look at these dots on the rock behind me here.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46There are legs coming out of that dot there,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49almost looks like a beak or a head on the top,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- and if you follow that along there...- Oh, there's another one.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54And as we get closer to this eland here,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- it looks like they're actually people now.- Oh, OK.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00There's a transformation happening here on the rock face.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02You have a lot of speculation
0:11:02 > 0:11:05about what dots in a rock art painting mean.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09It's thought that it's closely linked with the spirit world
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and trance and with imagery that is seen in the early stages of trance.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17I think what you've done here
0:11:17 > 0:11:20is you've created a wonderful energy between this woman here
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- and that shaman on the rock face. - Lovely.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24It looks good and it's powerful.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28It's great to be painting in this amazing setting
0:11:28 > 0:11:32and just imagining that you're one of the San people, the Bushmen.
0:11:32 > 0:11:38Say there's a group of us and we've all come here to this sacred site
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and putting down our images on the rock,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42working our magic.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44- Just wonderful, isn't it?- Powerful.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45Yeah.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Brown.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15One of the first European artists to be inspired by African art
0:12:15 > 0:12:18was Pablo Picasso. He didn't like to admit it though,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21because he preferred people to think he'd thought of the style on his own.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26He was very drawn to the simple lines and geometric shapes
0:12:26 > 0:12:27that African masks have.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31The characters in his paintings soon began to have oddly shaped faces,
0:12:31 > 0:12:32just like them.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36This is how Picasso's Cubist style was born.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The African influence is clear in this famous example of Cubism,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42The Ladies of Avignon.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Picasso was introduced to African art by his friend and fellow artist,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Henri Matisse. There was an exhibition in Paris in 1900,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51where African work was first shown.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Visitors were amazed and a bit frightened
0:12:53 > 0:12:55by this mysterious new culture,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58but Matisse loved it and soon started collecting African pieces.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Matisse was less interested in the geometric shapes that Picasso liked.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05He preferred the bold colour and decorative elements,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09influences which he combined in this masterpiece - The Green Stripe.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Africa still influences artists today.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17British artist Chris Ofili even used lumps of African elephant dung
0:13:17 > 0:13:18on his canvasses.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Originally, Chris brought back elephant dung from Africa,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24but later on he got it from London Zoo
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and dried it in an airing cupboard at home.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31As you can see in this piece, the dung is a way of, quite literally,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33incorporating Africa into his work.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39It must've worked. In 1998, Chris Ofili won the famous Turner Prize.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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