1. African Masks Due Date: May 27, 2016
Medium: Papier Mâché
Elements: Form, Texture, and Color
Principles: Balance and Unity
Standard: 2.1 Develop skill in the use of papier mâché.

2. The History of the Masks
Traced back to well past Paleolithic times.
There are over 100 different types of ethnic masks from different tribes in Africa.
African masks should be seen as part of a ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social events to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community.

3. Influences
Artists like Pablo Picasso and Andre Derain were inspired by the bold abstract designs that they discovered in African tribal masks.
In the Cubist period, founded mainly by Pablo Picasso, you can find many themes adapted from African art.
African masks, especially those from the Congo, resemble distorted human faces. Masks like these influenced one of the earliest Cubist paintings, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, painted by Picasso in 1907.

5. Styles
African tribal artists do not try to create a perfect representation of their subject.
African masks take on many forms. They can be oval, circular, rectangular, elongated, animal or human, or any combination of these.
Symmetrical arrangements of line, shape and form in masks evoke integrity and dignity.

9. Project This class will be transformed into an African Art museum.
Each of you have been hired as a curator to help design the African Mask section.

10. Project Continued You will need to: 1. Choose an African Mask
2. Research the Tribe in which the mask is from.
3. Recreate the Mask using papier maché.
4. Write a Museum Piece that describes your mask and tribe.