User:Michael S Baird/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Evaluating Content--very long section on iconographical elements and physical description placed in the introduction, structure is not conducive to highlighting important segments of the article, topic is a specific statue but the entire text of the body focuses on general information about the god depicted, subheadings could be combined and perhaps pertinent information placed in the introduction from the body, information is from older sources, potential for more recent developments in term of scholarship

Evaluating Tone--article appears to be neutrally written, focuses on general information about the depicted god, provides little to no interpretative information or analysis

Evaluating Sources--uses no in text citations or references, one non-academic source utilized (online website that sells Buddha statues), other sources appear to be academic in nature but from 1955, 1964, and 1993

Talk Page--non-existent, article has a couple warnings at top, editing history demonstrates minor fixes of grammatical issues and the tagging of the article with flags

The relative lack of centralization that characterized Igbo forms of governance has resulted in greater difficulties in terms of the scholarly study of artistic productions. Lacking the expansive and hierarchical as well as widespread mythology of, for example, the Yoruba, Igbo art is more localized. As such, general studies of Igbo art do not exist. An added difficulty in studying Igbo art is that there is no clear consensus on who counts as being a member of the Igbo culture. There is often a tension between self-identification and external classification which means that the identity is fluid and continually re-negotiated. Understanding the developments of Igbo art production is often hindered by the assumption that forms of "traditional" art remain unchanging.

With processes of colonization and imperialism, the vocabulary of fine art and art history came to interact with established traditions. Therefore, the term can also refer to contemporary works of art produced in response to global demands and interactions.

Masks have been used for a variety of purposes within Igbo culture in both historic and modern times. For specific segments of the Igbo population, some mask pairs have been traditionally interpreted as representing the duality of beauty and ugliness. The former being depicted as the maiden spirit and the latter as the elephant spirit. Anthropologist Simon Ottenberg also ties masquerade performances to a duality, but he sees their function as primarily relating to gender difference and the initiation ritual during which Igbo boys become men. Young women are excluded from performing and are, therefore, passive witnesses. The rituals associated with mask-wearing establish and maintain gender difference. Additionally, the experience of ritual mask-wearing is related to the alleviation of sexual and social anxieties that result from the boy moving from his childhood home and away from his mother.

Within some portions of northern Nigeria, Igbo communities continue to utilize masquerade events in order to maintain connections with the deceased. Masks become physical embodiments of those no longer living which facilitates the flow of blessings and knowledge between generations. Knowledge of the secret aspects of the ritual are limited to initiated men who then have access to the supernatural tools necessary to contend with pressing socio-cultural concerns. Overall, however, the ceremonies serve as the site for important processes of communal healing, continuity, and connection. Joy is intermixed with grief as the living are able to again interact with those that have been lost.

The use of masks within Igbo culture has been usually portrayed as an uninterrupted tradition or as a tradition impossibly altered by cross-cultural interactions. More recent scholarship, however, perceives contemporary Igbo masquerade performance to be the product of selectively-adapted external influences that perpetuate the traditional aims of the activity. As such, they should not be considered new and unique art forms but rather the result of the adaptation of imported elements. Pre-colonial conceptions of aesthetic experience and artistic goals were re-worked and understood through new paradigms introduced by cross-cultural movements.

For contemporary viewers of masks within the context of museums, the inability to see such sculptures in motion as part of performances makes understanding difficult. The effect intended by the artist in terms of experience is limited to the one static perspective that display permits. The exhibiting of masks emphasizes the object itself which is not always the most important aspect of the multimedia and multisensory ritual performance. Without the full costume and the atmosphere of music, spoken or sung word, and physical movements, the full meaning of masks is lost. The same physical object, when placed in different performance contexts, can symbolize different things which makes interpretations difficult after collection.

Pottery
In addition to the famous bronzes, clay vessels were discovered at the Igbo Ukwu archeological site that bear striking resemblance in terms of design to those produced during the twentieth century. The most common type in this long legacy of production is the narrow-mouth bottle design. This kind of container usually has two lug handles, one on either side, which may indicate that the objects were suspended using rope. Another possibility is that the handles could be used as the anchoring points for ropes that held a stopper in place. Often decorated with various colors and motifs, contemporary vessels are used for both practical utilitarian purposes such as carrying water or storing foods and ceremonial purposes.

Popular Western perceptions of art as works removed from daily life have resulted in a misunderstanding of the abstract meanings applied to potted vessels in the Igbo tradition. Clay objects often have physical uses but also spiritual and aesthetic uses. Decoration is often seen as superficial but has complex associations. Unfortunately, the removal of the objects from their original context inhibits the degree to which meaning can be reconstructed. The practical and artistic qualities of the works are complimentary but display strips clay vessels of their everyday uses. It has been argued the process of shaping the natural material of clay is a starting point for aesthetic and metaphysical value within the Igbo culture.

Ethnographic studies have demonstrated that the production of traditional Igbo pottery has declined as a result of the spread of Western technologies. The heightened cross-cultural connections in the period immediately following de-colonization led to a period of peak production. Eventually, however, the more widespread acceptance of modern influence coinciding with intense economic development resulted in the extinction of Igbo pottery in some areas. The traditional importance of the vessels in some locales has been cited as a driving force for continued production despite the influx of mass-produced containers.

In Mbari houses, there is a close relationship between where material objects are placed within the domestic environment and their symbolic significance. Domains within the house reflect societal dynamics outside on the house. The house delineates the private space from the public space, and within the house itself, male and female spaces exist through the work performed. Accordingly, the objects within the gendered sections gain meaning through the associations with the work and activities that occur there. Mbari houses are seen as taking on a larger societal significance beyond just being shelters. They become reflections of the cosmos and a cycle of rebirth.

The carved wooden doors establish the boundary between the inner space of the structure and the area outside. The visibility of the works and their location on the boundary permit them to serve as both a warning and an invitation to the viewer. As markers of status within the Ozo society, the carvings act as visual representations of the status and privileges of the household. In consideration of the house as a reflection of the human body or entire cosmos, the door have been equated to the human skin which provides structure and order. = Possible Sources = Ottenberg, Simon. "Igbo and Yoruba Art Contrasted." African Arts 16, no. 2 (1983): 48-98. doi:10.2307/3335850.

Ottenberg, Simon. "Psychological Aspects of Igbo Art." African Arts 21, no. 2 (1988): 72-94. doi:10.2307/3336531.

Cole, Herbert M. "Igbo Arts and Ethnicity: Problems and Issues." African Arts 21, no. 2 (1988): 26-93. doi:10.2307/3336525.

Arnoldi, Mary Jo, Christraud M. Geary, and Kris L. Hardin. 1996. African Material Culture. African Systems of Thought. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=608&site=ehost-live.