Cultural Experience at James E. Lewis Museum Art is known as one of the greatest assets that portrays different African cultures. African art includes pottery, sculptures, and masks. It serves different purposes such as entertainment, education, and communication with spirits. Wood, iron, clay, and textiles are used in sculpting pieces of African art, especially when creating masks. Art allowed African ancestors to preserve the value of the culture and maintain social order in communities. Each culture has its own artwork that presents a different meaning. A visit to the James E. Lewis Museum of Art in the Murphy Fine Arts Theater on the campus of Morgan State University teaches about the cultural, traditional, and spiritual significance of masks and the skill involved in their creation. Masks in African societies are important because they express spiritual purposes. African culture portrays the struggle of mankind to find harmonies through traditional ceremonies masks are worn to connect people to the gods. Magic, which is one of the components that completes the society in the Parrinder model, is shown in Yoruba culture where the Gelede masks are said to protect man from witches by supernatural means which involves magic, sculptures, and dance. The Gelede mask that is on display in the James E. Lewis Museum of Art has animal and human features, which represent the spirits of the ancestors. They are mostly worn by men and are used to invite their ancestral spirits to participate in ceremonies like initiation, birth, naming, weddings, and funerals. The spiritual connection conveyed by the wearing of the masks during the ceremonies is vital because it fulfils the society’s order. Masks have particular significance in the .
. .eveal their purposes. Some are used for religious purposes while others are used for entertainment. African art also reveals a great deal about cultural, traditional, and spiritual beliefs. African people mainly preserve their culture by passing the skills they have learned to the generations to come. Arts pieces are gathered and presented in museums in order to sustain their value. The ideas and meanings behind these works of art are cherished and passed on through oral and visual traditions to the next generations. Works Cited “History of Masks – Ancient Use of Masks.” History of Masks. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. “Unique Dogon Culture Survives in West Africa.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Yoruba Culture. Face mask. Wood, patina, dark brown. James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD. 04 April. 2014
