African Masks

AFRICAN MASKSUsing anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss binary program immunity model , nonpareil and only(a) fe virile genital organ view the Yoruba gelede clothe of a blacksmith s shop as a intends of valuing gentleman creativity all over that of nature . Their kitchen-gardening , which accustoms symbols in a rich , mixed manner , takes itself to this comprise of analytic thinking because it posits different cultural entities against one a nonher in to better define and lend importance to the ones it valuesAs Levi-Strauss defined it , binary opposition occurs when people regulate dichotomies , placing two related fancys in direct contrast to one another , with one concept being privileged and kick upstairs over the other Examples complicate gardening versus nature and the watt versus non-Western societies . Scholar Mary Klages states that all elaboration has these contradictions , because every culture organizes knowledge into binary polar pairs of things , and that these contradictions have to be harmonize logically (Klages . This logic involves a hierarchy of values and requires the beholder to determine what objects or rituals mean , and posits these meanings against others to give one a kind of spiritual , friendly , or cultural primacy over the other . Binary opposition thus involves playing arrive at concepts against one another in a strategic mannerThe dissemble shows a tender read/write toss with a placid , expressionless face its gender is not right away apparent , though may surmise that the wearer is male , since thither is no ornate hairstyle (which Yoruba women often had and metalwork was male-dominated . The tranquil carriage is important because all Gelede masks consist of a violet gay face , referred as the face of equanimity (Rand African stratag em , which subordinates the person to the re! presentation higher up . Atop the notch is a colorful close-fitting headdress topped by a flat platform supporting a elucidation blacksmith s shop , a sort of pavilion supported by four posts and a grass roof . Three figures bandstand inside the structure , each laboring at synonymic tasksAt first glance , the mask seems to represent little very much than the act of metalworking , though in Levi-Strauss binary compend , it asserts the primacy of people in the creative act and places culture ( peculiar(prenominal)ally humans creativity ) in direct opposition to nature , undischarged the former primacy over the latter . Art historian Helene Roberts claims that metalworking is a highly charged metaphor for the concepts of birth and propagation , for blacksmiths are considered to be masters of transformation and metamorphosis (Rand African Art indeed blacksmiths take a raw , shapeless ingrained substance and transform it into something useful and meaning(prenom inal) , such(prenominal) as tools , weapons , or works of artIndeed , the entire portion above the head celebrates human creativity which takes raw materials and cooks them into something more meaningful and valued , to use Levi-Strauss opposition of culture modifying nature (Klages . The intimately visually operative object is the workshop itself , a crushed manmade structure that uses natural materials to create a well-defined pose used for the specific purpose of reworking raw matter into something meaningful indoors Yoruba culture The space is as important as the activity within , since it marks the territory of the...If you want to perk up a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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