Essay Example on Exploring Visual Aesthetics of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Fang Mask

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is a picture by the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, with the theme of visual aesthetic. It is currently in The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Fang Mask, whose artist is unknown, is dated the 19th century-20th century and is located at The Louvre Museum, Pavillon des Sessions, Paris France. In Ghana, they were common among the Fang tribe and were used by the spiritual leaders to cast away evil spirits and show wealth and prosperity. Both paintings present an apt representation of human society and culture, given their depiction of the place of women in African communities. It also shows the danger associated with sex, the trauma of the gaze, and violence within sexual relationships among the African culture (Gikandi, 2003). Both carry the message of the tribulations of women in the ancient African society.

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An apathetic and uninformed audience would find the visual aesthetics in the painting very captivating, and informative. The beauty expressed in the form of visible figures, the sculptures, paintings, and choice of color will attract the apathetic audience's attention, as they will easily relate to what is in the picture. The audience would be interested to learn how the 'Sculpture Fang Mask' was used to depict wealth and prosperity. Also, it served as a symbol for casting away evil spirits among that culture, and how it helped to hide the true identity of the killers in the society (Gore, 2008).

In Fang Mask, the masks were used by the extra-judicial killers to hide their true identities. In Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the technique used is the painting (the masks) to conceal the real feminine beauty. Similar to when I had to wrap/mask parts of my body because it was deemed unfit for ballerina dancer. Women are traveling far and wide, even spending a lot to have body procedures to fit into how the world wants them to look. In the same way, people have had to adopt different lifestyles to 'belong' in such societies; in the process, their true identity is lost (Pires, 2019).

Studying humanities offers the student the opportunity to understand various societies and their respective cultures. Through the study, it is easy to understand oneself and appreciate the physical and emotional aspects of life. One can look at other cultures objectively, without such prejudices that come with limited or lack of knowledge on the same. It also allows the appreciation of other people's way of life. As a professional, one can disseminate the knowledge to others to ensure continuity among generations. It also allows professionals to research on cultural issues.

Conclusion

Humanities as a discipline are crucial to any society as it is an avenue through which people learn both their culture and foreign cultures. Given that art helps convey the message about the social activities of a given society within its definitive moments. Such actions are guided by the ideas and thought processes which offer the reflection of the cultural beliefs and values of human beings concerning time. Racial discrimination issues due to systemic racism and ethnicity could be dealt with if people understood each other's culture, like patients preferring to be treated by those of their race and color. Such knowledge can be a sure way of entrenching equality and understanding among cultures of the world.

References

Cohen, J. (2015). Staring Back: Anthropometric-style African Colonial Photography and Picasso’s Demoiselles. Photography & Culture, 8(1), 59–80. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.2752/175145215X14244337011162

Gikandi, S. (2003). Picasso, Africa, and the schemata of difference. Modernism/Modernity, 3, 455.

Gore, C. (2008). Masks and Modernities. African Arts, 41(4), 1. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1162/afar.2008.41.4.1

Museum of African Art. 1972. African Art in Washington Collections: A Loan Exhibition at the Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: Museum of African Art, p. 38, no. 302.

Pires, A. H. N. (2019). Female presence in the Middle Eastern and North African art market (Doctoral dissertation). https://search.proquest.com/openview/b9d090364839ab16d2c10f41af6397c6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y