Art

Thereby, this continent has so much more to offer. For Africa is a continent with numerous cultures.

Geographically, there is initially a division into two worlds

The Sahara, the world's largest dry desert, divides the continent into North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the term Sub-Saharan Africa is no longer used today because the designation is considered racist by today's standards.
Instead, the term Sub-Saharan Africa is now commonly used for the southern part of the Saharan population. The term Sub-Saharan Africa was coined because this is where the majority of the dark-skinned population lives.
The people in North Africa belong to the rather light-skinned race.

Culturally, too, Africa cannot be pigeonholed. While Islam predominates in the North African part, Sub-Saharan Africa must rather be assigned to the ethnic African religions. It is not possible to use a uniform term such as Islam, Hinduism or Christianity for this form of religion.

Today there are about 3000 different ethnic groups living according to such different views that the resulting religious beliefs cannot be compared or uniformly named.
While North Africa produces more Arab-Oriental artistic influences, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to art forms that are generally referred to as African art.

North Africa

Countries such as Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt are familiar to every vacationer. The artistic diversity of these Islamically influenced countries has gained worldwide recognition among a broad section of the population.

Art in Africa

The Egyptian pyramids with their myths about the pharaohs and their mummies have inspired writers, film directors and photographers to outstanding achievements. Morocco's oriental splendor of colours already inspired painters such as Eugène Delacroix, Matisse or Miro at the beginning of the 19th century to works of art that can still be found today in museums such as the Louvre in Paris.

The Arab world of North Africa is reflected in buildings with oriental flair, such as mosques, finely and delicately woven fabrics, and lavish yet playful jewellery.

Musically, too, the Arab-Islamic influence is strongly noticeable. The music achieves its expressive effect mainly through melodic and rhythmic structures and, in contrast to Sub-Saharan African music, is easier to digest for Western ears.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa includes countries such as South Africa, Ghana and Togo. This part of the African continent reflects what is generally considered African worldwide. Dark-skinned people who, even today, sometimes live in a way that is unjustly labelled as primitive because the Western world has different values.

Many behavioural patterns of the Sub-Saharan African population represent a direct link between religious views and way of life. Rituals are often based on religious reverence, which is also expressed through offerings.

To outsiders, these behaviours can sometimes appear violent and off-putting.
The typical African art also strikes many viewers as simple, rough and crude. Yet the aesthetic aspects represented by so-called Black African art can certainly hold their own with other art forms, such as those of the Maya or Inca.

The plastic art from Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly well known. Wooden masks and figures or ivory carvings are popular souvenirs. It should be noted, however, that more old, historical art objects have been preserved in the North African part of the continent because more durable materials were used than in the Sub-Saharan African continent. The most popular material, wood, hardly survived the subtropical climate and was exposed to pests such as termites.

African art is closely linked to religion, myths and rituals. The world of ancestors and gods is to live on in art. The main theme of figurative sculptures is the human form; animals are usually only hinted at or used ornamentally.
Fetish figures with prominent sexual characteristics seem to have a particular appeal to visitors to Africa.

But the art of Sub-Saharan Africa is not limited to the present or to the few historical sculptures, but also includes special paintings that receive less attention in the world's population.
In southern Africa, significant works of graphic art can still be found today. In the area of today's Sahara, rock engravings of large animals such as giraffes or elephants point to savannah-like conditions that prevailed here thousands of years ago.

Conclusion

To do justice to the cultural and artistic diversity of Africa, a report of this magnitude is not sufficient. It can only arouse curiosity about the thousand-cultures continent and bring the reader closer to the fact that this continent has so much more to offer than black and white.