Nature Of Stone Sculpture

By:


Stone produces lasting quality artwork and has been used by the Shona people for hundreds of years. Some discoveries date back to 1200 AD. Stone is an extremely demanding material to work with, and harder stones produce exceptional work.

Although the Stone Sculptures are fundamentally influenced by the artists cultural and spiritual beliefs, the sculptures themselves are not specifically used for either ritualistic or ceremonial purposes. The stone sculpture has no functional purpose and is purely decorative. The sculptures have a commanding visual presence, even when they are of a relatively small size.


Simply put, the stone carvings can be broadly categorised into three types: Abstract, Animals and People.

Abstracts

The Abstracts are contemporary interpretations of objects, animals or people that form part of the artist everyday life, including strong spiritual influences.
These abstract styles represent the real cultural expressions of the Shona as a people, at the same time as the importance of love, children and family is also a strong influencing theme.
In Shona culture, life closely revolves around deep family relationships. Everyone shares with one another and peace is found through the love of all.

Ukama Togetherness - offers a symbolic reminder that the simple love of a parent for a child, or neighbour to neighbour, can be a powerful adhesive that holds entire cultures together.

Whatever the nature of the abstract carving, all are highly emotive and make an immediate visual impact.

People - Real life

This category is more modern and represents a different approach from the abstract tradition. These real life carvings capture people and their features and expressions with amazing detail and accuracy
.
Animals Real Life

Animals are popular inspirations for carving. Southern Africa has a wide diversity of wildlife and presenting an obvious choice for all artists.
Only the truly exceptional artist has the ability to capture these creatures in all their glory and in the finest details of life.

About the Author:



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Arts-and-Entertainment Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.