Life-size beaded statues of kings...masqueraders dancing on stilts...figures bristling with nails,
spikes, and an unbelievable assortment of other materials (what do those things mean,
anyway?)...refined, delicately modeled pots in the form of human heads...patterned textiles that
look like velvet, but were woven from palm fiber...

These are just a few of the many art forms we'll consider in A356/A556, ART OF CENTRAL
AFRICA.  We'll explore masks, figures, weapons, textiles, pottery and more as we use slides,
books, and the IU Art Museum to journey across central Africa, an area with incredibly diverse
and rich visual arts.   The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) will be our focus,
but we'll also look at art from Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville),
and Angola.  A midterm and a final exam, a short visual analysis of an object in the IU Art
Museum, and a slightly longer research paper will be required.