The creativity of the African people is extraordinarily vigorous and brilliant in its sense of form and intense emotional life. In contrast to Western creativity, African creativity is almost never meant to beautify and decorate. It is intended for tribal worship, rituals, magic and communication with the supernatural. Nevertheless, the forces of these societal needs created works of great artistic skill, stylistic diversity and expressive qualities. The African collection at MOAS was initiated between 1979 and 1985 through generous philanthropic donations from the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) of Los Angeles, CA and has grown over the years with additional gifts and acquisitions. The most recent installation features carefully selected artifacts from the permanent collection to represent and illustrate the many regions and secular notions in African tribal culture.
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