Read the excerpt from A Short Walk Around the Pyramids and through the World of Art.
We recognize the figure as a person, although it doesn't look like one. Instead of copying the human body – and many African tribes could do that perfectly – it only suggests the human body. It excites our imagination, and our imagination turns the Kota figure into a person. Its triangles, cylinders, and parts of circles remind us of eyes, a neck, and hair, and our imagination tells us that we are looking at a human figure. The figure is an example of abstract art, an art that doesn't intend things to look real. If we searched, we could find examples of abstract art the world over.
A West African wood statue.
The photograph helps readers interpret the important details in the text, because
it shows a realistic portrayal of a human body.
it illustrates the description written in the text.
it shows that African art is always abstract.
it demonstrates that Greek art differs from African art.