Three-dimensional forms seem to have held a particular interest for West African artists.

During the last century, art critics have gone beyond considering this art as "primitive" and have begun to appreciate its aesthetic qualities.

In fact, in recent years, African art has had considerable influence on contemporary artists.
The two forms of African art best known outside Africa are music and the dance.

African music contrasts with European music in its use of a different scale and in concentrating less on melodic development and more on the creation of complex and subtle rhythmic patterns.

Musicians used to view African music as simple and undeveloped, but now musicologists admit that African rhythms are more complex and highly developed than rhythms in European music.