African art serves to facilitate communication between people and supernatural forces and beings. Objects made to fulfill this function are chiefly in the form of human or animal figures. Their powers come from religious practitioners who are able to make contact with the spirit world and work with magic. Sculptures of this nature serve such essential purposes as warding off disease, natural calamities, and other evil; bringing fertility to people, animals, or crops; and rendering difficult judgments. African art, one of the highest expressions of human culture, adds to the artistic heritage of all humanity. Artists such as Pablo Picasso found inspiration in the abstract and elegant sculptural forms of African art. It is a traditional art that is sacred, but utilitarian, as well, in it’s various forms of dance, music, costume, textile, mask, sculpture and carving.