This original book, filled with the insights of an author who has lived with the Baule and studied their art for more than twenty-five years, explores for the first time the full texture and details of Baule life and art. Abundant illustrations include field photographs showing artworks in the intimacy of daily lives and public performances, as well as museum photographs of Baule sculptures.

Susan Vogel focuses on the creation and uses of Baule works of art apart from their definition as "art" in Western eyes. She establishes a means for understanding Baule expressive culture from the perspective of Baule individuals and often in their own words.

In an extensive discussion of Baule experiences of art objects, she finds different kinds of looking and seeing - art that is watched (mask dances and entertainment performances); art that is seen without looking (works too sacred or awesome to be scrutinized); art that is glimpsed (sculptures made for personal shrines and kept in private rooms); and art that is visible to all (elaborately decorated objects that fulfill the desire for beauty and for open display of talents).