Answer:
The Fauves and Cubists were attracted to African sculpture and decorative objects because these items helped them to realize that there were alternatives to Western styles and artistic conventions. The abstraction they found in African works encouraged them to move away from naturalistic representation. This gave them a newfound sense of freedom and a new route to originality. Henri Matisse was influenced by the decorative line and vivid colors found in the decorative arts of Morocco; Pablo Picasso was inspired by the abstraction and deformation of form he saw in some African sculptures. Some of the Fauves and Cubists used elements borrowed from non-Western traditions in order to criticize the social as well as the artistic conventions of modern Western society.