Throughout the history of human art in the world, before the large-scale expansion of western civilization, the local artistic creation of all ethnic groups in various regions, including Asia, Africa, Australia and Latin America, had already formed an artistic tradition or artistic system that reflected their own cultural spirit and social life needs. They have indelible cultural and aesthetic characteristics, suggesting an artistic concept that is different from western discourse but closely related to the social life of non-western peoples. This artistic concept, like many non-Western artistic practices, does not regard the artistry that can be viewed independently and simply as the standard value of art, but emphasizes the full participation, full integration, full commitment or full embodiment of art in social life, and assumes the value that social life expects, needs, gives and is not impossible. Rather than saying that such art has no standard value, its standard value is not based on the artistry of western discourse, but on the artistry of local discourse.

This is a relief style with wide coverage, complex components and various forms, which originated from the civilization traditions of all other regions and nations except the western civilization tradition. Its general feature is that, on the basis of following human appreciation habits and maintaining the identifiable figurative features of artistic expression, it emphasizes the symbolism and implication of relief space structure or visual image and various complex social functions that are not purely aesthetic, so its style and form are far from the European classical sculpture tradition.

Before encountering the separatist forces of western civilization and being destroyed by them, the relief art of non-western nationalities always maintained its own cultural characteristics. Although the beliefs and cultures of all ethnic groups are not unified, as shown by the relief art created by China, Indians, Indonesians, Australian aborigines, Maya and tropical African aborigines, including Bala, Dogon, Senu, Baha 'i, Bakuba and Luba, many artistic traditions of non-Western civilizations have stood the test of great time and space span and have not been changed by political evolution, dynasty change or foreign invasion. This is the result of the vitality of civilization and the internal continuation of national beliefs and cultures. For non-western nations, relief art is a language that can tell everything, a way to communicate everything, and a carrier that embodies everything. People there think this is an appropriate way to deal with universal spirituality.

As far as the relief art of non-Western nationalities that is active and acts on local social life is concerned, its artistry is embodied in a style, a shape, a structure or a modeling method, which effectively realizes some or some of its values. Without this definite value, or the value of socialization, then any of the above components as an art form are not enough to be independent and artistic. Therefore, the relief art of non-Western nationalities, based on social values, is always integrated with the extensive social practice of their own nationalities, such as politics, economy, military affairs, education, religious beliefs, ethics and morality, and serves as a carrier or medium for integrating communities, disciplining and demonstrating, encouraging production, recording history, exchanging ideas, spreading knowledge, proving identity, demonstrating responsibility and power, punishing and praising, praying for treatment, and sending affection and entertainment.

A large number of materials show that the creation of African traditional art, including the development of some modeling activities or the introduction of fruit modeling style, is always related to the broader and more complicated social needs far beyond aesthetic requirements, and this connection is often achieved in a way that conforms to customs. The original relief art of non-western nationalities is an organic part of local social life, and it does not have ecological independence and value independence. In short, this style of relief art is an art that does not have independent nature and does not take the pursuit of independent nature as its ultimate value. It rejects any attempt to be simple and independent.