A Companion to Modern African Art Blackwell Companions to Art History

Introduction -- "Africa has always been modern" -- Art in cosmopolitan Africa -- Modernities and cross-cultural encounters in arts of the early twentieth century -- Colonialism, modernism, and art in independent nations -- Perspectives on arts of the African Diaspora -- Syntheses in art of the late twentieth century -- Primitivism as erasure -- Local expression and global modernity;Offering a wealth of perspectives on African modern and Modernist art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, this new Companion features essays by African, European, and North American authors who assess the work of individual artists as well as exploring broader themes such as discoveries of new technologies and globalization. A pioneering continent-based assessment of modern art and modernity across Africa. Includes original and previously unpublished fieldwork-based material. Features new and complex theoretical arguments about the nature of modernity. Offering A Wealth Of Perspectives On African Modern And Modernist Art From The Mid-nineteenth Century To The Present, This New Companion Features Essays By African, European, And North American Authors Who Assess The Work Of Individual Artists As Well As Exploring Broader Themes Such As Discoveries Of New Technologies And Globalization. A Pioneering Continent-based Assessment Of Modern Art And Modernity Across Africaincludes Original And Previously Unpublished Fieldwork-based Materialfeatures New And Complex Theoretical Arguments About The Nature Of Modernity. Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. I Introduction -- 1. Writing African Modernism Into Art History / Monica Blackmun Visona -- Pt. Ii Africa Has Always Been Modern -- 2. Local Transformations, Global Inspirations: The Visual Histories And Cultures Of Mami Wata Arts In Africa / Henry John Drewal -- Pt. Iii Art In Cosmopolitan Africa: The Nineteenth Century -- 3. Loango Coast Ivories And The Legacies Of Afro-portuguese Arts / Nichole N. Bridges -- 4. Roots And Routes Of African Photographic Practices: From Modern To Vernacular Photography In West And Central Africa (1850-1980) / Christraud M. Geary -- 5. At Home In The World: Portrait Photography And Swahili Mercantile Aesthetics / Prita Meier -- 6. African Reimaginations: Presence, Absence, And New Way Architecture / Ikem Stanley Okoye -- Pt. Iv Modernities And Cross-cultural Encounters In Arts Of The Early Twentieth Century 7. One Of The Best Tools For Learning: Rethinking The Role Of 'abduh's Fatwa In Egyptian Art History / Dina A. Ramadan -- 8. Congolese And Belgian Appropriations Of The Colonial Era: The Commissioned Work Of Tshelantende (djilatendo) And Its Reception / Kathrin Langenohl -- 9. Warriors In Top Hats: Images Of Modernity And Military Power On West African Coasts / Monica Blackmun Visona -- Pt. V Colonialism, Modernism, And Art In Independent Nations -- 10. Algerian Painters As Pioneers Of Modernism / Mary Vogl -- 11. Kofi Antubam, 1922-1964: A Modern Ghanaian Artist, Educator, And Writer / Atta Kwami -- 12. Patron And Artist In The Shaping Of Zimbabwean Art / Elizabeth Morton -- 13. Being Modern: Identity Debates And Makerere's Art School In The 1960s / Sunanda K. Sanyal -- 14. The Ecole Des Arts And Exhibitionary Platforms In Postindependence Senegal / Joanna Grabski -- 15. From Iconoclasm To Heritage: The Osogbo Art Movement And The Dynamics Of Modernism In Nigeria / Peter Probst 16. Modernism And Modernity In African Art / John Picton -- 17. A Century Of Painting In The Congo: Image, Memory, Experience, And Knowledge / Bogumil Jewsiewicki -- Pt. Vi Perspectives On Arts Of The African Diaspora -- 18. Visual Expressivity In The Art Of The Black Diaspora: Conjunctures And Disjunctures / Dele Jegede -- Pt. Vii Syntheses In Art Of The Late Twentieth Century -- 19. Art And Social Dynamics In Cote D'lvoire: The Position Ofvohou-vohou / Yacouba Konate -- 20. Contemporary Contradictions: Bronzecasting In The Edo Kingdom Of Benin / Barbara Winston Blackmun -- 21. Puppets As Witnesses And Perpetrators In Ubu And The Truth Commission / Peter Ukpokodu -- 22. Moroccan Art Museums And Memories Of Modernity / Katarzyna Pieprzak -- Pt. Viii Primitivism As Erasure -- 23. The Enduring Power Of Primitivism: Showcasing The Other In Twenty-first-century France / Sally Price -- Pt. Ix Local Expression And Global Modernity: African Art Of The Twenty-first Century 24. Zwelethu Mthethwa's Postdocumentary Portraiture: Views From South Africa And Abroad / Pamela Allara -- 25. Creative Diffusion: African Intersections In The Biennale Network / Kinsey Katchka -- 26. Lacuna: Uganda In A Globalizing Cultural Field / Sidney Littlefield Kasfir -- 27. Painted Visions Under Rebel Domination: A Cultural Center And Political Imagination In Northern Cote D'lvoire / Till Forster -- 28. Postindependence Architecture Through North Korean Modes: Namibian Commissions Of The Mansudae Overseas Project / Meghan L. E. Kirkwood -- 29. Concrete Aspirations: Modern Art At The Roundabout In Ugep / Gitti Salami. Edited By Gitti Salami And Monica Blackmun Visonà. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Offering a wealth of perspectives on African modern and Modernist art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, this new Companion features essays by African, European, and North American authors who assess the work of individual artists as well as exploring broader themes such as discoveries of new technologies and globalization.A pioneering continent-based assessment of modern art and modernity across AfricaIncludes original and previously unpublished fieldwork-based materialFeatures new and complex theoretical arguments about the nature of modernity and ModernismAddresses a widely acknowledged gap in the literature on African Art Monica Blackmun Visonàis Associate Professor in the School of Art and Visual Studies of the University of Kentucky, USA, where she teaches courses on African art and architecture, and art historical methods. The principle author of A History of Art in Africa(2000, 2008), she has also published Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Côte d'Ivoire(2010), and contributed articles to Art Bulletin and African Arts. She is currently researching the artists of the western Akan peoples for a museum exhibition.Gitti Salamiis Associate Professor of World Art History at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, USA. In a decade of extensive field research in south-eastern Nigeria she has published numerous articles on Yakurr culture in African Arts and Critical Interventions: Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture. She has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays DDRA fellowship and a grant from the West African Research Association (WARA), and has held resident fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution and the University of East Anglia, UK. A forthcoming monograph examines contemporary Yakurr art genres from a postcolonial theoretical standpoint

Offering a wealth of perspectives on African modern and Modernist art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, this new Companion features essays by African, European, and North American authors who assess the work of individual artists as well as exploring broader themes such as discoveries of new technologies and globalization.

• A pioneering continent-based assessment of modern art and modernity across Africa
• Includes original and previously unpublished fieldwork-based material
• Features new and complex theoretical arguments about the nature of modernity and Modernism
• Addresses a widely acknowledged gap in the literature on African Art