A Companion to Modern African Art

A Companion to Modern African Art......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 9
List of Figures......Page 13
Notes on Contributors......Page 17
Acknowledgments......Page 22
Part I Introduction......Page 25
Narrations of Modernism and Modernity......Page 27
Centering Narratives on Africa’s Art Worlds......Page 28
Chapter Overview......Page 33
Lacunae and Disjunctures......Page 38
Notes......Page 40
References......Page 41
Part II “Africa Has Always Been Modern”......Page 45
2 Local Transformations, Global Inspirations: The Visual Histories and Cultures of Mami Wata Arts in Africa......Page 47
Sacred Waters: Ancient and Indigenous Arts for African Water Deities......Page 50
Afro-Mami Meets Euro-Mermaid: A Fifteenth-Century Sapi Synthesis......Page 51
The Mermaid: A Floating Signifier......Page 52
The Double-Tailed Mermaid in the Art of Benin......Page 55
Mami Wata and the Image of the Snake Charmer......Page 57
The Snake Charmer as Mami Wata in Africa......Page 58
Mami Wata and Hindu Gods and Goddesses......Page 59
Communicating with Mami Wata: Writing, Reflecting, Calling......Page 62
Troubled Waters: From Saint to Sinner......Page 63
Notes......Page 64
References......Page 70
Part III Art in Cosmopolitan Africa: The Nineteenth Century......Page 75
Hybrids at Hello......Page 77
Contact and Catastrophe......Page 79
Afro-Portuguese Ivories......Page 81
The Loango Ivories......Page 83
“Authenticity”: Drawing the Line......Page 84
Pointed Imagery......Page 86
More Animal Tales......Page 89
Double-Take......Page 91
Notes......Page 92
References......Page 94
“COME ONE! COME ALL! and secure the shadow ere it fades”......Page 98
Toward a History of Photography in West and Central Africa......Page 99
Pioneer Photographers and Their Customers along the West and Central African Coasts......Page 100
From Monrovia to Libreville: The Careers of Several African Pioneer Photographers......Page 103
The Democratization of Photography: The Case of Fumban, Cameroon......Page 108
Notes......Page 114
References......Page 116
5 At Home in the World: Portrait Photography and Swahili Mercantile Aesthetics......Page 120
“Modernity” in African Art History......Page 121
Challenging “Modernity” and “Place” on the Swahili Coast......Page 123
Photography and the Colonial Moment......Page 125
A Swahili Culture of Things......Page 126
Portrait Photographs as Objects......Page 129
Modernity on the Edge......Page 132
Notes......Page 133
References......Page 134
6 African Reimaginations: Presence, Absence, and New Way Architecture......Page 137
The Scenario for a New History of the Modern......Page 138
The Palace and the Mosque......Page 140
Lacuna and History......Page 144
Removals and Reinstallations......Page 145
Invisibility and Difference......Page 148
Last Word: The Lines of a Future Argument......Page 151
Notes......Page 152
References......Page 156
Part IV Modernities and Cross-Cultural Encounters in Arts of the Early Twentieth Century......Page 159
Introduction......Page 161
Art, Islam, and the Imam......Page 163
An Insightful Traveler’s Observations......Page 165
“And They Do Not Spare Any Effort in Preserving These Things”......Page 167
 Al-Suwar wa-l-Tamathil: A Fatwa without Fine Arts......Page 168
Between the Educational and the Legal......Page 169
The Fatwa’s Five Parts......Page 170
Conclusion......Page 173
Notes......Page 174
References......Page 176
Overview......Page 178
Tshelantende’s Personal History......Page 180
His Oeuvre......Page 181
Reception History......Page 184
Notes......Page 191
References......Page 195
9 Warriors in Top Hats: Images of Modernity and Military Power on West African Coasts......Page 198
Evidence for Top Hats and Global Trade in the 1860s–1890s......Page 199
The Bissagos Islands......Page 203
The Niger Delta......Page 205
The Lagoons......Page 207
Top Hats as Transfers of Technology......Page 210
Notes......Page 212
References......Page 215
Part V Colonialism, Modernism, and Art in Independent Nations......Page 219
10 Algerian Painters as Pioneers of Modernism......Page 221
French Colonialism and Its Impact on Algerian Art......Page 223
“Parsimonious” Inclusion of Algerians in the Colonial Arts Scene......Page 224
The First Algerian Painters, 1920s and 1930s......Page 225
The Racims and Miniaturist Painting......Page 226
Algerian Artists and European Orientalists – 1940s......Page 227
Female Algerian Artists......Page 228
The Algerian Revolution, Independence, and Modern Art......Page 230
Postindependence Phase......Page 231
Artists and the Algerian Civil War 1991–2002......Page 235
Conclusion......Page 236
Notes......Page 237
References......Page 239
Introduction......Page 242
The Formative Years of Kofi Antubam......Page 244
Institutional History, from Achimota to “Kumasi Realism”......Page 245
Kofi Antubam as an Educator......Page 249
Kofi Antubam as a Writer......Page 251
The Lasting Impact of Antubam’s Art......Page 253
Notes......Page 257
References......Page 258
The Mission Workshops......Page 261
Stone Sculpture: McEwen and the First Generation 1960–1973......Page 266
Majority Rule and the Second Generation......Page 272
Notes......Page 275
References......Page 277
13 “Being Modern”: Identity Debates and Makerere’s Art School in the 1960s......Page 279
The Art School in Transition......Page 281
Two Dominant Colonial Views of Africans......Page 282
Debates on Makerere Campus......Page 284
African Literature or Literature from Africa?......Page 285
Art: Debate on the Margin......Page 287
A Twofold Task......Page 294
Notes......Page 296
References......Page 297
Making Modern Art at the École des Arts du Sénégal......Page 300
New Art and Artists for a New Nation......Page 309
Modern Art in the Narrative Frame of Négritude......Page 311
Notes......Page 314
References......Page 315
Introduction......Page 318
When Even Statues Die: Revitalizing African Art......Page 319
Newness and Rupture: The Osogbo Art School......Page 322
Multiplying the New: Branding Osogbo Art......Page 327
Reframing the New: Heritage......Page 329
Conclusion......Page 330
Notes......Page 331
References......Page 332
16 Modernism and Modernity in African Art......Page 335
Exhibiting Africa......Page 336
When Was Contemporary Art?......Page 339
So When Was Modernity?......Page 340
Indigo-Dyed Textiles and Yoruba Modernity......Page 342
Bruce Onobrakpeya, Painter and Printmaker......Page 345
In Conclusion......Page 349
Notes......Page 350
References......Page 351
Introduction......Page 354
Figurative Drawings on the External Walls of Village Houses......Page 358
Pictures on Canvas......Page 360
Conclusion......Page 366
Notes......Page 367
References......Page 368
Part VI Perspectives on Arts of the African Diaspora......Page 371
Introduction......Page 373
Globalizing the Canon......Page 374
African Art and History......Page 377
Art and the Black Diaspora: The United States......Page 378
Migration, Transnationalism, and the Black Diaspora......Page 379
Transnationalism and Intercontinental Dialogs......Page 381
Transnationalism: Making Space......Page 384
Notes......Page 388
References......Page 390
Part VII Syntheses in Art of the Late Twentieth Century......Page 393
19 Art and Social Dynamics in Côte d’Ivoire: The Position of Vohou-Vohou......Page 395
Spirit: The Narrative of Its Origins......Page 396
Connections and Quarrels......Page 401
The Ferment of Culture and Sociopolitical Dynamics......Page 405
Notes......Page 409
References......Page 411
20 Contemporary Contradictions: Bronzecasting in the Edo Kingdom of Benin......Page 413
Modern Precursors: Influential Artists during the Reign of Oba Akenzua II, 1933–1978......Page 416
Contemporary Artists in Benin since the 1980s......Page 418
Notes......Page 426
References......Page 429
Introduction......Page 432
Historical Background......Page 433
Theoretical and Critical Issues......Page 435
Showcasing Ubu and the Truth Commission......Page 437
Notes......Page 445
References......Page 448
22 Moroccan Art Museums and Memories of Modernity......Page 450
What Museum for Art? Frames and Questions......Page 452
A Short History of National Museums in Morocco......Page 453
The Intertwined History of Emancipatory Modernity and Modern Art in Morocco......Page 456
Working through and Remembering Modernist Projects......Page 458
Confronting the Modern Image and Images of Modernity......Page 460
Rural Spaces and Nomadic Curation......Page 462
Conclusions......Page 463
Notes......Page 464
References......Page 466
Part VIII Primitivism as Erasure......Page 469
23 The Enduring Power of Primitivism: Showcasing “the Other” in Twenty-First-Century France......Page 471
The Interior: Layout and Lighting......Page 472
Artists’ Names......Page 473
The Collection History of Exhibited Objects......Page 474
Aesthetics and Ethnography......Page 478
How Did All This Happen?......Page 479
Notes......Page 484
References......Page 487
Part IX Local Expression and Global Modernity: African Art of the Twenty-First Century......Page 491
24 Zwelethu Mthethwa’s “Postdocumentary” Portraiture: Views from South Africa and Abroad......Page 493
Mthethwa in the Context of Documentary-Style Photography and Afrapix......Page 495
Mthethwa’s Pastel Paintings in the Context of Township Art......Page 499
Mthethwa’s “Postdocumentary” Photography in a Transcultural World......Page 502
Notes......Page 508
References......Page 510
Introduction......Page 513
Examples and Exemplars......Page 514
Networking......Page 520
Diaspora, Pan-Africanity, and Practicality......Page 521
African Intersections......Page 525
Notes......Page 526
References......Page 528
26 Lacuna: Uganda in a Globalizing Cultural Field......Page 531
The Case of Uganda: An Art World Lacuna......Page 535
Some Sketches of Contemporary Ugandan Practice......Page 539
Notes......Page 546
References......Page 550
Introduction......Page 552
Picture, Image, Imagery, and Imagination......Page 553
Korhogo as the Heart of Senufoland......Page 554
The Katana Festival and the Foundation of the Cultural Center......Page 555
From Katana to Fofié Kouakou Martin’s Cultural Center......Page 557
2006 – Sapéro de Farafina and the First Image Program at Womiengnon......Page 558
Picturing the Experience of the Past......Page 560
Imageries of a Better Future......Page 563
The Renewal of 2009......Page 565
Imagery and the Political Imagination of Past, Present, and Future......Page 567
Notes......Page 568
References......Page 570
Introduction......Page 572
The Mansudae Art Studio, and Nujoma’s Firsthand Knowledge of Pyongyang......Page 574
The Namibian Heroes’ Acre and the Performance of History......Page 578
Nationalist Iconography and the New Namibian State House......Page 581
The Independence Memorial Museum as Nationalist Symbol......Page 585
Conclusion......Page 587
Notes......Page 588
References......Page 591
Introduction......Page 596
The Kipali’s Setting......Page 598
The Obol Lopon’s Address......Page 602
Egele Enang’s Mma Esekpa......Page 604
Concrete Aspirations......Page 609
Notes......Page 610
References......Page 614
Index......Page 617