BOOKS
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART
by Sidney Littlefield Kasfir
Published in English by Thames & Hudson, 2000, as part of the World of Art series
Format: 224 pp, 180 ill., 74 in color
Softcover: $14.95
This volume is a worthy addition to the World of Art series. For anyone who has not seen the connections between traditional African sculpture and the contemporary painting and sculpture of postcolonial Africa, this book makes an excellent starting point. The author introduces many artists of considerable merit and considers the ways in which they have been shaped by their heritage. Some incorporate their ancestral traditions; others intentionally move away from them and toward a more urban and international outlook. At the outset she discusses the "diasporic Africans" with "double vision": those who have entered the international art world, the larger world beyond their home country or community. This is just one of several dichotomies at work throughout this study, which addresses many of the concerns of Postmodernist critics under such headings as Patrons and Mediators, Art and Commodity, The African Artist: Shifting Identities in the Postcolonial World, and Migration and Displacement. But largely the art speaks for itself, as do the artists. Many of the fine illustrations show works of great strength and considerable diversity. For those who have been hesitant to enter this unfamiliar territory in the World of Art, this volume is an excellent Baedeker. It may serve as an excellent basic reference for others.[back]
Power of Form:
African Art in Japanese Collections
By Hiroshi Ogawa
Published in English and Japanese by Hiroshi Ogawa, Tokyo, 1999
22 X 29cm, 142 pp, 215 color ills., 13 B&W, numerous drawings.
Hardbound, 3800¥.
As only the introductions are in English, this abundantly illustrated catalogue is directed primarily at the Japanese-speaking reader who wishes to learn more about the distant cultures it addresses. Most of the important culture areas of Africa are represented, and each object is the subject of a detailed description. Numerous in situ photos are also included.[back]
Tattoos from Paradise:
Traditional Polynesian Patterns
by Mark Blackburn
Published in English by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.,
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen PA 19310, USA, 1999
Format: 12 x 9 inches, 205 pp, more than 250 ills. in B&W, half-tones, and color.
Hardcover.
This handsome book may well be, as the dust jacket claims, "the first profusely illustrated book of its kind limited to the art of traditional Polynesian tattooing." Whether or not it is the first, it is certainly comprehensive and fascinating and exceedingly well illustrated. The illustrations include photographs, sketches, and paintings going back to the advent of the word "tattoo," which entered the English language in 1769 thanks to Captain Cook. Tattoo designs, diagrams and patterns are also shown, along with objects from the author's collection adorned with the same patterns as those that enhance the Polynesian body. Separate sections deal with the art and people of New Zealand, Hawai'i, Tahiti, the Marquesas, Easter Island, Samoa, and Tonga. The text is rich in historical references but evinces an awareness of contemporary sensibilities.[back]
Art Papou, Austronésiens et Papous de Nouvelle Guinée
Various authors, under the direction of Alain Nicolas
Published in French by the Musées de Marseille and the RMN, Paris, Marseille, 2000
Format: 23x30 cm, 335 pp, 328 color ills., 13 B&W
Softcover, 300FF
This abundantly illustrated catalog accompanies the current exhibition at the MAAOA in Marseille, which runs until August 30 (see Tribal Arts, Winter/ Spring 1999/2000, page 30). An introduction which explains the methodology and selection criteria for the exhibit is followed by a section on mythology. The bulk of the book is devoted to the exhibited objects and to their description.
Another title on the same subject, "L'Art des Papous," by Alain Nicolas, appears as a volume in the Tableaux Choisis collection, published in French by Editions Scala, Paris, 2000. The work is intended for a broad public, and the series is intended to be an introductory survey of the world of art. The current title deals with the fundamental themes of Papuan artistic expression through an analysis of a group of objects.
20.5 X 16.5cm, 127 pages, 29 B&W ills., softcover, 98FF.[back]
Les esprits, l'or et le chamane, Musée de l'or de Colombie
Various authors under the direction of Clara Isabel Botero Cuervo and Jean-Francois Bouchard.
Published in French by the RMN, the Museo del Oro and the Musée du Quai Branly.
Format: 23 x 30.5cm, 293 pp, 291 color ills., 4 B&W.
Softcover, 320 FF
Published to complement the exhibit organized by the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris, this volume deals with the meaning of death and the afterlife in Pre-Hispanic societies (1000 bc-ad 1500), as well as with the important role of the shaman as an intermediary between man and nature. The text emphasizes that the opulence and beauty of Colombian gold work serve to express myths and legends relating to the theme of identity transformation.[back]
L'Art Baoulé du Visible et de l'Invisible
by Susan Vogel
Published in French by Adam Biro, 1999, Paris. (1997 Yale University Art Gallery)
Format: 23.5 x 28.5cm, 312 pages, 193 color illustrations, 60 B&W
Hardbound, 450FF
This important catalog was originally published in English by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, to accompany the traveling exhibition (see article by Susan Vogel in Tribal Arts, Vol. IV - #16, Winter 1997, pages 44-51). The French edition is finally available. It is a well illustrated and thorough study of Baule culture.[back]
Toguna
Editions Toguna was founded in June 1988 by Pierre Brennetot with the goal of republishing texts having to do with the relation between African and Western art, and with the "rediscovery" of African art by Western artists at the beginning of the twentieth century. The small format of the books (11 x 15 cm), and the use of fine paper and typography will make these beautiful volumes a charming and elegant acquisition.
Titles available are:
RENCONTRE AVEC L'ART NEGRE/ Jean Laude, 1998, 48 pages, 25FF
LA TRIBU LOBI/ Jean-Camille Haumant, 64 pages, 30FF
QUE SIGNIFIE POUR NOUS L'AFRIQUE?/ Leo Frobenius, 1999, 24 pages, 20FF
BRAQUE, MATISSE, PICASSO, DERAIN, VLAMINCK, COCTEAU, GRIS, BRANCUSI …OPINIONS SUR L'ART NEGRE/ 24 pages, 20FF
LA SCULPTURE NEGRE ET L'ART MODERNE/ Paul Guillaume, 1999, 32 pages, 25FF
A PROPOS D'ART NEGRE/ Guillaume Apollinaire, 24 pages, 20FF
IRONT ILS AU LOUVRE? ENQUETE SUR DES ARTS LOINTAINS/ Félix Fénéon, 24 pages, 20FF
Toguna, 13 Rue Perchepinte, 31000 Toulouse; Tel.: 05 61 14 02 03, Fax 05 62 47 57 38
[back]
Afrique de l'Ouest, Bronzes et autres Alliages
By André Blandin
Published in French by the author, Aix-en-Provence, 2000
Format: 21 x 29.7 cm, 90 pp, 4 color plates, over 500 illustrations.
Hardbound, 210FF (André Blandin, B.P. 156, 13721 Marignane cedex, France).
This is a new and updated edition of "Bronzes et Autres Alliages" originally published by the author in 1988. The scope of this new version is limited to the areas of Mali, Burkina-Faso, and northern CIote d'Ivoire, as the author's new insights concern only those regions. The illustrations are partly borrowed from the earlier edition, but many new ones are also included. More than 500 pieces are thoroughly examined. The book is the fruit of several years of research, and provides invaluable reference information.[back]
Sprits Embodied: Art of the Congo
Selections from the Helmut F. Stern Collection
by Evan Maurer and Niangi Batulukisi
Published in English by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999
Format: 12 x 9 inches, 153 pp, 71 large color photographs of objects and smaller B&W.
Softcover
This exhibition catalogue stands alone as a book, and a very useful one. It celebrates the presentation at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts of the collection of one individual, purchased largely from one dealer, built around the collection of one artist, reflecting the cultures on one part of Africa. Joseph Henrion, a Belgian artist, first brought these pieces together because each expressed, as he saw it, "at once the particular and the universal vision of all aspects of man." Helmut Stern appreciated the objects both individually and collectively. And Evan Maurer, director of the Minneapolis Institute, saw the importance of bringing this collection to public view and the need to give it context with a highly informative essay on collecting and representing art of the Congo in American museums in the twentieth century.
The overall focus is on the best-known artistic expressions of the Congo. The catalogue entries are written by Dr. Niangi Batulukisi, who is Yaka by birth and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Louvain, in Belgium, based on her field work among the Holo people. She has also contributed an essay on Central African art today. The objects, most of them figures, are grouped in regional and ethnic clusters, with a detailed introduction for each section as well as excellent photographs and notes for each piece. With the passage of time there is an increase in the distance between the object in its culture of origin and the number of hands it passes through. This catalogue fortunately also gives the provenance of each piece once it fell into European hands. In terms of aesthetic quality and depth of scholarship, this work is exemplary.[back]
