The Historical Life of Objects (original) (raw)
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The Historical Life of Objects African Art History and the Problem of Discursive Obsolescence
African Arts, 2005
This essay evaluates how the field of African art history deals with the problem of cultural and discursive changes de riving from its canonization of specific objects of African art by interrogating the Mbari architecture of the Owerri-Igbo, a ritual complex of distinctive practices that is largely extinct, and whose archival inscription and contemporary interpretations are thus open to debate. It interrogates the increasing gap between the continued representation of distinctive ethnic forms of material production through historically dated art objects and the emergence of contemporary forms of art in those contexts that bear little formal resemblance or meaning to canonical cultural artifacts. The problem engendered by this conjunction of temporality and historical specificity can be defined as the problem of discursive obsolescence: If iconic objects assume different forms and meanings in different historical periods, how do these changes affect scholarly interpretation of the objects and of the archives that narrate their historically specific meanings?
Cultural Ramifications of the Found Object in Contemporary African Art
International Journal of Multiculturalism, 2021
Arguably Found Object genre represents the most dominant form of contemporary artistic expression with unlimited possibilities of material exploration and conceptual ideation. However, Found Object discourse institutionalized in European art history is exclusively western and dismisses those of other cultures as mimesis and time-lag. This paper aims to prove that the dominant contemporary discourse of "Recyla Art‟ which many African sculptors have been absorbed into, problematically blurs the conceptual and ideological differences in European and African exploration of discarded objects in art creation. Using a triangulation of Formalism, Iconography and Interviews as methodologies, this paper subjects the works of El Anatsui, Delumprizulike, Nnenna Okore, Bright Eke, Olu Amoda and others to formalistic and interpretative analysis to establish the postcolonial context of the found object in contemporary African art. Findings demonstrate that European and African appropriation of discarded objects in art differs according to societal context in form and content. The paper therefore concludes that found object art is culture-specific and defined by unique cultural ramifications, thus, to fully understand the dynamism of this art genre, a culture-specific or localized reading is required because the context of its emergence in Europe stands in contradiction to its conceptualism in contemporary African art-space.
Beyond Frank Willett: The Need for Compositional Analysis of Yoruba Art Objects
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2022
Since the pioneering efforts of Frank Willett that examine the Yoruba arts, there remains a yearning gap to holistically investigate the material contents and classification of Yoruba art objects. For proper documentation, information and placement of Yoruba arts, the need for a scientific material compositional analysis of Yoruba arts cannot be overemphasised. This discourse employs a qualitative and evaluative mode of research to emphasize the need, importance and prospects of proper scientific material investigation of Yoruba arts. The study provides information on Frank Willett, the Yoruba people, and relevant studies on the Yoruba arts. It further discusses compositional analysis through the lens of literature, art authentication, and makes a case for authenticating Yoruba art collections. Considering the elegance and importance of African arts and antiquities, the findings of this study show that the provenance of Yoruba art objects has not received adequate attention; this ha...
Supplements to the Study of African Works of Art
Mediterranean journal of social sciences, 2022
For many years, the history of the arts, crafts and connoisseurship has been determined using the sensory organs; with the introduction of technology, researches in the sciences have found their ways into the study of humanities and the arts. There exists recently additional modern, genuine and acceptable ways of assessing art historical studies other than the traditional sensory means-sight and touch. There is the need for art historical studies now to be more advanced, viewed from a global standard. Apart from formal, iconographic and iconological analyses, art historical studies of the 21st century attends to other pressing evidence and developments with the use of hi-tech and the embrace of scientific approach to studying works of art. Qualitative and evaluative modes of research have been employed for this discourse; it concludes with recommendations to research institutes and African governments to show interest in material compositional information of African art objects for their scientific and historical significance.
Influence of Traditional Art of Africa on Contemporary Art Praxis: The Ibibio Funerary Art Example
International Journal of Art and Art History, 2020
African art, with exception of Egyptian art, has suffered scholastic neglect as only a little scholarship has been done regarding them. This has resulted in the misconception that traditional African art contributes little or nothing to the development of contemporary art. This paper, in an attempt to dispel such misconception, projects an aspect of indigenous Ibibio art praxis-funerary art to reveal Ibibio art culture"s influence on contemporary art praxis. The objectives are to identify traditional Ibibio funerary art forms; highlight its transformation; and examine its influence on contemporary art praxis. It benefits from analogue and digital library sources, and information sought from interviews of knowledgeable persons in the locality. Findings reveal that traditional Ibibio funerary art forms, which include ekpu carvings, paintings and drawings on "Nwommo"and "Iso Nduongo" shrines and ekpo mask carvings, form a bedrock on which a great deal of contemporary art praxis within Ibibio land and its environs rests, as contemporary African art is an extension of traditional African art. The paper, therefore, recommends that more scholastic work be carried out on African art cultures for more revelations of their contributions to the development of contemporary art.
In search for a philosophy of African art
This article examines the obstacles and possibilities of a philosophy of African art. It addresses the problem that the words 'philosophy' and 'art' have a Greco-Roman origin. For a long time philosophy was understood as rational argumentation and art as an aesthetic object. This was a determining factor for the rise of a Eurocentric orientation of Western philosophy and art history. If we want to reflect on (traditional) African philosophy and art we might have to look for a broader concept of philosophy and make a distinction between art as an aesthetic object and art as a cult object. From this point of view I will reflect on the question if-and in what sense-we can find in the Ifá divination of the Yoruba in Nigeria a philosophy that can help us to understand the traditional artworks of the Yoruba.
2020
The term ‘African Art’ is typically used for the classification of the art of Sub-Saharan Africa. It appears casual, amateurish and primitive by the classical proportion of European art, which is the way traditional African art is regarded. Truth be said, the continent comprise ideas from different cultural groups and civilization, each with a unique art tradition, architecture and lifestyle. It is as a result of this, we cannot talk about African Art without reference to the impact of some related disciplines, such as architecture and archaeology. Various Studies have shown that before the advent of Europeans and Americans with their influences on Africa culture, the people have already made significant contribution to develop themselves in the areas of ancient architecture, traditional medicine and technology, the African way of life depicts so many chronologically arranged pattern of operation and such was adhered to fully and passed down from age to age. Existing scholarship add...