FAH 04 INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTS OF AFRICA Fall 2012 / Monday & Wednesday / 1:30 2:45 Professor Peter Probst
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTS OF AFRICA Department of Art and Art History FAH 0004 Fall 2012 This is an introduction to the study of the arts of various cultures and time periods in Africa ranging from ancient ceramics to contemporary painting and installations. It is intended to be provide some insight into the great diversity and richness of the arts of the African continent. The course is divided into different perspectives and themes. Besides formal approaches to African art we learn about the various ways the visual arts reflect and function with respect to larger cultural issues. Within this context, students learn about the relationship of art to religion, gender, identity, and political power, discover the extensions of African visual culture into the Americas, and gain knowledge about key issues in the emergence of modern and contemporary art. Last but not least the course is also an introduction to the methods and vocabulary of the study of African art history and considers the general problems of how scholars understand and write about African arts. General Learning Objectives: In addition to learning about African art students will develop and practice the ability to analyze, interpret, contextualize and write on visual works of art. They will develop critical thinking skills in response to scholarly literature and be introduced to disciplinary theories and methods. a. The ability to analyze, interpret, and write on visual works of art. b. Ability to contextualize cultural and historical significance of artworks. c. Knowledge of the history of art from pre-history to 1700. d. Knowledge of the history of art from 1700 to the present. e. Ability to conduct art historical research. f. Oral presentation skills. g. Critical thinking ability in response to scholarly literature. h. Understanding of disciplinary history, theories, and methods. Monday & Wednesday 1:30-2:45 pm Professor Peter Probst (email: peter.probst@tufts.edu) Department of Art History, 11 Talbot Avenue Office hours: Tuesday 2:00 4:00 pm
Recommended Readings: McClusky, Pam. 2002. Art from Africa. Princeton: Seattle Art Museum Spring, Chris. 2009. African Art in Detail. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Course Readings You will find all the course readings as pdf files on Blackboard. Since the readings give the background information necessary to initiate stimulating class discussions, assignments must be read prior to the date they will be discussed in class. You should read the articles with care, highlighting the main points in each chapter or article and making notes as you read. Be sure to write any questions or comments you have and we can discuss them in class. Course Requirements: Mid-term (25%) Final (25%) Discussion / Blackboard Input (10%) Paper 1 (20%) Paper 2 (20%) Papers / Audio Guide The two papers length 5 pages each, double space are conceived as a text for an audio guide, i.e. a text written for a recorded spoken commentary through a handheld device to a museum visitor. Each paper describes, discusses and explains one particular object and is organized in three parts. The first part will give a formal description of the object. The second part informs about the cultural and historical background while the third part focuses on issues of meaning. (It goes without saying that the part two and three will vary depending on the object and the knowledge available.) Students will choose their own object and need to do research to gain proper information. For a first overview check google scholar but you also need to make yourself familiar with the electronic resources at Tisch library. The librarians will be happy to help you. First paper due 10/15 Second paper due 11/28
Exam Format Exams consist of two parts. Part one consists of slide identification with questions pertaining to origin, date, material, form, and significance/meaning. Part two consists of essay questions. Academic Conduct Plagiarism is defined as representing the work of another as your own. This includes copying the answers of another student on an examination or restating the work of another person without citing the appropriate source in a written paper. I am required to report cases of suspected academic misconduct to the Dean s Office and penalties include suspension of expulsion from the university. If you are in doubt as to whether you are appropriately using research materials, please contact me. COURSE SCHEDULE Introduction: The Fields of African Arts W 9/5 M 9/10 Welcome and Introduction to the Course Perceptions and Receptions of African Art Aminatta Forna, Through African Eyes, BBC 1995. 47 mins Space: Trade Routes and Empires W 9/12 Mali (Perani & Smith 1998; Visona 2008; Prussin 1974) M 9/17 Ife (Poyner 2008: 228-238; Blier 1985) W 9/19 Benin (Cole 1998: 272-283; Plankensteiner 2007) M 9/24 Akan (Quarcoopome 1997) Form: Transafrican Aesthetics W 9/26 Sculpture and Pose (Thompson 2002) M 10/1 Body and Control (Thompson 1973; Sprague 1978) W 10/3 Museum Visit
Practice: African Art as Performance T 10/9 Producing Gender (Phillips 1978; Glaze 1986; McClusky 2002a) W 10/10 Preserving Memories (Nooter 1998) M 10/15 Healing Afflictions (McClusky 2002b) First Paper Due W 10/17 Determing Destiny (Lawal 1985, 2005) M 10/22 Acquiring Sanctity (Gilbert 1992; Fortes 1967) W 10/24 Revision M 10/29 Exam Migrations: Africa in the Americas W 10/31 Reworking Saints in Cuba and the US (Brown 1993; Ramos 1996) M 11/5 African Water Spirits in the Dominican Republic (Drewal 2002) W 11/7 Ghanaian Kente Cloth: From West Africa to the US (McCluskey 2002c) M 11/12 Veterans Day: No Classes Modernism: From Urban Art to Studio Art W 11/14 Photography and the Celebration of the Urban (Lamuniere 2001) M 11/19 Popular Art and After (Kasfir 1999: 18-47; Magnin 2004: 10-34) W 11/21 Spring Recess: No Classes M 11/26 Modern African Art: The Case of Nigeria & Senegal (Okeke 1960; Kasfir 1999: 124-165, Harney 2001) Contemporary: Beyond Identity W 11/28 Yinka Shonibare (Enwezor 2004; Oguibe 2004: 10-17, 33-44) Second Paper Due M 12/3 El Anatsui (Harney 2011; Enwezor 2011) W 12/5 Revision I M 12/10 Revision II M 12/14 Friday: Final Exam - 3:30-5:30
Bibliography Blier, Suzanne. 1985. Kings, Crowns, and Rights of Succession: Obalufon Arts at Ife and Other Yoruba Centers. Art Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 383-401 Brown, David. 1993. Thrones to the Orishas. African Arts, Vol. 26, No. 4: 44-59 Cole, Herbert. 2001. Benin: Six Centuries of Royal Art. In M. Visona (ed.) A History of Art in Africa. Upper Saddle River. Prentice Hall. Drewal, Henry. 1997. Ogun and Body/Mind Potentiality: Yoruba Scarification and Painting Traditions in African and the Americas. In: Sandra Barnes (ed.) Africa s Ogun. Old World and New. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 2002. Mami Wata and Santa Marta. Imag(in)ing Selves and Others in Africa and the Americas. In: Paul Landau & D. Kaspin (eds.) Images and Empires. Berkeley: University of California Press Enwezor, Okwui. 2004. Yinka Shonibare. In: Laurie Ann Farell (ed.) Looking both Ways. Art of the Contemporary African Diaspora. New York: Museum of African Art 2011. Cartographies of Uneven Exchange. Nka, No. 28, pp. 96-105 Fortes, Meyer. 1968. Of Installation Ceremonies. Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute for 1967. Pp. 5-20 Gilbert, Michelle.1987. The Person of the King. Ritual and Power in a Ghanaian State. In: D. Cannadine & S. Price (eds.), Rituals of Royalty. Power and Ceremonial in Traditional Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Glaze, Anita. 1986. Dialectics of Gender in Senufo Performance. African Arts, Vol. 19, No. 3 pp. 30-39+82 Harney, Elizabeth. 2002. Ecole Dakar. Pan-Africanism in Paint and Textile. African Arts, Vol. 35, No.3, pp. 12-31 2011. A Nomad s Revolutionary Beauty. Nka, No. 28, pp. 115-128 Kasfir, Sidney. 1999. Contemporary African Art. London Thames and Hudson Lamuniere, Michelle. 2001. You look beautiful like that. The Portrait Photographs of Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé. New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 13-43 Lawal, Babatunde. 1985. Ori: The Significance of the Head in Yoruba Sculpture, Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 91-103 2005. Divinity, Creativity and Humanity in Yoruba Aesthetics. In Before Pangea: New Essays in Transcultural Aesthetics, edited by Eugenio Benitez, Sidney: Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics, pp. 161-71. Mack, John. 1995. Fetish: Magic Figures in Central Africa. In Fetishism: Visualising Power and Desire, ed. by Anthony Skelton, London Magnin, Andre. 2004. Cheri Samba. London: Thames and Hudson McClusky, Pam. 2002a. Beauty Stripped of Human Flaws: Sowei Masks Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back. In: Art from Africa. Princeton: Seattle Art Museum, pp. 227-43 2002b. The Fetish and Imagination in Europe. In Art from Africa. Princeton: Seattle Art Museum, pp. 143-167 2002c. Wrapped in Pride, In Art from Africa. Princeton: Seattle Art Museum, pp. 98-105
Nooter Roberts, Mary.1996. Luba Memory Theatrer. In: Mary Nooter Roberts & Allen Roberts (eds.) Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History. New York: The Museum for African Arts, pp. 117-149 Oguibe, Olu. 2004. The Culture Game. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press Okeke, Uche, 1995 [1960]. Natural Synthesis. In Catherine Deliss (ed.). Seven Stories about Modern Art. London Quarcoopome, Nii Otokunor. 1997. Art of the Akan. Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2, African Art at The Art Institute of Chicago (1997), pp. 134-147+197 Plankensteiner, Barbara. 2007. Benin. Kings and Courts. African Arts, Vol. 49, pp. 74-87 Perani, Judith & Smith, Fred. 1998. Visual Arts of Africa. Prentice Hall Phillips, Ruth. 1978. Masking in Mende Society. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 265-277 Prussin, Labelle. 1974. Introduction to Indigenous African Architecture. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.Vol, 33/3, pp. 185-203 Poyner, Robin. 2008. Yoruba. In Monica Vison at al. A History of Art in Africa. Prentice Hall, pp. 104-114 Ramos, Miguel. 1996. Afro-Cuban Orisha Worship. In: Arturo Lindsay (ed.) Santeria Aesthetics in Contemporary Latin American Art. Washington: Smithsonian Press Shirey, Heather. 2009. Transforming the Orixas. African Arts, Vol. 42, No. 4, 62-79 Sprague, Stephen.1978. Yoruba Photography: How the Yoruba See Themselves. African Arts, Vol. 12, No. 1: 52-59+107 Sutton, J.E. G. 2001. Igbo-Ukwu and the Nile. The African Archaeological Review, Vol. 18, No. 1: 49-62 Thompson, Farris. 1973. An Aesthetic of the Cool. African Arts, Vol. 7/1: 40-43+64-67+89-91 2002. African Art in Motion. In Art from Africa ed. Pam McClusky, Princeton: Seattle Art Museum