Exotic curiosities and reformist propaganda

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

      I picked African Art: Legacy of Oppression and African Art because they are thematically the same. The two videos complement each other because they both focus on sub-Saharan art.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

     In African Art: Legacy of Oppression I learnt that there is a racially tinged bias in the way non-western art is collected and interpreted. In spite of the rich cultural inheritance that resides in Africa and in spite of the fact that some of these art has influenced luminaries like Picasso and Munch, there seems to be a willful ignorance that dictates that there should be an emphasis on minimizing the beauty and importance of African artifacts as childish and primitive.

     I was left with the impression that the exhibit that is the focus of these video goes out of its way to omit the historical narrative that inspired the various artifacts on display. This narrative includes such themes as the colonial legacy of slavery, mutilation and genocide. For this to be ignored and to instead display the works as nothing more than abstract mementos of a primitive and non-Christian past takes away so much from the “psychological truth” that should be part of all art.

     This type of art (described as “simple and dramatic, startling and exaggerated”) is credited for giving western art its "visual vocabulary" that allowed it to move away from its constant search for higher and higher levels of realism. But all this is lost if the art is not seen in the painful context of its origins.

     I have to mention that I find it truly obnoxious that the narrator of the video nonchalantly mentions that this African exhibit which is on a world tour will soon “return home to Belgium’s Tervuren Museum.” Home, indeed.

     The next video I watched, African Art, explores the importance of art as a spiritual component of everyday life in African societies. Unlike western art which is mostly perceptual, African art is said to be conceptual in that it draws its meaning from imagination and symbolism. This gives the art a deeper meaning to the societies it originates from because it represents something that is seen as greater than its creators. The art, which is said to consist of a rich tradition of sound, color and movement, is handed down from generation to generation and is venerated as deeply mysterious and spiritual. It influences how people live, interact and sometimes how they are expected to carry on after they die.

     The video discusses the influence of Egyptian culture on the spread of art in sub-Saharan Africa. This exchange of ideas, through migrations and conquests, accounts for some of the most diverse art cultures anywhere in the world and has long been a source of fascination that is not fully understood or appreciated. I also learnt from the video that it is not correct to speak of African art as something that is monolithic. Rather, to understand African art, one must look at it as regionally distinct and very diffuse.

     But generally speaking, African art differs from European art in that it is rooted in “invisible realities” and is grounded in the belief that everything, including the hills and the rocks, is animated and possesses life. African art does not normally represent living things or people but rather it is a carrier of spirits and to possess this art is to seek their intercession and some control of the supernatural world.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

     Both the text and the video have very good imagery depicting the different types of art from the African continent. I found the video African Art, to be particularly informative because it collaborates much of what the book says. The spiritual importance of art and the role it plays in the daily lives of people is examined by both. Taken together, the text and the video give a more complete picture of this type of art than they would by themselves.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

     The video African Art: Legacy of Oppression raises some very important issues about the role of African art and the effect of colonialism. This is something I feel has not been fully explored. Both of them give good descriptions and meanings of the artifacts in question. This gives a foundation that one can use to explore the subject further. By looking at the art through the eyes of different experts, it becomes possible to understand why certain art is created and why certain art forms have not survived as long as others.