AFRC516 - THE ARTIST IN AFRICA

Topics Vary: Spring 2013 Topic, "The Artist in Africa." This course foregrounds the study of the artist in Africa, considering issues of authorship, artistic identity, and the creative process. It is intended to introduce a broad range of African artistry, primarily tradition-based but also including contemporary art, and to encourage critical thinking about the cultural construction of the artist in Africa and the West. The first weeks will focus on historiography, examining Modernist constructions of the African artist that accompanied the Western discovery of African art and early studies linking ethnicity to style. We then consider spheres of artistic production, looking at media and techniques and their relation to gender and artistic identity. From there, we examine innovation and creativity within tradition and the role of patronage and the market. Related issues of authorship and biography will frame our discussion of case studies of artist's hands among the Yoruba (Nigeria), Luba (Congo), and other African cultures. We will conclude by looking at issues of artistic identity and representation in modern and contemporary African art. Weekly meetings will be supplemented by visits to museums and galleries, including the Barnes Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, as well as a lecture by a visiting artist.