In 1906 tribal sculpture was idiscoveredi by 20th century artists; these objects had suddenly become relevant because of changes in the nature of modern art itself. These two volumes comprise the first comprehensive scholarly treatment in half a century of the crucial influence of the tribal arts--particularly those of Africa and Oceania--on modern painters and sculptors. In this visually stunning and intellectually provocative work, 19 essays confront complex aesthetic, art-historical, and sociological problems posed by this dramatic chapter in the history of modern art. The main body of the book contains a series of essays on primitivism in the works of Gauguin, the Fauves, Picasso, Brancusi, the German Expressionists, Lipchitz, Modigliani, Klee, Giacometti, Moore, the Surrealists, and the Abstract Expressionists. It concludes with a discussion of primitivist contemporary artists, including those involved in earthworks, shamanism, and ritual-inspired performances.

"Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern (Volumes I & II)

Arts & Photography

KRAUSS, ROSALIND

Maurer, Evan

Flam, Jack

Bassani, Ezio

Feest, Christian

Geist, Sidney

Gordon, Donald

Laude, Jean

Levin, Gail

Paudrat, Jean-Louis

Peltier, Philippe

Rosenstock, Laura

WILKINSON, Alan

Oldenburg, Richard

BRANCUSI, Constantin

Lipchitz, Jacques

Modigliani, Amadeo

Moore, Henri

GIACOMETTI, Alberto

KLEE, PAUL

Oldenburg, Richard E.

PICASSO, Pablo

GAUGUIN, Paul.

History & Criticism

The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Africa and the Renaissance: Art in Ivory

Museum for African Art

Book by Bassani, Ezio, Fagg, William Buller

Fagg, William Buller

Prestel Pub

An illustrated study of traditional and figurative art of Africa that reflects the continent’s rich artistic and cultural heritage. African Art explores the continent’s marvelous artistic achievements which share its roots with humanities origins. Sculpture has historically been the chief means of artistic expression. The human figure, whether real or symbolic, is almost the exclusive subject of African art. This vast world of African sculpture is the result of an evolutionary process, based on humanity’s rich history and diversity deriving from migrations, wars, and alliances. During the last century, the African continent has experienced radical transformations in the fields of social and political organizations, the economy and religions. Inevitably, new artistic forms are being established simultaneously with the globalization process and the creation of works for the art market, which retain less and less ties with those of the past. African Art is an exhaustive presentation of the traditional figurative arts of Africa and concisely explains their distinguishing historical, formal, symbolic and functional characteristics. A truly valuable source of inspiration for students, collectors, and travelers alike, this book is complete with a glossary and bibliography.

African Art

Skira

Many elements converge in the construction of a high-quality art collection, making it a fascinating, intellectual and emotional adventure, a journey of discovery and a labour of love. Formed over the course of thirty years by Udo Horstmann and his wife, the Horstmann collection is rather exceptional inasmuch as it offers a captivating vision of the variety of solutions adopted by black artists over the course of the centuries: nearly 120 extraordinary sculptures, figures, masks, household objects and weapons from Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Kenya and Sudan. The origin of the artworks-- selected for their perfection transcending the mere utilitarian function-- touches all of the lands of the continent, including the southern and eastern lands rarely so authoritatively represented in other collections, and their execution covers an arc of time of several millennia. The presence of ancient works contributes to the demolition of the preconception that has weighed unfairly until recent years on African art, and that is the absence of evolution in the artistic creation of Black Africa, and therefore of any historic quality. This is a difficult negation to cancel if African sculpture is still often labeled as "primitive." Another meritorious quality of the Horstmanns lies in the fact that they chose the sculptures in their collection, not out of any generic passion for the exotic and neither for any abstract demand for representativity of ethnicity or significance or destination, but for their quality, for the enchantment of the "form," or better, of the "forms." Paging through the book, the reader will discover that the artistic creation, that is, the need to give "form" to the formless, is a common heritage of mankind, shared by the artists of Black Africa.

Power of Form: African Art from the Horstmann Collection

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Books by Bassani, Ezio