Art History: African

This collection of 24 recent, in-depth articles by noted international, ethnographic art historians and anthropologists is divided into six topical sections--Aesthetic Systems, The Artist as Individual, Art and Social Structure, Passages, Shelter as Symbol, and Continuity and Change in Fourth World Arts-- each with its own introductory essay. The authors careful editing provides a well-balanced selection of artistic traditions from sub-Saharan Africa, the South Pacific, and the Native New World that covers a full spectrum of media from historical tradition to contemporary performance arts.

This new history of over 5,000 years of African art reveals its true diversity for the first time. Challenging centuries of misconceptions that have obscured the sophisticated nature of African art, Garlake focuses on seven key regions--southern Africa, Nubia, Aksum, the Niger River, West Africa, Great Zimbabwe, and the East African coast--treating each in detail and setting them in their social and historical context. Garlake is long familiar with and has extensive practical experience of both the archaeology and the art history of Africa. Using the latest research and archaeological findings, he offers exciting new insights into the works native to these areas, and he also puts forth new interpretations of several key cultures and monuments. Acknowledging the universal allure of the African art object, this stunning book helps us to understand more about the ways in which this art was produced, used, and received.