Methodology, Ideology and Pedagogy of African Art

This edited volume, including contributions from scholars with different areas of specialization, investigates a broad range of methodologies, ideologies and pedagogies focusing on the study of the art of Africa, using theoretical reflections and applications from primitivism to metamodernism. Chapters break the externally imposed boundaries of Africa-related works beyond the conventional fragments of traditional, contemporary and diaspora. The contributions are significantly broad in their methodologies, ideologies and pedagogical coverage; yet, they all address various aspects of African artistic creativity, demonstrating the possibilities for analytical experiments that art history presents to scholars of the discipline today. The Ìwà (character) of each approach is unique; nevertheless, each is useful toward a fuller understanding of African art studies as an independent aspect of art historical research that is a branch or bud of the larger family of art history. The volume respects, highlights and celebrates the distinctiveness of each methodical approach, recognizing its contribution to the overall character or Ìwà of African art studies. The book will be of interest to students in undergraduate or graduate, intermediate or advanced courses as well as scholars in art history and African studies.

Moyo Okediji is Professor of African Art History at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

1. On the Invention of "Traditional" Art 2. Sensiotics or the Study of the Senses in Material Culture and History in Africa and Beyond 3. Dancing Nkhoba: The Flow of Sound and Healthy Bodies in the West Usambara Mountains of Tanzania 4. African Meanings, Western Words 5. Chwuechology: Indigenous African Art Education 6. Azande and Mangbetu Artists as Social Critics in the Belgian Congo 1909-1915: What Are the Implications for Contemporary Artists and Museums Today? 7. Cloth as Metaphor in Egungun Costumes 8. Conflict and Peace: Gender and Spiritual Dimensions of Eguìnguìn Performance 9. IÌbaÌ Fuìn Obinrin: Monochromatic Mythography of Yoruba Female Power 10. Creativity and Identity Construction in Contemporary Yoruba Art 11. African Art, the Venice Biennale, and the Politics of Visibility 12. The Spirit of Fi Yi Yi and the Mandingo Warriors: Africa in New Orleans 13. Speaking into Being: The Resonance of Empathy in the Work of Elizabeth Catlett 14. Sacred Spaces: Antonius Roberts and Public Sanctuaries 15. Reflections and Reminiscences Revisited: Indigenous Knowledge Systems, African-Based Worldviews, and Cross-Cultural Diasporic Connections 16. Akwaaba/Continuum: Manifesto of an African Artist 17. È-ù -l-gba Agency in the Critical Imagery of African American Artist John Yancey 18. Toward a Sonic African Diasporic Re-Membering