A particularly well-illustrated book of Yoruba art described as "a classic study of African art -- a book of breadth, authority, and imagination that has opened the way to a fresh appreciation of the cultural legacy of sub-Saharan Africa." Topics covered include Mythos, Aesthetics, Trickster, Fate, Title Staffs, Bead Embroidery, Crowns, Masks of the Witches, Headdresses of the Dead, Genre and the Queen Victorias, Textiles, and more.

Black gods and kings: Yoruba art at UCLA

Arts & Photography

Thompson, Robert Farris

Sculpture

Indiana University Press

In this generously illustrated book, world- renowned Yale art historian Robert Farris Thompson gives us the definitive account of tango, “the fabulous dance of the past hundred years—and the most beautiful, in the opinion of Martha Graham.” From its syncretic evolution in the nineteenth century—partaking of European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and, unbeknownst to many, African influences—to its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world, Thompson shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life. As he did in his classic Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy, Thompson, in this book, “takes his subject in the round, not in any specialized or compartmentalized manner. He is part anthropologist, part art critic, part musicologist, part student of religion and philosophy, and entirely an enthusiastic partisan of what he writes about” (The New York Times). Passionately argued; unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding; and written with revelatory clarity, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.

Tango: The Art History of Love

Humor & Entertainment

Pantheon

This landmark book shows how five African civilizations—Yoruba, Kongo, Ejagham, Mande and Cross River—have informed and are reflected in the aesthetic, social and metaphysical traditions (music, sculpture, textiles, architecture, religion, idiogrammatic writing) of black people in the United States, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, Mexico, Brazil and other places in the New World.

Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Random House]

Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy

History & Criticism

Vintage

Testi di Georges Meurant e Robert Farris Thompson. Più di 600 illustrazioni di cui 101 a colori. Bibliografia . 4to pp. 226 Rilegato tela, sovracoperta (cloth, dust jacket) Ottimo (Fine) The Mbuti people, who live in the Ituri rainforest of northeastern Zaire, are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer cultures in the world. Since 3500 BC they have been famed for their rich arts of music and dancing, but until recently the barkcloth drawings and paintings originally made by the women as loincloths for ceremonies and dances have been virtually unknown in the west. The qualities of these drawings and their reflection of the Mbuti people's way of life, are explored and illustrated in this volume. The drawings are closely analyzed, examined both thematically and aesthetically, and the wider influence of African "forager" art forms on contemporary world art is discussed.Il popolo Mbuti, che vive nella foresta pluviale dell'Ituri nel nord-est dello Zaire, è una delle poche culture di cacciatori-raccoglitori rimaste al mondo. Sono famosi per le loro arti musicali e danzanti, ma fino a poco tempo fa i disegni e i dipinti originariamente fatti dalle donne erano praticamente sconosciuti nell'Occidente. Il volume esplora le qualità di questi disegni e il loro riflesso sullo stile di vita del popolo Mbuti.

Mbuti Design: Paintings by Pygmy Women of the Ituri Forest

Meurant, Georges

Reference

Thames&Hudson

African Art in Motion: Icon and Act in the collection of Katerine Coryton White

University of California Press

African Art in Motion

Univ. Of California Pr.

Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back

This strikingly unusual and beautifully illustrated book represents a turning point in African art history. The authors draw on personal memories, interviews, and oral narratives to present twelve "case histories" of objects--or clusters of objects--in the Seattle Art Museum's renowned collection of African art. Each case history is enriched by comments from artists, art historians, writers, community members, and patrons who guide readers back into the markets, palaces, ceremonies, shrines, and streets where African art originated. Often sitting still and silent in a museum display case, African art is frozen in an alien frame. Vibrant music, movement, debate, and cryptic voices are among the missing elements that once surrounded the mask, sculpture, ring, or stool. Reframing the objects, Art from Africa proposes looking at what was once done with them while also listening carefully to what was once said in their presence. As the case histories reveal, the gross mislabeling of objects as "fetishes," "idols," and "devil masks" dissolves as art becomes better known as medicine, philosophy, personality correctives, and blessings for the future. Known for his scintillating analyses of African art, Robert Farris Thompson devotes his opening essay to introducing the missing dimension of motion, exploring the meaning of postures and gestures in various African cultures. A curator dedicated to telling the stories behind such art, Pamela McClusky explores subjects ranging from royal art of the Kom and Asante kingdoms, masquerades from the Yoruba, Dan, and Mende cultures, hunters’ shirts from the Mande empire, sculpture from the Kongo kingdom, Mercedes-Benz coffins from the streets of Ghana, photographs from Mali, and Maasai body ornaments. This book accompanies a special exhibition of the museum's collection, but, as all art lovers who look beyond museum walls will appreciate, it is much more than an exhibition catalogue. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/ Philadelphia Museum of ArtOctober 2, 2004 - January 2, 2005.

McClusky, Pamela

Princeton University Press

This strikingly unusual and beautifully illustrated book represents a turning point in African art history. The authors draw on personal memories, interviews, and oral narratives to present twelve "case histories" of objects--or clusters of objects--in the Seattle Art Museum's renowned collection of African art. Each case history is enriched by comments from artists, art historians, writers, community members, and patrons who guide readers back into the markets, palaces, ceremonies, shrines, and streets where African art originated.
 Often sitting still and silent in a museum display case, African art is frozen in an alien frame. Vibrant music, movement, debate, and cryptic voices are among the missing elements that once surrounded the mask, sculpture, ring, or stool. Reframing the objects, Art from Africa proposes looking at what was once done with them while also listening carefully to what was once said in their presence. As the case histories reveal, the gross mislabeling of objects as "fetishes," "idols," and "devil masks" dissolves as art becomes better known as medicine, philosophy, personality correctives, and blessings for the future.
 Known for his scintillating analyses of African art, Robert Farris Thompson devotes his opening essay to introducing the missing dimension of motion, exploring the meaning of postures and gestures in various African cultures. A curator dedicated to telling the stories behind such art, Pamela McClusky explores subjects ranging from royal art of the Kom and Asante kingdoms, masquerades from the Yoruba, Dan, and Mende cultures, hunters’ shirts from the Mande empire, sculpture from the Kongo kingdom, Mercedes-Benz coffins from the streets of Ghana, photographs from Mali, and Maasai body ornaments. This book accompanies a special exhibition of the museum's collection, but, as all art lovers who look beyond museum walls will appreciate, it is much more than an exhibition catalogue.
 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
 http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/ Philadelphia Museum of Art October 2, 2004 - January 2, 2005.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Featuring foldouts, candid photographs, and full-page color installation shots, this beautiful new book celebrates the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat over his brief but meteoric career. Dozens of historical photographs, both black-and-white and color, connect the text with the close to sixty color plates, providing invaluable insight into the life and work of this seminal artist. Art historian Robert Farris Thompson delivers a detailed analysis of some of Basquiat’s most iconic paintings, situating them within the artist’s own oeuvre, as well as the larger landscape of twentieth-century art. Rounding out this stunning volume, the late Rene Ricard provides a rare but accurate glimpse into the private world of Basquiat, recounting their sometimes fraught friendship, from their first meeting in 1981 to Basquiat’s death in 1988.

Ricard, Renee

Gagosian / Rizzoli

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