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Petridis, Constantine

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Note to the Reader

Constantine Petridis (Editor)

The Language of Beauty in African Art

Note to the Reader

Author

Constantine Petridis (Editor)

PublisherArt Institute of Chicago

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-22974

Note to the Reader

Diacritics have been used in transliterations of Yòrùbá and other languages at the discretion of the author of each essay.

All translations are by the authors unless otherwise noted.

The term “mask” is a conventional English translation for a concept found across the continent in which supernatural beings or forces manifest in the form of spiritually charged objects physically activated by humans. Thus, “mask” may refer to the particular work that channels this energy; the supernatural being associated with it; the performance (or dance) that constitutes the supernatural presence; or some ontologically complex combination thereof.

The general territory occupied by a cultural group is described in parentheses following their introduction, using present-day national boundaries and names. For further information about the regions where they reside, we recommend consulting the AfricaMap extension of Harvard WorldMap (worldmap.maps.arcgis.com, 2008–present), which incorporates Peoples of Africa: Ethno-Linguistic Map (Meur and Felix 2001).

For objects where a named or recognized artist has not been identified, only an attribution to an originating culture has been listed. For objects that cannot be assigned specific dates due to a lack of empirical or documentary evidence, date ranges have been provided on the basis of collection information and scholarly assumptions. In both cases, the qualifier “probably” indicates greater confidence than “possibly.”

Measurements are given in centimeters (cm), followed by inches (in.); height precedes width precedes depth. For variable, nonlinear, or ambiguously oriented structures, the measurement is clarified with the following abbreviations:

Diam. = diameter

H. = height

L. = length

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Book details

BOOKThe Language of Beauty in African Art

Constantine Petridis (Editor)

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00326

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-22970

This ambitious publication centers indigenous perspectives on traditional artworks from Africa by focusing on the judgments and vocabularies of members of the communities who created and used them. It explores cross-cultural affinities spanning the African continent while respecting local contexts; it also documents an exhibition that is extraordinary in scope and scale. The project’s overriding goal is to reconsider Western evaluations of these arts in both aesthetic and financial terms. The volume features nearly 300 works from collections around the world and from the important holdings of the Art Institute of Chicago. Although it emphasizes the sculptural legacy of sub-Saharan cultures from West and Central Africa, it also includes examples of artistic traditions associated with eastern and southern Africa as well as textiles and objects designed for domestic, ritual, and decorative functions.

Author

Constantine Petridis (Editor)

PublisherArt Institute of Chicago

Print publication date April 2022 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780300260045

EISBN 9780300269918

Illustrations 345

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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