Critiques de la notion d’art africain: approches historiques, ethno-esthétiques et philosophiques by Babacar Mbaye Diop

Abstract

Reviews 215 within the text, or in footnotes, in order to promote readability. More often than not, however, frustration rather than ease results from this lack of specificity. In a similar vein, the brief critical bibliography that rounds out the volume is general in nature and disappointingly uninformative. Dénier is at her best in drawing conclusions from her thematic review of the persistent,dispersed allusions to British culture in Stendhal’s life and writings.Far from being the object of a systematic,didactic discourse,Stendhal’s England is constantly evolving, fluid enough to encompass inconsistencies and contradictions . More than a mirror of reality, it is an intellectual construct. Although Count Stendhal may be of limited use to scholars who want to further explore the topic, it brings together facets of British culture that make England, in his writings and life, the counterpoint and complement of his imaginary creation of Italy. Smith College (MA) Mary Ellen Birkett Diop, Babacar Mbaye. Critiques de la notion d’art africain: approches historiques, ethno-esthétiques et philosophiques. Paris: Connaissances et Savoirs, 2011. ISBN 978-2-7539-0190-2. Pp. 292. 22 a. The genius of Diop’s text lies in its simple organizing premise: continuity. Though not an earth-shattering claim in the study of other subjects, Diop’s assertion for African arts tackles head-on a firmly-entrenched intellectual tradition. In seeking unity, he frequently returns to important sticking points (the question of utility, craftsmanship, contact, and spirituality) in relation to the text’s three main divisions. The first section, “Approches historiques de la création artistique en Afrique noire,” enriches our understanding of the categories in which African arts have been typically divided—ancient, traditional, and contemporary. Rather than rejecting the classifications , the author proposes a rereading of such art critics as Apollinaire, Matisse, Cheikh Anta Diop, and Senghor in order to weave connections. For the ancient period, Diop revitalizes the links between Sub-Saharan Africa and Egyptian antiquity.He reexamines the aesthetic framework that has been used to evaluate African artisanship in the traditional arts category. The author shows how critics have overemphasized European contact. At the same time, he exposes the amplification of utility and the underappreciation of the role of beauty. According to Diop, contemporary art in Africa suffers at the hands of critics who habitually disconnect it from its own historical roots simply because Western art categorizes works as contemporary based on the break of the postwar period. The second part,“Critique des différentes lectures des Arts négroafricains ,” examines the evolution of Eurocentric aesthetics as it has been applied to the study of African plastic arts. Diop demonstrates how value has slowly been assigned to African art production, as evidenced by the labels “art nègre”, “art primitive,” and “art tribal”—each carrying with its aesthetic classification a network of philosophical biases. Following Jean-Godefroy Bidima’s argument in L’art négro-africain, Diop then underscores the fanciful perception of elements that had suddenly given African arts an aesthetic status in the West, thanks to their association with modern themes of “dehumanization ,”“alienation,”and“authenticity.”He deftly leads the reader to“l’analyse ethnoesthétique,” which examines the question of beauty and utility through Kant, Senghor, Mauss, and Delange. Diop ends the second part on Eurocentric aesthetics with an inquiry into the formalist approach by connecting Baumgarten, Hume, and Hegel to Alassane Ndaw, Roger Somé, and Iba Ndiaye Diadji. The third section of the text investigates African aesthetic theories by Senghor, Mveng, and Bidima. Each of the three chapters in this final unit treats the standard themes of “Négritude,”“crossings,” “marginalization,”and“globalization,”with the goal of developing a unified aesthetic theory. While Diop frequently returns to the past, he just as often looks to the contemporary arts scene within and outside the continent. This study speaks with clarity on a subject whose sources are complex and varied.As each chapter peels away layers of culturally biased criticism, the natural links between the ancient-traditionalcontemporary periods do indeed emerge. Not only does Diop’s study serve as an excellent introduction to African plastic arts, it provides insight into all its arts traditions. Mount...