A Companion to Modern African Art

Introduction -- "Africa has always been modern" -- Art in cosmopolitan Africa -- Modernities and cross-cultural encounters in arts of the early twentieth century -- Colonialism, modernism, and art in independent nations -- Perspectives on arts of the African Diaspora -- Syntheses in art of the late twentieth century -- Primitivism as erasure -- Local expression and global modernity;Offering a wealth of perspectives on African modern and Modernist art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, this new Companion features essays by African, European, and North American authors who assess the work of individual artists as well as exploring broader themes such as discoveries of new technologies and globalization. A pioneering continent-based assessment of modern art and modernity across Africa. Includes original and previously unpublished fieldwork-based material. Features new and complex theoretical arguments about the nature of modernity.