Tribal Art

From distant African roots, jazz emerged from the bastringues of New Orleans to become the major musical event of the 20th century. Similarly, strange objects from Africa, taken from the trunks of missionaries, doctors and colonial administrators, passed from the Museum of Ethnography to the Museum of Art and History where they acquired their letters of nobility. It is an event. When African art was revealed in its form to Picasso, Matisse, Breton and others, our art was transformed. The difference in perception between our approach to this art and the sensitivity of those who created modern art lies in the fact that today the very meaning of tribal objects acquires an importance that was neglected at the time of their discovery. This book sheds light on the incredible paradox of the diversity and coherence of African art. He shows, through statuary and his art of the mask, what is special about African intellectual nature and its contribution to the cultural and intellectual history of humanity. For 50 years Serge Diakonoff has traveled the world to build a collection of more than 900 masks and sculptures. He invites us here to take a look at the artistic production of Black Africa, to discern the different styles and to understand the motivations of their creators. Through this unique set and through a remarkable and representative selection of this art, he shows us unusual or atypical objects, sometimes totally absent from classical African iconography. All of the accompanying legends, as well as some explanatory texts, give an overall idea of ​​the spirituality of Black Africa and the reasons which led its peoples to produce an indigenous art of great invention and such diversity.

Authors: Serge Diakonoff
Edition: Amateur Editions
Condition: NEW
Language: French
Number of pages: 374
Dimensions: 320 x 270mm
Paperback
ISBN: 978-2859174941