World Art Studies 2324-S1
Lecture 2- Art and World Views -The Contemporary/The Global
The Contemporary/The Global
In the last few decades, several art historians have criBcized the Eurocentric fundaments of
art history and insisted on a broader view on both art and history. FoundaBonal to their
arguments was that art is, and has always been, a transnaBonal/global enterprise.
In this lecture, we will look at the suggesBons made by some of the main defenders/scolars
on global art history.
Special focus will be on the interplay between the global and contemporaneity.
Very linear story starts on one point and finishes of at another point mainly western.
The history of art is just 1 history more stories came through the last century that also belong
to art history.
Global art history
CharacterisBc à Includes all art over the globe.
Western cultural, geography, capitalism, colonialism, cultural values, poliBcal
Confusion what is the West. We understand who belongs to the West.
What then happened to country who are near the Western? Such as Isreal?
Do they belong or not? Confusion.
In cultural terms it is even complicated.
àa certain geographical bound: USA, Europe difficult to point out who
belong, who are part of (see Israel or Caribbean)
àcertain culture that has been established aTer the French RevoluBon (more
developed?)
We all understand what the west is but difficult to show who belong and who take part.
It’s a geographical and cultural enBty.
Global art history not only arBst from western countries but from everywhere.
PrimiBvismà1984 in Moma, NY
1st exhibiBon that other countries were included then the main western stream.
PrimiBvism was a turning point in art history à first Bme that African and Oceania art also
was included.
PrimiBvismàprimiBve art à base of art
Simple art—> arBst that made things—> they had no status as an arBst, these were sees as
object not even as art artefacts.
objects and arts started to influence arBst in de western countries, they felt overdeveloped in
their ciBes, in their life. They lived in a life were everything was over-urban, overpopulated.
There was in escape so thee found in thuis primiBeve culture and escape.
, In the exhibiBon were shown these masterpieces together with the nameless object that had
so called influencethese arBsts. Known arBst (Gaugin, Picasso, Manet) and the arBfacts from
Africa (some arBsts not even known) Examples in the room with the masks shown on the wall
aside the painBng of Picasso, Les demoiselles d’Avignon
Could we consider then that this exhibiBon was an equal way to show all of them?
• Not presented on their own
• No informaBon of the people who made it, where it was from, etc.
• No recogniBon
• Only shown that they had inspired/sources the famous arBsts.
This exhibiBon was made by a western curator, so very in view of the western ideas.
2. Artworks from all over the world are equal
2nd exhibiBonà respond to the first exhibiBonà magicien de la terre, Centre de Pompidou,
Paris à Curator Jean-Hubert MarBn
He commissioned new artwork from the half western and other half third world and social
countries.
ArBst on equal fooBng?
Two installaBons got a lot of criBcism.
Richard Long, Red Earth Circle and Yuendumumu Communit
Artwork on the floor à was not western. Made by an indigenous community.
Artwork on the wall à was western. Gives it the beger posiBon.
Again, here give some supremacy over the one on the floor
Big criBque on this seing because again western was but on top of the non-western art.
CriBque again à making magicians not arBsts à Making the non-westerns to performance
an act what of what there were expected à Give it an exoBcism.
Pushing them in a certain way that they didn’t have the freedom to choose à making
something very spiritual, exoBc something à which made them into in a certain way
magicians.
3. No Eurocentric view
Global arBstry à no Eurocentric view à arBst from other parts of the world
Third exhibiBon à Third Havana Biennial 1989, very first theoreBcal event
Different way of showing these new arBst à curators were all Cubanàtraveled the enBre
world.
1.Prior they travelled à they had to do research on the arBst they were going to visit
2.ArBst would come together à but outside Europe, the segled themselves on the map by
doing this (619 arBst from 60 different countries)
3.TheoreBcal events à equal fooBng on the exhibiBons à so they invited curators,
academics etc.--> they made small teams à to discuss different way of showing the arBst,
the best way to show arBsts à organised in certain themes
à non-Eurocentric arBst but bringing them outside Europe/USA but in a neutral territory.
A place that didn’t belong to the western
Lecture 2- Art and World Views -The Contemporary/The Global
The Contemporary/The Global
In the last few decades, several art historians have criBcized the Eurocentric fundaments of
art history and insisted on a broader view on both art and history. FoundaBonal to their
arguments was that art is, and has always been, a transnaBonal/global enterprise.
In this lecture, we will look at the suggesBons made by some of the main defenders/scolars
on global art history.
Special focus will be on the interplay between the global and contemporaneity.
Very linear story starts on one point and finishes of at another point mainly western.
The history of art is just 1 history more stories came through the last century that also belong
to art history.
Global art history
CharacterisBc à Includes all art over the globe.
Western cultural, geography, capitalism, colonialism, cultural values, poliBcal
Confusion what is the West. We understand who belongs to the West.
What then happened to country who are near the Western? Such as Isreal?
Do they belong or not? Confusion.
In cultural terms it is even complicated.
àa certain geographical bound: USA, Europe difficult to point out who
belong, who are part of (see Israel or Caribbean)
àcertain culture that has been established aTer the French RevoluBon (more
developed?)
We all understand what the west is but difficult to show who belong and who take part.
It’s a geographical and cultural enBty.
Global art history not only arBst from western countries but from everywhere.
PrimiBvismà1984 in Moma, NY
1st exhibiBon that other countries were included then the main western stream.
PrimiBvism was a turning point in art history à first Bme that African and Oceania art also
was included.
PrimiBvismàprimiBve art à base of art
Simple art—> arBst that made things—> they had no status as an arBst, these were sees as
object not even as art artefacts.
objects and arts started to influence arBst in de western countries, they felt overdeveloped in
their ciBes, in their life. They lived in a life were everything was over-urban, overpopulated.
There was in escape so thee found in thuis primiBeve culture and escape.
, In the exhibiBon were shown these masterpieces together with the nameless object that had
so called influencethese arBsts. Known arBst (Gaugin, Picasso, Manet) and the arBfacts from
Africa (some arBsts not even known) Examples in the room with the masks shown on the wall
aside the painBng of Picasso, Les demoiselles d’Avignon
Could we consider then that this exhibiBon was an equal way to show all of them?
• Not presented on their own
• No informaBon of the people who made it, where it was from, etc.
• No recogniBon
• Only shown that they had inspired/sources the famous arBsts.
This exhibiBon was made by a western curator, so very in view of the western ideas.
2. Artworks from all over the world are equal
2nd exhibiBonà respond to the first exhibiBonà magicien de la terre, Centre de Pompidou,
Paris à Curator Jean-Hubert MarBn
He commissioned new artwork from the half western and other half third world and social
countries.
ArBst on equal fooBng?
Two installaBons got a lot of criBcism.
Richard Long, Red Earth Circle and Yuendumumu Communit
Artwork on the floor à was not western. Made by an indigenous community.
Artwork on the wall à was western. Gives it the beger posiBon.
Again, here give some supremacy over the one on the floor
Big criBque on this seing because again western was but on top of the non-western art.
CriBque again à making magicians not arBsts à Making the non-westerns to performance
an act what of what there were expected à Give it an exoBcism.
Pushing them in a certain way that they didn’t have the freedom to choose à making
something very spiritual, exoBc something à which made them into in a certain way
magicians.
3. No Eurocentric view
Global arBstry à no Eurocentric view à arBst from other parts of the world
Third exhibiBon à Third Havana Biennial 1989, very first theoreBcal event
Different way of showing these new arBst à curators were all Cubanàtraveled the enBre
world.
1.Prior they travelled à they had to do research on the arBst they were going to visit
2.ArBst would come together à but outside Europe, the segled themselves on the map by
doing this (619 arBst from 60 different countries)
3.TheoreBcal events à equal fooBng on the exhibiBons à so they invited curators,
academics etc.--> they made small teams à to discuss different way of showing the arBst,
the best way to show arBsts à organised in certain themes
à non-Eurocentric arBst but bringing them outside Europe/USA but in a neutral territory.
A place that didn’t belong to the western
