Flash of the Spirit

Flash of the Spirit PDF

Author: Robert Farris Thompson

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2010-05-26

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0307874338

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This landmark book shows how five African civilizations—Yoruba, Kongo, Ejagham, Mande and Cross River—have informed and are reflected in the aesthetic, social and metaphysical traditions (music, sculpture, textiles, architecture, religion, idiogrammatic writing) of black people in the United States, Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, Mexico, Brazil and other places in the New World.

African Art as Philosophy

African Art as Philosophy PDF

Author: Souleymane Bachir Diagne

Publisher: Other Press, LLC

Published: 2023-09-05

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1635423228

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This critically acclaimed study offers a distinct, incisive look at how Senegalese philosopher Senghor sees in African art the most acute expression of Bergson’s philosophy. Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) was a Senegalese poet and philosopher who in 1960 also became the first president of the Republic of Senegal. In African Art as Philosophy, Souleymane Bachir Diagne uses a unique approach to reading Senghor’s influential works, taking as the starting point for his analysis Henri Bergson’s idea that in order to understand philosophers, one must find the initial intuition from which every aspect of their work develops. In the case of Senghor, Diagne argues that his primordial intuition is that African art is a philosophy. To further this point, Diagne looks at what Senghor called the “1889 Revolution” (the year Bergson’s Time and Free Will was published), as well as the influential writers and publications of that period—specifically, Nietzsche and Rimbaud. The 1889 Revolution, Senghor claims, is what led him to the understanding of the “Vitalism” at the core of African religions and beliefs that found expression in the arts.

African Art in Motion

African Art in Motion PDF

Author: Robert Farris Thompson

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-12-22

Total Pages: 902

ISBN-13: 0520324633

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This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

African Philosophy

African Philosophy PDF

Author: Lajul, Wilfred

Publisher: Fountain Publishers

Published: 2014-01-16

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9970253077

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African philosophy has for long been rejected on the basis that it is not known, or has not been written down. Behind this view is the idealist presumption that for something to exist, it must first be perceived. However, for something to be perceived, it must first exist. African Philosophy: Critical Dimensions examines what constitutes African philosophy in terms of its meaning, foundation, sources, methodology, characteristics, and relevance. The book analyses traditional African philosophy from the political, social, ethical, epistemological and metaphysical angles. The book further critically discusses modern African political philosophy, modern African social philosophy, modern African economic philosophy, and modern African philosophy of religion. It ends with the identification of the different conclusions that were derived from the study and general recommendations, some specifically for researchers and writers, especially in the area of African philosophy. Wilfred Lajul joins other authentic voices examining African Philosophy.

Memory

Memory PDF

Author: Mary Nooter Roberts

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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The sculpted narratives of these objects and art forms are esoteric, and must be "read" by "men of memory" who have learned their precious skills through initiation to the Mbudye Society. Luba kings, royal titleholders, and outlying chiefs turn to them to interpret the mapped details of origin myths, protocol and prohibitions of the royal court, and other deeply encoded information.

IncarNations

IncarNations PDF

Author: Kendell Geers

Publisher: Silvana Editoriale

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788836642991

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ncarNations is at once a mix and exchange between classical and contemporary art from Africa and its diasporas, looking at African art as a living philosophical practice. The masks, images and historic objects act as milestones, anchoring contemporary works in the ancient context of live creation. Taken from Sindika Dokolo's collection, the works of African artists enter into dialogue with those of the diaspora while contemporary works are presented alongside classical works. Artists: Sammy Baloji, William Kentridge, Tracey Rose, Wangechi Mutu, Otobong Nkanga, Yinka Shonibare, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Ana Mendieta, Kehinde Wiley, Andres Serrano, Aida Muluneh, Mwangi Hutter, Hank Willis Thomas, Tracey Rose, Adrian Piper, Lubaina Himid, Roger Ballen, Zanele Muholi, Phyllis Galembo.

Yoruba

Yoruba PDF

Author: Henry John Drewal

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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The Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin, over 15 million strong, are heirs to one of the oldest and greatest artistic traditions in West Africa. This text offers a look at Yoruba civilization. Over 200 photographs illustrate rarely seen objects from museums and private collections.

The African Philosophy Reader

The African Philosophy Reader PDF

Author: P.H. Coetzee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-03-01

Total Pages: 1027

ISBN-13: 1135884188

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Divided into eight sections, each with introductory essays, the selections offer rich and detailed insights into a diverse multinational philosophical landscape. Revealed in this pathbreaking work is the way in which traditional philosophical issues related to ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, for instance, take on specific forms in Africa's postcolonial struggles. Much of its moral, political, and social philosophy is concerned with the turbulent processes of embracing modern identities while protecting ancient cultures.

The Ink of the Scholars

The Ink of the Scholars PDF

Author: Bachir Diagne

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2016-12-29

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 286978743X

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What are the issues discussed today by African philosophers? Four important topics are identified here as important objects of philosophical reflection on the African continent. One is the question of ontology in relation to African religions and aesthetics. Another is the question of time and, in particular, of prospective thinking and development. A third issue is the task of reconstructing the intellectual history of the continent through the examination of the question of orality but also by taking into account the often neglected tradition of written erudition in Islamic centres of learning. Timbuktu is certainly the most important and most famous of such intellectual centres. The fourth question concerns political philosophy: the concept of African socialisms is revisited and the march that led to the adoption of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights is examined. All these important issues are also fundamental to understanding the question of African languages and translation.