Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-century Benin

Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-century Benin PDF

Author: Paula Ben-Amos

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 9780253335036

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"Benos-Amos opens for the reader richly detailed adn nuanced vistas into the intellectual and cultural history of one of the major kingdoms of precolonial West Africa." — African Studies Review "The wealth of historiographic resources, the command of relevant literature, the ethnographic research and prudent use of oral traditions give this work a high degree of... intellectual excitement.... a landmark in the field." —Warren d'Azevedo Making use of archival and oral resources in this extensively researched book, Paula Girshick Ben-Amos questions to what extent art operates as political strategy. How do objects acquire political meaning? How does the use of art enhance and embody power and authority?

Blood and Bronze

Blood and Bronze PDF

Author: Paddy Docherty

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-03-01

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1787387550

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The famous Benin Bronzes are among the most prized possessions of the British Museum. Celebrated for their great beauty, they embody the history, myth and artistry of the ancient Kingdom of Benin, once the most powerful in West Africa and now part of Nigeria. But despite their renown, little has been written about the brutal act of imperial violence through which the Bronzes were plundered. This incisive new history tells that neglected story: the 1897 British invasion of Benin. Diving into the archives, Blood and Bronze sets the assault on Benin in its late Victorian context. As Britain faced new commercial and strategic pressures on its power elsewhere, it ruthlessly expanded its rule in West Africa. Revealing both the extent of African resistance and previously concealed British outrages, this is a definitive account of the conquest and destruction of Benin. By laying bare the Empire's true motives and its violent means, Paddy Docherty demolishes any moral claim for Britain retaining the Bronzes, and makes a passionate case for their immediate repatriation to Nigeria.

Museum Innovation

Museum Innovation PDF

Author: Haitham Eid

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-18

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1000402649

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Museum Innovation encourages museums to critically reflect upon current practices and adopt new approaches to their civic responsibilities. Arguing that museums have a moral duty to perform, the book shows how social innovation can make them more equitable, relevant and impactful institutions. Including contributions from a diverse group of international scholars, practitioners and researchers, the book investigates the innovative approaches museums are taking to address contemporary social issues. The volume focuses on the concept of social innovation and individual chapters address a range of crucial issues, such as climate change; the COVID-19 pandemic; diversity and inclusion; the travel ban; and the repatriation of museum collections. Exploring the impact that organizational structures have on museums’ aspirations to act as agents for social change, the book also unpacks how museums can establish sustainable relationships with minority communities. Proposing steps that museums can take to affirm their relevance as viable community partners, the book breaks down silos and connects ideas across different areas of museum work. Museum Innovation explores the role of contemporary museums in society. It is essential reading for academics, students and practitioners working in the museum and heritage studies field. The book’s interdisciplinary nature makes it also an interesting read for those working in business studies, digital humanities, visual culture, arts administration and political science fields.

Expressions of the Body

Expressions of the Body PDF

Author: Charlotte Baker

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9783039115464

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This book contributes to a growing corpus of writing on the body, bringing new perspectives to this fascinating and topical subject. Feminist, psychoanalytic and queer readings, among others, have demonstrated the extent of the functions and roles fulfilled by the body, as well as the number of critical perspectives it can serve. However, by and large, African representations of the body have been overlooked. This coherent volume brings together essays on the portrayal of the body in African art, film, literature, photography and theatre. The book includes thematically linked contributions which explore issues of power and representation, and reflects current trends in the study of the body and more broadly within the field of African Studies.

The Benin Plaques

The Benin Plaques PDF

Author: Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-12-15

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1351254596

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The 16th century bronze plaques from the kingdom of Benin are among the most recognized masterpieces of African art, and yet many details of their commission and installation in the palace in Benin City, Nigeria, are little understood. The Benin Plaques, A 16th Century Imperial Monument is a detailed analysis of a corpus of nearly 850 bronze plaques that were installed in the court of the Benin kingdom at the moment of its greatest political power and geographic reach. By examining European accounts, Benin oral histories, and the physical evidence of the extant plaques, Gunsch is the first to propose an installation pattern for the series.

Great Kingdoms of Africa

Great Kingdoms of Africa PDF

Author: John Parker

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-03-21

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0520395689

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A groundbreaking, sweeping overview of the great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts. This is the first book for nonspecialists to explore the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history. Great Kingdoms of Africa aims to decenter European colonialism and slavery as the major themes of African history and instead explore the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent. This groundbreaking book offers an innovative and thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. Each chapter is written by a leading historian, interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including oral histories and recent archaeological findings. Great Kingdoms of Africa is a timely and vital book for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of Africa's rich history.

Art, Performance and Ritual in Benin City

Art, Performance and Ritual in Benin City PDF

Author: Gore Charles Gore

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2019-07-30

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1474468586

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This book explores the roles of contemporary urban shrines and their visual traditions in Benin City. It focuses on the charismatic priests and priestesses who are possessed by a pantheon of deities, the communities of devotees, and the artists who make artifacts for their shrines. The visual arts are part of a wider configuration of practices that include song, dance, possession and healing. These practices provide the means for exploring the relationships of the visual to both the verbal and performance arts that feature at these shrines. The analysis in this book raises fundamental questions about how the art of Benin, and non-Western art histories more generally, are understood. The book throws critical light on the taken-for-granted assumptions which underpin current interpretations and presents an original and revisionist account of Benin art history.

The Eighteenth Century

The Eighteenth Century PDF

Author: Kevin L. Cope

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13: 9780404622275

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This reference work provides bibliographic details for students of 18th-century studies.

Art, Creativity, and Politics in Africa and the Diaspora

Art, Creativity, and Politics in Africa and the Diaspora PDF

Author: Abimbola Adelakun

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-07-26

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 3319913107

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This book explores the politics of artistic creativity, examining how black artists in Africa and the diaspora create art as a procedure of self-making. Essays cross continents to uncover the efflorescence of black culture in national and global contexts and in literature, film, performance, music, and visual art. Contributors place the concerns of black artists and their works within national and transnational conversations on anti-black racism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, migration, resettlement, resistance, and transnational feminisms. Does art by the subaltern fulfill the liberatory potential that critics have ascribed to it? What other possibilities does political art offer? Together, these essays sort through the aesthetics of daily life to build a thesis that reflects the desire of black artists and cultures to remake themselves and their world.

Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria

Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Nigeria PDF

Author: Ayodeji Olukoju

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1666929972

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This book analyzes important social, political, and economic matters from pre-colonial to postcolonial Nigeria. Issues discussed include contemporary problems of poverty, unemployment, leadership and governance crises, entrepreneurship, urbanization, and the underdevelopment of the agricultural and transport systems.