Art, Performance and Ritual in Benin City (International African Library) - Hardcover

Gore, Charles

 
9780748633166: Art, Performance and Ritual in Benin City (International African Library)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0748633162 ISBN 13: 9780748633166
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2007

Synopsis

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.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Charles Gore is an artist and Lecturer in the History of African Art, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

From the Back Cover

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.Charles Gore is an artist and Lecturer in the History of African Art, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Publication date
2007
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0748633162
ISBN 13 
9780748633166
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
256