Product Description
Speaking powerfully and directly to a growing audience, African-American vernacular art is making its mark in the art world. In this outstanding collection of contemporary art, works by 27 self-taught artists bear eloquent testimony to the social, cultural, and spiritual experiences of Southern African Americans.

Thornton Dial Sr., Ronald Lockett, Bessie Harvey, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young head a roster of leading artists in this genre. Five scholars explore the significance of these emotionally charged, culturally complex artworks and their context in the larger art world; brief biographies and the artists' own statements are included.

Testimony accompanies a traveling exhibition organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Exhibitions International.
171 illustrations, 101 in full color, 192 pages, 91/4 x 101/4" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Valuable information - insightful essays
Not your everyday book on Outsider Art.While most art books on this subject just showcase collectors' investments, Testimony includes critical studies on the ways collections have been organized and new historical information about the relationship between African American vernacular art and the Outsider movement.All of the essays address hard questions and give you something to think about.In a field noted for its ugly politics, collectors Ronald and June Shelp have been brave and responsible in supporting this kind of writing.

Nothing Special
This is a weak survey of African-American "vernacular art". There are a few pieces of artwork shown for the various artists covered and a short bio. Nothing in depth in terms of the artwork shown or the information given. This is basically your standard collection of the usual suspects in folk art today. A little bit of Dial, Tolliver, Young, Burnside, Light, etc. And the pieces shown aren't that special. It's great they've got a couple of Mose Tolliver's, but they aren't that special in the overall spectrum of Mose's work.Since nothing is in-depth, I'm not really sure what the point of this book is as it adds nothing new to the field. It's great Ronald and June Shelp own all these pieces, but so what? Good for them, but the book adds nothing for the reader. A much better survey is Souls Grown Deep. Much more expensive, but well worth it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A modern art form
In the country then known as Zaire, and now as the Congo, Strother spent some time studying the Central Pende ethnic group. Specifically, she analysed the role that masks played in their society. The book has many photos of intricately designed masks. Pretty!

But the book is more than just nice pictures. Strother has conducted a serious anthropological study of what the masks represent and their history. Essentially, she shows that the construction and symbology are not some age old ritual. Rather, a virtue of her study is that she places the Pende masquerade as an active, modern art form. As legitimate as any contemporary art movement in a developed country. Too often, African art is only studied in retrospective mode. Strother shows otherwise. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

From the Publisher
"One of the most exciting and eclectic celebrations of African American art ever published, Narratives of African American Art and Identity showcases one hundred paintings, etchings, sculptures, and photographs from the collection of David C. Driskell. A true Renaissance man, Driskell himself is an esteemed artist, educator, curator, and philanthropist. His fifty-year career has been committed to promoting African American art. Included are works by John Biggers, Sam Gilliam, Lois Mailou Jones, Keith Morrison, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alma Thomas, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Augusta Savage, and James VanDerZee-to name just a few. Each artwork is accompanied by information about the artist and the particular work. Published in cooperation with The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland, College Park. More by David Driskell: The Other Side of Color

"192 pages, over 100 full-color reproductions, size: 9 x 12". Smythe-sewn paperbound book, with flaps. ISBN: 0-7649-0689-5."--© Pomegranate ... Read more

Product Description
Artist, academician, art critic, author Keith Morrison (b. 1942) is a man of unparalleled talents whose artistic range covers both abstraction and figuration. Jamaican born, Morrison was exposed to both traditional art and the larger global art community; in the United States he studied figure drawing, painting, and printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, basing his style of abstraction on geometric forms, music, and geography. Subsequently influenced by political events, emotionally charged situations, and cross cultural sources, he then turned to figurative art, becoming "a painterly storyteller."

Through selected paintings and informed text, Renee Ater introduces us to this master artist, whose attention to detail, ethnicity, humor, color, and the sacred and the secular captures the essence of a fantastical imagination. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A uniquely intimate and personal perspective
Comprising the fifth volume of "The David C. Driskell Series of African American Art", Keith Morrison showcases and explores the distinctive style of Keith Morrison, a Jamaican-born artist who became one of the leading figures in the American art world through the early 1960s through 2004. Morrison was a prolific painter as well as a respected scholar. This superbly illustrated monograph reveals the impact of his paintings on African American art, its critics, and Morrison's personal life as it impacted on his art. More than sixty full-color oil and watercolors depicting Morrison's abstract and figurative paintings provide the reader with the basis for appreciating the artist's subtly comic, religious, philosophical, and political viewpoints as depicted in his paintings -- some of which are included in the Smithsonian Institution and the Art Institute of Chicago, among other prestigious museums and collections around the country. Of special interest is the informative foreword by David C. Driskell who was a colleague and a friend of Keith Morrison and provides a uniquely intimate and personal perspective on the man and his work. Also very highly recommended for academic library Art History collections are the previous volumes in the David C. Driskell series of African American Art published by Pomegranate Communications: Charles White (2002); Betye Saar (2003); Faith Ringgold (2004); and Archibald J. Motley Jr. (2005).
... Read more

Product Description
The Contemporary study of musical arts, Volumes 1 to 5 is a series that emphasizes the intellectual security of cultural knowledge orientation in the study and research of the musical arts for students and educators that could engage in global knowledge discourse and practice with original cultural-mental integrity. The "Need" that introduces the series argues that "theoretical content, philosophical and psychological foundations of creativity and practice, the nature and principles of musical arts theatre, and research and historical process [should] derive in essence from the original African intellectual perspective about the sense and meaning of music - indigenous to contemporary." The contents discuss what is Africa-generic at the sub-structural level about musical arts conceptualization and practice. Volumes 1 to 3 are designed as a graduated series for musical arts education at the tertiary level under the module topics: musical structure and form; factors of music appreciation; music instruments; music and society; research; music theatre; and performance. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

forget it
Skip this.Get Benin Kings and Rituals which is outstanding.It covers the recent exhibition at the Institute of Art in Chicago.One of the best books on Benin art and culture in recent years.

ONCE MORE BENIN: REVIEW OF BENIN: ROYAL ARTS OF A WEST AFRICAN KINGDOM BY KATHLEEN BICKFORD BERZOCK

This book corresponds to what I think the average visitor to an exhibition needs: a short introduction to the subject-matter, with illustrations and sufficient information for the reader to understand the significance of the theme without being burdened by too many pages.



Plaque of Oba Esigie on horseback with attendants, Benin, Nigeria; Ethnology Museum, Berlin.

Benin Royal Arts of a West African Kingdom by Kathleen Bickford Berzock (1) was produced to accompany at the Art Institute of Chicago the exhibition, Benin - Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria, July 10 - September 21, 2008. As readers may recall, this exhibition started in Vienna, went to Paris and Berlin and will end in Chicago. At Vienna, we had no such handy book but only the excellent catalogue edited by Barbara Plankensteiner, Benin - Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria (2), a heavy tome of some 535 pages which only the strong and committed readers may venture to bring along to the exhibition. The edition was obviously intended for scholars and is bound to be the standard work for future reference. In Paris we had a very beautiful and useful pamphlet whilst in Berlin, we received photocopied pages of very useful information but of poor presentation. (3)

Berzock has provided us within 36 pages useful information that we need to know in order to understand the artistic production of Benin and why Benin art is important in the history of African art. The book has also some very beautiful illustrations of Benin art and a short select bibliography for those who want to deepen their knowledge of Benin art.

I would have appreciated having some more information on the premeditated character of the British attack and the calculation that the cultural objects to be found in Benin would pay for the expenses of the Punitive Expedition of 1897. Berzock repeats the story that "the British delegation was ambushed en route to Benin City" and comments as follows on the insistence of Captain Phillips to go to Benin City even though the Oba and others had advised him not to come to Benin City at the proposed date because foreigners were not to visit during that period of traditional rituals: "Willfully, and perhaps naively since Phillips had only recently arrived in the region, the Acting-Consul General ignored clear warnings from the oba and others that he was unavailable to receive visitors."(4)

It is surely misleading to describe as a "British delegation" the army of some 250 African soldiers plus 5 British officers, an interpreter and a trader who set out, under the command of Lieutenant James Robert Phillips, Acting-Consul-General in December 1896 for Benin City. It is equally strange to ascribe to his naivety or lack of familiarity with the region, .the unwillingness or inability of Phillips to halt his march to Benin City. Since when do we visit a person, especially a king or any high dignitary, when he has expressly indicated that he is unable or unwilling to receive us? Phillips could not change his mind because the plans to invade Benin were too far advanced. The mission of Phillips was clearly to depose Oba Ovonramwen, replace him with a Native Council and pay for the costs of the expedition with sale of the ivory and the artefacts he expected to find in the palace.(5)

Berzock does not mention the brutal nature of the British invasion of Benin nor does she mention the execution of Benin nobles, and the acts of terrorism by the British troops in their search of Ovonramwen and the burning of the city. These acts of violence give the loot of the Benin bronzes a specific character and a special position in the history of African art. They also throw light on the colonial mentality and system, and the structural violence it implied. Violence has never been far away in the relations between Europe and Africa. (6)

Berzock does not discuss nor mention the issue of restitution of the Benin bronzes which has become prominent in the discussions on restitution of cultural objects. I believe that the restitution discussion is now part and parcel of the history of African art generally and specifically of Benin art history. A book published in 2008 should have a few remarks on the topic, especially since the exhibition in Chicago was obviously going to give impulse to the subject.

The hip pendant of Queen Mother Idia on page 28 will surprise many readers who know the versions in the British Museum and in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. The author was of course, only concerned with those objects that were actually on show in Chicago. It would nevertheless be interesting to know whether the other two museums had refused to lend their Iyoba Idia hip masks. These masks have become symbols of pan-Africanism and one could have mentioned this fact, as was done in the Berlin photocopied pages.



Oba Ovonramwen on the British yatch Ivy, 1897 on his way to exile. Ethnology Museum Vienna, collection Maschmann, photo no.6186.

We know from the catalogue that none of the Benin bronzes held by the Art Institute of Chicago is in the exhibition. But we not know for sure how many pieces are held by the Institute. James Cuno, Director of the Institute, stated at the opening of the exhibition that his institute had half a dozen pieces but the spokesperson of the same institute is quoted as saying that the institute has 20 pieces. So does the institute have 6 or 20 pieces? In this connection, it should be mentioned that most museums are very reluctant to reveal the exact number of Benin bronzes they have. Few are as open as the Field Museum, Chicago which states at its internet site that it has 400 pieces and that they came from the 1897 loot. From writings of the staff of the Ethnology Museum, Berlin, we know there are some 580 pieces at that museum. Further information can be found in the catalogue edited by Plankensteiner. (7) The British Museum is absolutely silent about the number of Benin bronzes it has but we have seen figures raging from 280 to 700.

If these museums are concerned with the education of the public, why are they silent about such matters? Public education is not furthered by public institutions withholding information about the cultural objects in their possession nor do they create confidence and trust with the public. On the contrary, they create the suspicion that they have something to hide.

Kathleen Bickford Berzock and the Art Institute of Chicago are to be congratulated for this beautiful booklet. The institute has, through the exhibition and this publication, earned the reputation for good work on African art. However, this good work must be balanced against the attitude and views of the Director of the institute concerning the retention of stolen/looted African cultural objects in European and American museums. We have learnt that the institute is busy re-examining this matter. (8)


Kwame Opoku. 14 August 2008.





Plaque of Oba Ozolua with warrior attendants, Benin, Nigeria,
Ethnology Museum, Vienna.


NOTES


1) K. B. Berzock, Benin: Royal Arts of a West African Kingdom, Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2008

2) Barbara Plankenstener. Benin-Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria,
Snoeck Publishers, Ghent, 2007

3) K. Opoku, "Benin in Berlin: A Successful Reconciliation of the Aesthetic and the Ethnological" http://www.museum-security.org

4) Berzock, op. cit, p.12.

5) Ekpo Eyo, "Benin: The sack that was," http://www.dawodu.net/eyo.htm ,"The
Dialectics of Definitions: "Massacre" and "Sack" in the History of the Punitive
Expedition", African Arts, 1997, Vol. XXX, No.3, pp.34-35.
Wikipedia, "Benin Expedition of 1897" http://www.dawodu.net/eyo.htm
K. Opoku, "Benin to Berlin Ethnologisches Museum: Are Benin Bronzes Made in Berlin?" http://www.museum-security.org
Frank Willet, "BENIN" in Afrika: Kunst und Kultur (ed.) Hans-Joachim Koloss, Prestel Verlag, Munich, 1999 p. 43 states that Phillips and his troops had peaceful intentions, andthat the guns they had with them had been packed away and not ready for usage.

6) The story of Benin has been told several times but I found the short account by Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie very useful:
"In February 1897, an elite British force of about 1200 men (supported by several hundred African auxiliary troops and thousands of African porters) besieged Benin City, capital of the Edo Kingdom of Benin, whose ruler, the Oba Ovonramwen sat on a throne that was a thousand years old. The British Punitive Expedition used Maxim machine guns to mow down most of the Oba's 130,000 soldiers and secure control of the capital city. They set fire to the city and looted the palace of 500 years worth of bronze objects that constituted the royal archive of Benin's history, an irreplaceable national treasure. The king and his principal chiefs fled into the countryside, pursued by British forces who lay waste to the countryside as a strategy to force the people of Benin to give up their fugitive king. According to Richard Gott, for a further six months, a small British force harried the countryside in search of the Oba and his chiefs who had fled. Cattle was seized and villages destroyed. Not until August was the Oba cornered and brought back to his ruined city. An immense throng was assembled to witness the ritual humiliation that the British imposed on their subject peoples. The Oba was required to kneel down in front of the British military "resident" the town and to literally bite the dust. Supported by two chiefs, the king made obeisance three times, rubbing his forehead on the ground three times. He was told that he had been deposed. Oba Ovonramwen finally surrendered to stem the slaughter of his people. Many of his soldiers considered his surrender an unbearable catastrophe and committed suicide rather than see the king humiliated. A significant number, led by some chiefs, maintained guerilla warfare against the British for almost two years until their leaders were captured and executed. The remaining arms of the resistance thereafter gave up their arms and merged back into the general population."
http://aachronym.blogspot.com

7) Plankensteiner, op. cit. pp. 213-225. From the essay by Gisela Völger, Curator, Trader, Benin Scholar - Felix von Luschan -An Austrian in Royal-Prussian Museum Service, we read the following distribution figures for the 2400 objects said to have reached Europe after the 1897 invasion of Benin by the British:

In Germany: Berlin 580, Hamburg 196, Dresden 182, Leipzig 87, Stuttgart 80,
Cologne 73, Munich, Braunschweig, Mannheim, Freiburg and other
towns in Germany not more than 95 items.

Outside Germany: British Museum 280, Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford) and Pitt
Rivers country residence, Rushmore in Farnham/Dorset 327, various members
of the Punitive Expedition of 1897 300, Leiden 98, Chicago 33, St. Petersburg
40, Vienna 167.

8) K. Opoku, "The Art Institute of Chicago Distances Itself from the Controversial Book of its Director, James Cuno, Who Owns Antiquity?" http://www.afrikanet.info/



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Product Description
The beautiful African objects presented in this book bear witness to the diverse esthetic and technical accomplishments of more than 100 African tribes, revealing the innate beauty of simple objects such as bowls, baskets, and masks, plus elaborate examples of weaponry, textiles, beadwork, and jewelry. 170 color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A gem for lovers of African art
I found this book in Kampala, Uganda at the start of a binge of collecting Congolese artifacts and fell in love at first sight. The pictures are vibrant (if not always well-labeled) and the text tries to explain the significance of the art in the African context, rather than serve to merelycatalogue the tribe, the owner, etc. It certainly helped me to love it thatmuch of what people offered to me for sale was discussed and/or pictured inthe book. It goes arm-in-arm with it's companion "Black Africa : MasksSculpture Jewelry" ... Read more

Product Description
Archibald J. Motley Jr. (1891–1981) devoted his prodigious and critically acclaimed career to portraying African Americans seriously rather than as caricatures, hoping that honest African American art would become accepted and a subsequent synthesis would occur, creating an American art form appreciated by all, regardless of racial identity.

Drawing on the artist’s paintings and eloquent writings; recently unearthed taped interviews; unpublished paintings and sketches; and her own interviews, research, and firsthand analysis, Amy M. Mooney examines Motley’s work from the 1920s through the 1940s and discusses his significant contributions to the American art scene. Color images reveal the breadth of Motley’s subject matter, from early portraiture to café society to genre scenes.

For many years artists have depicted the Negro as the ignorant southern "darky," to be portrayed on canvas as something humorous; . . . In my paintings I have tried to paint the Negro as I have seen him and as I feel him, in myself without adding or detracting, just being frankly honest. —Archibald J. Motley Jr.

About the Author Amy M. Mooney received a doctorate from Rutgers University, in American Art History with specialization in African American art. Currently Professor of Art History and Critical Theory at Columbia College in Chicago, she has published many articles, including "Representing Race: Disjunctures in the Work of Archibald J. Motley, Jr.," in African Americans in Art (The Art Institute of Chicago and University of Washington Press, 1999). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good book, except . . .
This is a good book, except that some of the paintings reproductions are too dark and too intensely inked. A lot of photo editors these days think that they can improve a painting by bumping the color and getting lots of deep blacks in there.

Taste Art
This is the only artist that has made me stop cold in my tracks while walking through any museum. Despite the limitations of printing and coffee table books, this gives wonderful insight into one of the best jazz-age artists. The vibrant use of colour, the exageration of human form blend beautifully with the composition so well, that you can almost 'taste' the scene and smell the atmosphere. It's incredible. If nothing else, it may inspire you to go to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the original face to face. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Disappointing design and layout
While the content of this book is, for the most part, informative and interesting (although limited in its geographical reach within Africa), the production side leaves a lot to be desired. The bold, heavy typeface is ugly and hard to read and rivers of white space running down the columns give the typesetting an unprofessional look - this is the kind of basic typesetting error one expects in a cheap flyer, not in a glossy coffee table book. There are several typing errors, which are annoying, and the book could also have done with a good edit. For example, the author declines to explain various weaving processes because they are apparently too technical, but stating this at least three times in one book suggests that either the author doesn't understand the processes himself, or he has a rather low opinion of his readers' capacity to understand them. Either way, a good edit could have ironed out the repetition of this problem, or found a way to explain these technical processes - for example, simple line illustrations could have been used to show graphically what the author was not able to put into words. While the photos are generally good and make one really want to see the textiles in the flesh, as it were, those that are meant to show more detail are often not sufficiently close up to really provide much more information. They come across as repetition or as gap-fillers rather than serving any more useful function. There are several examples in the section on raffia cloths of Zaire, and a glaring example on pages 68/69. A more successful example is on pages 76/77, where the detail does in fact show more detail.

Good Introductory Book on African textiles.
This is a very interesting and informative book on this subject.It makes one appreciate the workmanship and artistic style of these fabrics.This book, first, describes the main materials and techniques of African cloth production and decoration and, then, explores in detail a few of the more popular of the African textiles.These include Raffia cloths of Zaire, Kente(Royal Cloth of the Ashanti), Bogolan (Mud-Dyed Cloth of Mali),Aso Oke (Ceremonial Cloth of the Yoruba), and African Wax -Printed Cloths.Detailed descriptions and full-color photographs not onlly glorifies the art but makes one understand the real African textiles from the African influenced copies.

Excellent
Great photos, well researched, unstuffy, accessible, respectful and more or less contemporary. The noteson futhur reading could have been expanded and anindex would have been helpful. ... Read more

Product Description
The presence of African influence and tradition in the Americas has long been recognized in art, music, language, agriculture, and religion. T. J. Desch Obi explores another cultural continuity that is as old as eighteenth-century slave settlements in South America and as contemporary as hip-hop culture. In this thorough survey of the history of African martial arts techniques, Obi maps the translation of numerous physical combat techniques across three continents and several centuries to illustrate how these practices evolved over time and are still recognizable in American culture today. Some of these art traditions were part of African military training while others were for self-defense and spiritual discipline.

Grounded in historical and cultural anthropological methodologies, Obi's investigation traces the influence of well-delineated African traditions on long-observed but misunderstood African and African American cultural activities in North America, Brazil, and the Caribbean. He links the Brazilian martial art capoeira to reports of slave activities recorded in colonial and antebellum North America. Likewise Obi connects images of the kalenda African stick-fighting techniques to the Haitian Revolution. Throughout the study Obi examines the ties between physical mastery of these arts and changing perceptions of honor.

Including forty-five illustrations, this rich history of the arrival and dissemination of African martial arts in the Atlantic world offers a new vantage for furthering our understanding of the powerful influence of enslaved populations on our collective social history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen

Ich habe die Lektüre dieses Buches sehr genossen. Ich halte es uneingeschränkt für eines der besten Bücher zu diesem Thema und zum Thema Kampfkunst allgemein. ... Read more

Product Description
Black Comedians on Black Comedy is the only up-to-date book to examine African-American humor. Comedian Darryl Littleton traces the history and evolution of "black comedy" in his narrative and through the 125 interviews he conducted with some of the top African-American comedians in the world. Those interviewed include Dick Gregory, Sinbad, Eddie Murphy, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, Nick Cannon, Bernie Mac, Eddie Griffin, Damon Wayans, Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Marla Gibbs, Robert Townsend, and John Witherspoon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

ok
Not too short and not too long. detailed and specific. it makes sense, informative, and entertaining.

a fantastic book
there is nothing like Black Comedians. I mean without Humor in this Country a Brother would truly be hopeless. through the struggle&all the Ism that went down back in the day&that still is happening now. laughter has always been the Best Medicine&it always hits the spot ten fold. this Book is tight. Interviews,etc... a Fantastic Book. very soulful&RIGHT ON!!

long way from there to here
This book goes through the history of how black comedy became what we know it as today.Eddie Murphy, Sinbad, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Rock, Damon Wayans...these are all successful black comedians that are common names around US households today.This book tells the stories of those that came before them.This book has wonderful quotes as well as short biographies of various comedians.It's a great read and I highly suggest this book to anyone who finds many of todays African-American comedians funny! ... Read more

Product Description
Cleo LaRue is one of the best-loved preachers and writers about preaching. In past volumes, he has brought together great collections of African American preaching to showcase the best preaching from across the country. Here he offers his own insights into what makes for great preaching.

Filled with telling anecdotes, LaRue's book recognizes that while great preaching comes from somewhere, it also must go somewhere, so preachers need to use the most artful language to send the Word on its journey.

Product Description
When Jerry Butler was growing up in the segregated South, he thought he was going to be the first African American artist. Only later did he learn about the long and beautiful tradition that preceded him. Here, he combines the story of his own artistic journey with biographical information about the struggles and triumphs of important black American artists such as Henry O. Tanner, Edward Bannister, Augusta Savage, and Jacob Lawrence. Part history, part art book, part memoir, A Drawing in the Sand is a unique and important addition to any study of American art of history. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a magnificent account of a past rich in beauty and creativity, but also in tragedy and trauma. Eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter blends a vivid narrative based on the latest research with a wonderful array of artwork by African American artists, works which add a new depth to our understanding of black history.

Painter offers a history written for a new generation of African Americans, stretching from life in Africa before slavery to today's hip-hop culture. The book describes the staggering number of Africans--over ten million--forcibly transported to the New World, most doomed to brutal servitude in Brazil and the Caribbean.Painter looks at the free black population, numbering close to half a million by 1860 (compared to almost four million slaves), and provides a gripping account of the horrible conditions of slavery itself. The book examines the Civil War, revealing that it only slowly became a war to end slavery, and shows how Reconstruction, after a promising start, was shut down by terrorism by white supremacists. Painter traces how through the long Jim Crow decades, blacks succeeded against enormous odds, creating schools and businesses and laying the foundations of our popular culture. We read about the glorious outburst of artistic creativity of the Harlem Renaissance, the courageous struggles for Civil Rights in the 1960s, the rise and fall of Black Power, the modern hip-hop movement, and two black Secretaries of State. Painter concludes that African Americans today are wealthier and better educated, but the disadvantaged are as vulnerable as ever.

Painter deeply enriches her narrative with a series of striking works of art--more than 150 in total, most in full color--works that profoundly engage with black history and that add a vital dimension to the story, a new form of witness that testifies to the passion and creativity of the African-American experience.

* Among the dozens of artists featured are Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Jacob Lawrence, and Kara Walker

* Filled with sharp portraits of important African Americans, from Olaudah Equiano (one of the first African slaves to leave a record of his captivity) and Toussaint L'Ouverture (who led the Haitian revolution), to Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X

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Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent resource on both black history and art
Whether your interest lies with African-American history or African-American art, you must add this book to your library. As Painter tells the story of black people in America from the 15th century to the beginning of the 21st, she illustrates her points with works of art (paintings, sculpture, even quilts) by black Americans. The back of the book includes short profiles of each artist mentioned and a detailed timeline of black history. This book is definitely worth re-visiting many times.

The Most Important History Book I Have Ever Read!!!
I finally finished the book 'Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its Meanings, 1619 to the Present' by Nell Irvin Painter. I can sum up my opinion of the book by saying this is the most important history book I have ever read! This is 392 pages(without notes and references) of essential information about the experience and history of Black people in the United States from the very first time our people set foot in the country. If there was any important figure you wanted to know about that person is mentioned in this book, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Fannie Lou Hamer, Crispus Attucks, Phyllis Wheatley, James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Mary McLeod Bethune, Elderidge Cleaver, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis, Abu-Jamal Mumia, and so many others who's names you have probably heard before. I have heard many of the names before but I did not know what the person did or why I should know about them. I am so glad I know who these people are now! Never let anyone tell you African Americans have never achieved anything, we have no role models, or we have no heroes. These people are my heroes! The book showed me how strong our people are and how much they had to fight, survive, and overcome. I swear, African people have had to overcome more than anyone on earth! I am so proud of these people and I know that their struggles, sacrifices, and deaths have made my life possible!

If there is any historical event you want to know about, it is in this book. Creating Black Americans is actually a text book. It has 15 chapters including an Epilogue, timelines at the end of each chapter, and discussion questions to think about. It covers our beginnings in Africa, the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, the Civil War and Emancipation, Reconstruction, Segregation, the Harlem Renaissance, The World Wars, The Civil Rights Era, Black Power, and the Hip Hop Era. I think that this is a book that should be in the home of every Black family around the world. It is something that I would like to have for my future children. I hope to add similar books about Africa and the Caribbean to my collection.

One ingenious feature of the book is that Nell Irvin Painter included African American art to illustrate the book. Each piece reflected on a historical event, important person, or feeling created by an African American artist. This is the first book I have ever read that had information about African-American art! The art is beautiful and it includes, paintings, sculptures, collages, quilts and even poetry! Some of the art is realistic but a lot of it is abstract and full of emotion. I made a point to take my time looking at the art pieces to really appreciate them. This is an ideal choice for an African American history book because it is a lesson in history that includes art history!

I found this book in my university library. For the past couple of years I have been going into the African and African American history sections and just walking around, looking at the books. If I saw something I liked I would sign it out. I never did keyword searches for a topic or book, I just looked until I found something. That way I got to know the different topics and sections where I would like to learn more. I saw Creating Black Americans and the cover was new and it was a recent book from 2007. I'm so glad I found it because it was the foundation for African American history that I really needed. I have read other things, but I wanted something general that covered EVERYTHING not just particular parts of the history. This book gave me that. In the future I'm going to buy a copy and read it again. Reading this book was like taking an African American history class!

What I have to say to Nell Irvin Painter is that I am so glad that there are educated people like her who took the time to pass on this knowledge to the world. Her book in written in such a way that someone with a highschool education could understand it and the art is a brilliant touch! It was truly a gift to read this book and if I were Dr. Painter I would feel I really did something wonderful! I want to thank her for teaching me about the history of my people. I feel more complete now. I realize that NONE of this information was taught to me in history class in Canada. I didn't learn anything about Black people at school. I didn't really understand who I was until I finished reading this book! This is a must read for everyone because African American history IS HISTORY and should be a part of every American and world history program. Thank you Dr. Painter for spreading the knowledge and lifting the ignorance from my eyes!

Engaging and highly readable
The past isn't what it used to be.

That's one of the threads which runs throughout this engaging narrative of African American history from 1619 to the present. Too often students misconstrue history as being carved in stone but as this book illustrates - literally, for it includes nearly 150 works of art which provide comment upon on historical events - interpretations of the past change as new facts come to light, or are viewed through a more diverse lens and connected to current events.

For example,Painter frequently uses the word "terrorist" when referring to white supremacists who have used violence to limit the rights and economic development of black Americans for centuries. It's a word which is not only appropriate, but more meaningful to contemporary students.

Though not an art history book per se (it does not provide analysis of the art, only descriptions which place it in historical context) there is biographical information about each artist at the end of the book.

Engaging and highly readable, I recommend this book to anyone seeking a general overview of African American history and culture. I think it would be particularly useful as a text for high school Advanced Placement courses.

Great Book
very descriptive Book on African Americans from Slavery to the present day. very detailed Book that talks about many firsts&also deals with Politics,Entertainment,Creativity&is a full Book that is a Must Read&Have.

Great Book, highly recommend
This is a great book to read, covers everything from the origns of slavery to the rapid growth of hip-hop. The artwork that is included in the book is phenomenal and really adds to the reading experience. This book will be one of the few scholastic books that I don't sell back to the bookstore. ... Read more

Product Description
Blier draws on a vast range of individual objects--crowns, masks, thrones and regalia, palace architecture, painting, textiles, body decoration, and jewelry--as well as archival photographs of art works in use in ceremonies and performances, to reveal the court-art traditions of Africa in all their living splendor. 206 illustrations, 140 in color. 8 plans. 6 maps. Bibliography, Glossary, and timeline. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Spectacular
I will recommend this book to the Ministry of Education.
Indeed, it is one of the best books on African arts.
It is more than a book on arts, it is an illustrated history of the origin and development of African arts, and the important role Africans monarchs played in shaping its identity and distinct personality.
The book is a calendar and a humanistic-historical odyssey of the multiple dimensions of a pure African platform, an authentic African human expression, an original evocation of the African natural beauty, the African mysticism, the African struggle...

I don't know what to say but the quality and delivery time were exceptional
I don't know what to say but the quality and delivery time were exceptional!!
The book came within a week of my purchase while still in its plastic wrapper.

Very NIce!!

Diverse and rich artwork
An allure of this book is the many (206) illustrations of art from the kingdoms of west and central Africa. Of these, some 140 are in full colour and show the impressive skill of the court artists.

In Benin, Dahomey, Yoruba and other kingdoms, there were flourishing scenes. Each distinctive and fascinating. Readers may be familiar with the centuries of European artwork and how these varied between those countries. One thing this book makes clear is that central Africa had an equally rich and diverse history that, sadly, has not been often recognised by outsiders.

The book can be read at several levels. The first and most immediate is simply an appreciation of the illustrations. A deeper level is to integrate that visual appreciation with an understanding of the cultures from which they derived.

excellent, difficult to find quality like this.
One of the finest books on African Art I have studied.I showedmy copy to a business assoicate from the Republic of Congo.She is from the Kuba tribe and deals in art from this area.She asked me to get a copy for herwork and a friend of hers wanted another copy. If the African peopleapproved of the book, what else can I say.Top reference book.

Beautiful, fascinating photos, detailed text, overview weak
This is a rare good book.We have too little exposure to the great arts of Africa; this book is a remedy.ABy linking the art chosen to the royalty of West Afarica kingdoms, whe illustrates how close the connectionswere between power and art; power including raeligious and ritual power aswell as temporal.The book lacked only an overview analysis to tie all thesections together amorae firmly. ... Read more

Product Description
For thepast ten years, Birch has been documenting the African American culture of his native New Orleans in large-scale sculpture and drawings that emphasise body language, dress codes, and everyday rituals. His guileless polychrome sculptures evoke both social history and emotion. His use of talismans give the viewer a window to another time, be it through old construction nails symbolising power and strength to a small West African paper mach, stool that stands apart as a symbol of nobility. Dedicated to the children of New Orleans, this is the first publication to examine Birch's career whose re-imagining of African and Southern folk art inspires thought provoking discussions as well as contemporary sculpture and design. It includes two essays and an interview with the artist, as well as colour reproductions of key works dating from 1968-2004. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The People and Culture of New Orleans Come to Life in the Work of Willie Birch
The African American artist Willie Birch has been making engaging artistic work for well over thirty years. This work has always used an aspect of African American culture as its material wellspring. Long based in New York, the artist returned to his birthplace, New Orleans, a number of years ago. He has since made the people and culture of New Orleans the sole focus of his work. And what glorious work it is! If you wonder just what was lost in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, this book full of wonderful paintings and drawings will give you a painfully clear sense of the thriving culture that once characterized this city.

Willie Birch's work brings the everyday people and ceremonies of black New Orleans alive on the page in this exquisite book. He is an astute observer of the beauty in the everyday, and has the skills to translate that beauty onto paper. The vibrancy of New Orleans culture resonnates forcefully and quietly in Birches pictures. Whether or not black New Orleans is able to return to its original celebratory level or not, that energy is forever contained within the pages of this book. In picture after picture Birch's sharp eye captures in highly stylized expressive strokes just what made this city such a vital place.

"Celebrating Freedom: The Art of Willie Birch" is a grand and beautifully produced book that stands as an enduring testimony to both New Orleans and to this artist's vision and craft. This book is a "must have" for anyone interested in contemporary art, African American culture, and New Orleans.

A visual showcase of Willie Birch's artworks
Celebrating Freedom: The Art Of Willie Birch by co-authors David S. Rubin (Curator Of Visual Arts, Contemporary Art Center New Orleans, LA) & Leslie King-Hammond (Dean Of Graduate Studies at Maryland Institute College Of Art) is a visual showcase of Willie Birch's artworks. Especially celebrating the vibrance of New Orleans, Birch's works include polychrome ethnic sculptures, reworks of folk art themes, and acrylic/charcoal on paper pieces both in black-and-white and in full color. As a monograph, Celebrating Freedom allows the reader to focus purely upon the art in all its majesty; the only text narrative is an introduction and summary of Birch's career as well as an intervie with Birch himself at the beginning of the book. A welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to artbook collections.
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Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Masks of Black Africa
I was disappointed in this book because I saw little or nothing in it that I could consider as true art. I think he simply took pictures of what little he could find and called it a book. Some of it is real "trash can" stuff.

Masks of Black Africa
Since I deal with masks from Africa I am constantly looking for more information on the subject. I have again and again come back to Ladislas Segy MASKS OF BLACK AFRICA. The illustrations are representative of the many different masks used by African tribes.The text and maps help you further to deepen your understanding of the masks that are representative of the area. When I do research on African Masks my first step is Ladislas Segy. ... Read more