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I primitivi traditi

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What is so "primitive" about primitive art? And how do we dare to use our standards to judge it? Drawing on an intriguing mixture of sources--including fashion ads and films, her own anthropological research and even comic strips like Doonesbury--Price explores the cultural arrogance implicit in Westerners' appropriation of non-Western art.

"A witty, but scholarly, indictment of the whole primitive art business."--Peter Plagens, Newsweek

"Prices unfolds a fascinating history of the many 20th-century expeditions in search of exotic culture."--Michael W. Perri, Utne Reader

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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Sally Price

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Chicca.
72 reviews4 followers
January 6, 2022
Un saggio molto lucido sul rapporto tra arte occidentale e arte indigena, e sul modo in cui quest'ultima è stata predata da esploratori e artisti occidentali con la scusa della ricerca e della valorizzazione. Il testo risulta anche molto scorrevole e piacevole alla lettura, con una punta di sarcasmo che non stona mai.
Profile Image for Anna.
398 reviews88 followers
July 29, 2007
Once in a while you read a book that literally pulls the rug from under your feet; this was one of those. It truly changed the way I looked at the world, and for ever redefined the concept of "civilization".
Profile Image for Rachel.
432 reviews4 followers
September 4, 2017
Pretty good book. The author assumes the reader is reasonably aware of western art. Early on I was annoyed that much of the quoted information seemed to contradict the author's point, but it may just have been the density of the writing that required more attention from the reader.
Profile Image for Lea.
3 reviews4 followers
May 15, 2018
I really recommend this book to anyone interested in history of colonialism and its impact on people's way of understanding our world, and in this case extra-european art. The argumentation is brillant and educational.
Profile Image for Marta Negro.
6 reviews
December 29, 2022
Sicuramente un libro di divulgazione molto interessante ma comunque abbastanza complesso da leggere. Necessaria a parer mio una basica conoscenza di antropologia, soprattutto di antropologia dei beni culturali (esame per cui ho letto questo saggio)
Profile Image for Alessia Antognetti.
14 reviews
December 21, 2022
Libro molto bello e scorrevole. Ho adorato la forte presa di posizione dell'autrice, il suo sarcasmo e anche la postfazione, dove ha ripreso gli argomenti trattati, dopo parecchi anni dalla prima stesura, per fare sì che questo rimanga un libro attuale.
Profile Image for Valerie Campo Tranchida.
64 reviews4 followers
October 25, 2023
Assolutamente consigliato agli addetti ai lavori (studiosi o appassionati nei campi dell'antropologia e dell'arte).
Profile Image for Lauren Klotz.
8 reviews19 followers
January 20, 2010
Would highly reccommended as an introduction to certain museological/political issues in the field of African/Oceanic/American/Tribal/"Primitive"/"Other"/etc Art/"Art." Indeed, I wish I had read this text at the beginning of my studies in the area, rather than as a (somewhat redundant) addition to a long genaeology of similar (and inferior) texts...
3 reviews4 followers
February 15, 2009
must read for any one in art education, art history etc..
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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