Primitive Art in Civilized Places

by Sally Price

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.

"[Price] presents a literary collage of the Western attitude to other cultures, and in particular to the visual art of the Third and Fourth Worlds. . . . Her book is not about works of 'primitive art' as such, but about the Western construction 'Primitive Art.' It is a critique of Western ignorance and ignorance about other cultures and arrogance towards them."—Jeremy Coote, Times Literary Supplement

"The book is infuriating, entertaining, and inspirational, leaving one feeling less able than before to pass judgment on 'known' genres of art, but feeling more confident for that."—Joel Smith, San Francisco Review of Books

"[A] witty, but scholarly, indictment of the whole primitive-art business, from cargo to curator. And because she employs sarcasm as well as pedagogy, Price's book will probably forever deprive the reader of the warm fuzzies he usually gets standing before the display cases at the local ethnographic museum."— Newsweek

Genres: Art, Anthropology, Art History, Material Culture, Academics, School

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Chicca · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

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".

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Marta Negro · Rating 4 out of 5]

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)

[Alessia Antognetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Valerie Campo Tranchida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assolutamente consigliato agli addetti ai lavori (studiosi o appassionati nei campi dell'antropologia e dell'arte).

[Lauren Klotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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...

[Aparna · Rating 5 out of 5]

must read for any one in art education, art history etc..