Positioning of African Art in the Global Art Market: A Look at Western Attitudes and Influences in the Lives of Contemporary African Artists in the United States
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Date
2003
Department
UMBC Modern Languages, Linguistics & Intercultural Communication Department
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This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the author.
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Abstract
The success of a contemporary African artist depends on how well the artist does
in the global art market. The purpose of a global art market is to respectfully promote
and equally recognize cultural others. However, the global art market has consistently
been regulated under Western cultural, political, and economic systems. Western values
dominate and marginalize other cultures such as contemporary African artists living in
the United States. As a result, contemporary African artists are positioned on the
periphery of the global art market. It is white male artists in the working and upper
classes who gain the most social and economic privileges. Certain Western societies
have not been as open and receptive to contemporary African artists as they have been to
white male artists. The purpose of the study is to recognize behaviors that marginalize
African artists in the art market, learn of contemporary African art, and create a dialogue
that could change the positioning of contemporary African art in the global market. I
identify Western behaviors that are particularly modeled after, but not limited to, the
attitudes and influences related to the colonization (16??- 20?? century) and postcolonization
(20?? -21?? century) of Africa by Europe and the United States of America. Even though some ethnographic museums and fine art galleries in the United States have
made a place for traditional African art, the on-going absence of contemporary African
artists reinforces colonial attitudes in today's global art market. Such attitudes regard the
paradigm of African art as primitive, exotic, and inferior to Western art. Those in the art
market who possess these attitudes refuse to view and, thus, accept modem concepts
from contemporary African artists. In order to change prejudicial attitudes in the global
art market, they must be recognized. Then, it is up to the individual to widen his
perspectives. Studying contemporary African artists living in the United States may
encourage some Western societies to alter certain behaviors when regarding other
cultural art. This research discusses Western attitudes that influence the global art market. In
addition, it examines arguments against categorizing Western art as central and African
art as peripheral in post-modem and pluralistic societies. It also analyzes how
contemporary African artists and Westerners view traditional African art and the legacy
of traditional African art in African and Western contemporary art. Finally, this analysis
examines the unfair presentation of contemporary African art in Western museums and
galleries.