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Email PagePrimitivism Revisited
December 15, 2006- January 27, 2007
Robert Mapplethorpe, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Marina Abramovic, Carolee Schneeman, Los Carpinteros, Alfredo Jaar, Thomas Ruff
Sean Kelly Gallery
528 W 29th St Robert Mapplethorpe Grace Jones (1984) |
Primitivism Revisited: After the End of an Idea provides a 21st century view of the notion of Primitivism, which, in the 20th century, traced formal relationships between modern western art and the “primitive” (not only African art but Pre-Columbian, Native American and Oceanic art). Historical connections between the two, commonly ascribed to the work of such artists as Gaugin and Picasso, were extensively studied in 1938 by Robert Goldwater, and were the subject of a 1984 exhibition curated by William Rubin at the Museum of Modern Art, entitled “Primitivism” in Modern Art. Whilst highly critiqued, Rubin’s point of view has not subsequently been directly addressed in an exhibition setting.
Primitivism Revisited: After the End of an Idea considers Primitivism in light of art and attitudes formed since Rubin’s 1984 exhibition. It is now apparent that Primitivism belongs to a historical period of modern art that was already ending in 1984. Since that time, post-colonial thinking, globalization, and an awareness of our own cultural hybridity have deepened ideas about African culture; the exoticizing and demeaning implications of Primitivism have made it untenable. Artists of the 21st century are engaged in a different kind of dialogue with the arts of Africa.
Reviews of Primitivism Revisited
| New York Times January 19, 2007 | Holland Cotter | "...If the themes aren’t new, a certain 21st-century way of approaching them, in a balanced back-and-forth between Western and non-Western cultures, feels fresh. Not coincidentally, all the art looks invigorated and somehow added-to...." |
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Sean Kelly Gallery was last updated: 2008-11-22
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