Beschreibung:
African Dream Machines takes African headrests out of the category of functional objects and into the more rarefied category of ‘art’ objects. This book defines styles in African headrests as a single formal style model as exclusive to a single ethnic group.
African Dream Machines takes African headrests out of the category of functional objects and into the more rarefied category of ‘art’ objects. Styles in African headrests are usually defined in terms of western art and archaeological discourses, but this book interrogates these definitions of style and demonstrates the shortcomings of defining a single formal style model as exclusive to a single ethnic group.
Among the artefacts made by southern African peoples, headrests were the best known. Anitra Nettleton’s study of the uses and forms of headrests opened up a number of art-historical methodologies in the attempt to gain an understanding of form, style and content in African art objects. Her drawings of each and every headrest encountered become a major part of the project.
PrefaceAcknowledgementsNotes on the Use of African Ethnic Names and Country and Place NamesReferences to illustrations in the Text and Notes on IllustrationsChapter 1 Headrests and ArtChapter 2 A Matter of Style, or Why Style MattersChapter 3 Methodology, Position and LimitationsChapter 4 The Geographical and Chronological Distribution of the Contribution of the Columned HeadrestChapter 5 Authenticity and HistoryChapter 6 East African Headrests: Identity, Form and AestheticsChapter 7 Tracing Histories: Central and Southern African ConnectionsChapter 8 Not just a Curious Beauty: The Anatomy of Meaning in Useful ObjectsNotes to ChaptersBibliographyList of IllustrationsIndex