Hiller - The Myth of Primitivism. Perspectives on Art - Esoteric Online

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Ethnography and the formation <strong>of</strong> national and cultural identities 157 collections, proving their capacity as a serious ‘scientific’ resource. While the existence <strong>of</strong> such debates cannot be taken as a measure <strong>of</strong> the efficacy <strong>of</strong> any resultant policies, it does give a clear sense <strong>of</strong> the self-appointed role <strong>of</strong> museums within the state’s educational programme at this moment. <strong>The</strong> year 1902 was significant in other respects also, since it marked the renewal <strong>of</strong> concerted strategies by both contending parliamentary parties to promote the concept <strong>of</strong> a homogeneous national identity and unity within Britain. Imperialism was one <strong>of</strong> the dominant ideologies mobilized to this end. <strong>The</strong> empire was to provide the panacea for all ills, the answer to unemployment with better living conditions for the working classes and an expanded overseas market for surplus goods. Through the policy <strong>of</strong> what was euphemistically referred to as ‘social imperialism’, all classes could be comfortably incorporated into a programme <strong>of</strong> expansionist economic policy in the colonies coupled with the promise <strong>of</strong> social reforms at home. It was in this context that museums, and in particular the ethnographic sections, attempted to negotiate a position <strong>of</strong> relative autonomy, guided by a code <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional and supposedly disinterested ethics, while at the same time proposing themselves as useful tools in the service <strong>of</strong> the colonial administration. <strong>The</strong> degree to which the museum as a site <strong>of</strong> the production <strong>of</strong> scientific knowledge and as the custodian <strong>of</strong> cultural property can claim a position <strong>of</strong> relative autonomy from the vagaries <strong>of</strong> party politics and state intervention, is an issue central to an understanding <strong>of</strong> the ethnographic collection’s actual and possible role today. I <strong>The</strong> specific roles assigned to ethnographic collections in the discourses on museums and education produced from within the more catholic membership <strong>of</strong> the Museums Association needs to be seen in relation to another site producing knowledge <strong>of</strong> the colonial subject. Between 1900 and 1910 Britain hosted a
<strong>The</strong> myth <strong>of</strong> primitivism 158 9.1 Plan <strong>of</strong> the upper floor <strong>of</strong> the British Museum, London, 1899. number <strong>of</strong> National and International, Trade and Colonial exhibitions. Designated as both ‘scientific demonstration’ and ‘popular entertainment’, these ‘spectacles’ were the physical embodiment <strong>of</strong> different and sometimes conflicting imperial ideologies. 7 Particularly relevant here is the fact that these extremely popular and well-attended events, held on massive purposebuilt exhibition sites nation-wide, <strong>of</strong>ten mobilized the same heady rhetoric <strong>of</strong> education and national coherence which was to become the hallmark <strong>of</strong> the museum’s appeal to the public at this time. While it is beyond the scope <strong>of</strong> this article to deal in detail with these events, they are an important element in gauging and comprehending the terms on which the ethnographic curators sought to define their domain and to establish their distinctive contribution to the national education programme after the 1902 initiative. In the face <strong>of</strong> the much greater popularity <strong>of</strong> the International and Colonial exhibitions, such a differentiation was only expedient. 8 <strong>The</strong> obstacles that faced museum ethnographic curators in their efforts to acquire the same mass audience as the exhibitions without relinquishing any academic credibility, are exemplified through contemporary debates concerning the problems posed by the museum building. Through the internal organization and classification in conjunction
Page 2 and 3:
The MYTH o
Page 4 and 5:
The MYTH o
Page 6 and 7:
PART I Contents List of</st
Page 8 and 9:
Illustrations Display case, Berlin
Page 10 and 11:
10.2 A blend of sa
Page 13 and 14:
Display case, Berlin Ethnographical
Page 15 and 16:
little pictures inserted me neatly
Page 17 and 18:
10 Christian Metz (Fall 1985) ‘Ph
Page 19 and 20:
assumptions of the
Page 22:
PART I
Page 25 and 26:
The myth o
Page 27 and 28:
The myth o
Page 29 and 30:
The myth o
Page 31 and 32:
The myth o
Page 33 and 34:
The myth o
Page 35 and 36:
The myth o
Page 37 and 38:
The myth o
Page 39 and 40:
The myth o
Page 41 and 42:
Outsiders or insiders 19 Th
Page 43 and 44:
Outsiders or insiders 21 content it
Page 45 and 46:
Outsiders or insiders 23 honoured i
Page 47 and 48:
Outsiders or insiders 25 If the con
Page 49 and 50:
Outsiders or insiders 27 of
Page 51 and 52:
Outsiders or insiders 29 free-range
Page 53 and 54:
Outsiders or insiders 31 which the
Page 55 and 56:
Outsiders or insiders 33 Melly, Geo
Page 57 and 58:
The myth o
Page 59 and 60:
The myth o
Page 61 and 62:
The myth o
Page 63 and 64:
The myth o
Page 65 and 66:
The myth o
Page 67 and 68:
The myth o
Page 69 and 70:
The myth o
Page 71 and 72:
The myth o
Page 73 and 74:
The myth o
Page 75 and 76:
The myth o
Page 77 and 78:
The myth o
Page 79 and 80:
‘Remember, you are the stranger.
Page 81 and 82:
The myth o
Page 83 and 84:
The myth o
Page 85 and 86:
This page intentionally left blank.
Page 88 and 89:
Editor’s introduction The
Page 90 and 91:
5 Emil Nolde’s ‘ethnographic’
Page 92 and 93:
Emil Nolde’s ‘ethnographic’st
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Unofficial version
Page 114 and 115:
Unofficial version
Page 116 and 117:
Unofficial version
Page 118 and 119:
Unofficial version
Page 120 and 121:
Unofficial version
Page 122 and 123:
Unofficial version
Page 124 and 125:
Unofficial version
Page 126 and 127:
Unofficial version
Page 128 and 129: Unofficial version
Page 134 and 135: The resurgence <st
Page 154 and 155: From primitivism to ethnic arts 133
Page 172 and 173: PART III
Page 174 and 175: Ethnography and the formation <stro
Page 200 and 201: 10 Art and meaning SIGNE HOWELL In
Page 202 and 203: Art and meaning 181 which the sculp
Page 204 and 205: Art and meaning 183 overall social
Page 206 and 207: Art and meaning 185 woven into syst
Page 208 and 209: Art and meaning 187 anthropologists
Page 210 and 211: Art and meaning 189 and visited Mus
Page 212 and 213: Art and meaning 191 ultimate ‘oth
Page 214 and 215: Art and meaning 193 10.5 Jah Hut me
Page 216 and 217: Art and meaning 195 The</st
Page 218 and 219: Art and meaning 197 without models
Page 220 and 221: 11 Dark continents explored by wome
Page 222 and 223: Dark continents explored by women 2
Page 228 and 229:
Dark continents explored by women 2
Page 230 and 231:
Page 232 and 233:
Page 234 and 235:
Page 236 and 237:
Page 238 and 239:
Page 240 and 241:
Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’ in F
Page 242 and 243:
Page 244 and 245:
Page 246 and 247:
Page 248 and 249:
Page 250 and 251:
Page 252 and 253:
Page 254 and 255:
Page 256:
PART IV
Page 259 and 260:
The myth o
Page 261 and 262:
The myth o
Page 263 and 264:
The myth o
Page 265 and 266:
14 Unsettled accounts of</s
Page 267 and 268:
The myth o
Page 269 and 270:
The myth o
Page 271 and 272:
The myth o
Page 273 and 274:
The myth o
Page 275 and 276:
The myth o
Page 277 and 278:
The myth o
Page 279 and 280:
The myth o
Page 281 and 282:
The myth o
Page 283 and 284:
The myth o
Page 285 and 286:
15 Locality fails IMANTS TILLERS Al
Page 287 and 288:
The myth o
Page 289 and 290:
The myth o
Page 291 and 292:
The myth o
Page 293 and 294:
The myth o
Page 295 and 296:
The myth o
Page 297 and 298:
16 Aboriginal representation and ki
Page 299 and 300:
The myth o
Page 301 and 302:
The myth o
Page 303 and 304:
The myth o
Page 305 and 306:
The myth o
Page 307 and 308:
The myth o
Page 309 and 310:
17 Born from sharp rocks Edgar Heap
Page 311 and 312:
The myth o
Page 313 and 314:
The myth o
Page 315 and 316:
Notes on contributors 294 P.S.122.
Page 317 and 318:
Index aboriginality, as Australian
Page 319 and 320:
Brecht, Bertholdt 53, 56 Breton, An
Page 321 and 322:
Index 300 Eurocentrism 14-15, 21, 8
Page 323 and 324:
Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig 99, 144, 240
Page 325 and 326:
School Museum Committee 204 mutilat
Page 327 and 328:
Index 306 ‘soft
Page 329 and 330:
Tower monument 126 technology, and
Page 331:
This page intentionally left blank.
show all

Hiller - The Myth of Primitivism. Perspectives on Art - Esoteric Online

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?