William Rubin “Modernist Primitivism: An Introduction” 1 ... - iSites

William Rubin “Modernist Primitivism: An Introduction”
1. How do we identify “primitivism”? What are the idiosyncrasies of primitive
art?
2. With the meaning of the word primitive changing so frequently in history/art
history and within this article, what would art critics and scholars of today
define tribal/primitive art?
3. Rubin explains why Primitivism is an art historical term, and some of the
problems it presents. Given what he says on page 136, “This ethnocentrism is
a function nevertheless of one of modernism’s greatest virtues: its unique
approbation of arts of other cultures…Its consequent appropriation of these
arts has invested modernism with a particular vitality that is a product of
cultural cross‐fertilization”, could a new term perhaps “approbationism” or
“appropriationism’ be more descriptive of the historical and artistic
processes Rubin describes?
4. Rubin says that used in a restricted art historical way, the word “primitive”
“has a sense no less positive than that of any other aesthetic designations
including Gothic and Baroque).” Do you agree?
5. Do you think Rubin's defense and explanation of the term "primitivism" (not
the tribal arts in themselves, but to the Western interest and reaction to
them) appropriate? Antiquated? Misleading?
6. Discomfort around the word ‘primitivism’ remains an issue through all of the
selected readings. Time and again, arguments are presented for and against
use of the term (along with ‘primitive’ and ‘tribal’). As alternative
substitutions for these terms are not universally accepted, and with the
greatest respect intended, would ‘ethnographic’ or ethnocentric’ art be
considered a viable descriptive option?
7. What is the significance of Rubin's approach to primitivism, specifically his
analysis of the western context in which artists were initially exposed to
tribal art?
8. Seeing that the terms “primitive” and “primitivism” are so deeply ingrained
into modern society and language, is there any possibility to alter this
through increased education on such tribal societies? Or does the canon of
anthropologic research disallow this term from being retired? Further, can
the “myth of the primitive” be reversed?
9. Was Rubin imitating Picasso’s comment, “Everything I need to know about
Africa is in those objects," when Rubin remarked in a New Yorker profile,
“The notion that you can look at a work of art as pure form strikes me as
idiocy. If the work comes at you, it comes with everything it's got, all at
once"?
10. According to Rubin, “Ours is the only society that has prized a whole

spectrum of arts of distant and alien cultures.” (136) Name other societies
that disprove his statement
11. When Rubin purports that African masks give Westerns an “almost shocking
sense of psychological otherness” (139) what otherness is he referring to?
Does he assume that non‐Westerns do not see this otherness?
12. When Rubin states that : « the otherness of the tribal images can broaden
our humanity because we have learned to recognize that otherness in
ourselves », is he not displaying the evolutionary prejudice he wants to
combat ?
13. When Rubin writes that, « Picasso was interested in the exorcistic character
of African art », does he mean that Picasso showed :
a. . an awareness of the sacredness of art
b. . a realization that art can liberate the unconscious, the « other »
within ourselves
c. . a fascination and a desire to appropriate non‐Western aesthetic
values ?
14. Rubin says, like all great art, the finest tribal sculptures show images of man
that transcend the particular lives and times of their makers.” Can the same
be said of Picasso’s Demoiselles?
15. Although tribal art influenced “Picasso and his colleagues in significant
ways”, why would it not influence the direction of modern art even though
these artists became inspiring figures of modern art?
16. Why would Goldwater assert that the similarities found in “primitive” art and
modern art objects were merely a coincidence and not some higher level of
artistic connectedness? In some way or another, it seems nearly impossible
to see a foreign object and not be influenced by it, especially in the early
1900s…
17. Rubin mentions that Gauguin had a long list of “primitives,” is this because he
more loosely defined what primitive meant to him as compared to other
artists of the time?
18. Do you think Rubin is reaching in some of his analogies regarding the
similarities between “primitive” artists and modern artists?
19. Danto states that “what must be show is not adventious visual congruities
but what these objects meant to artists and how, not especially caring to
understand them, they made them their own.” (pg. 149) Is he implying that
contemporary artists are ignorant for their lack of understanding primitive
art or is it acceptable to take the visual art for it’s face value?
20. Would you categorize Rubin’s ideas on the relationship between Western
artists and “primitive” art structuralist?
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21. The early twentieth‐century emancipation from the restrictions of a
perceptually based art encouraged a variety of aesthetic attributes that
parallel those of tribal art.” (p. 137) We’ve seen in previous articles read for
class (Boas and Lagamma) that ‘tribal’ art can indeed be perceptually based.
In addition, much of the “twentieth‐century emancipation” of art resulted in
non‐representational art (ex. Pollock) that skirts the issue of perception by
creating alternative visual universes. How much, then, did the aesthetic of
tribal art contribute to this emancipation vs. an overall lessening of
traditional artistic philosophical boundaries (an ‘anything goes’ mindset)?
22. Rubin mentions the transformation that occurred when anthropologists and
art historians began to view tribal artifacts as art. What criterion currently
distinguishes the two?
23. Rubin states that while graduate‐ level programs in Primitive art are
comparatively rare, it is only since World War II where the “discipline of art
history turned its attention to this material.” (Pg. 129) Why would he suggest
that Primitive art began being discussed at this particular time in our
history?
24. How do the tribal elements, which are not supposed to be viewed
aesthetically, change the aesthetic value of the western modern art?
25. Rubin gives a further insight to defining art in the last sentence, “…art is a
concrete index to the spiritual accomplishments of civilizations…” What does
he mean by this, and if one came to an understanding of it, would this be a
useful addition to the qualities of art that this section came up with at the
beginning of the course?
26. If according to Rubin: primitivism share a very strong “affinity” with modern
art to the point where resemblances between the two could be found even in
works of arts that might not even have common origin or shared motives,
and in the same note, Danto states that, this affinities are merely coincidental
and both forms of arts developed independently as two different forms of art.
Could we then classify the so called Tribal and Primitive forms of arts as
“Abstract Expressionism” in an attempt to free this from of art from the
Western‐Eurocentric point of reference?
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Arthur C. Danto “Defective Affinities ‘Primitivism’ in 20 th Century Art”
1. Danto states, “I don’t really think we know the first think about primitive art,
not even whether it is right to treat it as art.” What elements of ‘primitive’
and ‘art’ does he question?
2. Danto states, “There is little doubt that primitivism plays the role in
twentieth‐century art that Orientalism did in the nineteenth century or that
classical forms did in the Renaissance.” Is this an accurate comparison given
that primitivism and Orientalism were perspectives of European artists and
audiences regarding contemporary people and living cultures throughout the
globe, whereas Renaissance artists formed a perspective on antiquity?
3. Why is Danto wrong to criticize the “formalist principles” for looking only at
the comparable physical features of objects?
4. Do you agree with Danto’s statement regarding the MOMA show, that “under
formalist principles, all works are brothers and contemporaries, but at the
cost of sacrificing whatever makes them interesting or vital or important?”
5. Danto states that “the cultures they [the art] came from almost certainly
lacked a Western concept of art”, making them “more primitive”, why is he
considering them primitive because they lack Western concept?
6. How do our “connotations of primitiveness” (148) color our perceptions and
interpretations of primitive art?
7. Why does Danto marry raison d’etre and aesthetics?
8. Danto says “primitive art…was not meant for audiences, viewers, dealers and
collectors, but for participants and celebrants.” Does that mean that people
outside of the originating culture can ever begin to understand the value and
meaning of a piece? Are aesthetics enough?
9. Do you think Danto has a point when he says “I don’t think we really know
the first thing about primitive art, not even whether it is right to treat it as
art...”? Do you think we have done a better job at interpreting non‐Western
art or do you think Danto’s argument would still apply?
10. If « the Rockefeller Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art looks like a
detached segment of Bloomingdale’s », what is the best way to display tribal
art in a contextualized setting without running the risk of being essentialist ?
11. Why are objects from Africa and Oceania displayed together in most
museums ?
12. If primitive art objects are not supposed to be seen in a glass cube in a
Museum, does it mean that, in other words, once primitive art is taken away
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from its origin, it cannot be separated from modernism? “Modernist
primitivism” is a sub‐ product of the real “primitivism”?
13. It is obvious that the author has negative feelings toward the exhibition, but
doesn’t his lack of faith in the primitive art amongst the “masterpieces” show
his disdain toward “primitive art”?
14. Do you agree with Danto's scathing critique of the entire premise of the
"Primitivism" MOMA exhibition?
15. How could the MOMA have better displayed the meaning the "tribal" forms
had to modernist artists?
16. Was the infamous “Primitivism” MOMA exhibit the result of overenthusiastic
‘marketing’ of a lesser‐appreciated genre (‘primitive’ art) to a larger
audience? Was the exhibit a product of its own time period (1984‐85)?
17. Do you believe that Danto’s criticism of Rubin’s MOMA exhibition,
“’Primitivism’ in 20 th Century Art” was fully warranted to the extent of
suggesting a three‐way failure of presentation – first of primitive art, then of
modern art and lastly the relationships of the two combined?
18. Judging by Danto’s article, do you think Rubin’s views on “primitive” art were
communicated clearly in the exhibition? Is Danto adverse to Rubin’s views
themselves or how they were interpreted in the exhibition?
19. Do we agree with Danto's argument that the pairing of primitive and modern
art in exhibits such as “Primitivism” in 20 th Century Art forces
misunderstandings of primitive art, modern art, and the relationship
between them?
20. Many 20 th century modern artists made use of the tribal art elements and
elaborated these elements in modern contents. Their intention of doing so
cannot be seen as coincidence. What triggers modern artists to revalue these
tribal elements in the early 20 th century?
21. If Picasso drew inspiration from his collection of masks to augment ‘Les
Demoiselles d’Avignon’, was he fully aware that these masks held meaning in
the “magical connections of tribal existence” (p. 148)? If he intended to
reduce his models’ representations down to an essence, was that essence as
transcendent as it was ‘primitive’ and, in light of the painting’s original
reception, did he succeed?
22. Although Danto speaks of the artists as “changing the subjects to be imitated,
copying fragments of reality” (pg. 147), couldn’t one argue that it is the
artist’s right to extract meaning and inspiration from a piece and apply it to
their own work?
23. Danto seemed to be undermining the field of anthropology, when he wrote, “I
don’t think we really know the first thing about primitive art…” But later he
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credits efforts of ethnographers and he seems to hold a strong opinion of
exactly where primitive art should be viewed in our culture – in a glass case
of an ethnographic museum. Do you know if his essay sparked further
debates across the interdisciplinary fields much like Rubin’s MOMA,
“’Primitivism’ in 20 th Century Art” exhibition did?
24. Very often icons of European art such as: Picasso, Gauguin (being perhaps
some the most famous), draw (resemblance or influence) from “primitive”
works of arts that surrounded them. However, this influence although
(admired and revered) by many artist has seldom been acknowledged as
influence per se. Could it be that the reason for this resilience to recognize
indirect or direct influences is the fact that acknowledging any type of
inspiration could treat their artistic originality and their fame as creators?
Elvis Princely, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton among other American musicians and
artists, have openly recognized being influenced by “negro music and art”
such as blues and Jazz in their work. However, this admission has not
affected their status as creators and innovators. Could it be then, that given
the era of history where Picasso and Gauguin lived was closer to the era of
Imperial Europe and Social Darwinism as the doctrine labeling anything
colored as beastly, thus preventing them from acknowledging the high level
of abstract symbolism in their work?
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James Clifford “Histories of the Tribal and the Modern”
1. Clifford accuses MoMA’s “Primitivism” of presenting an unbalanced
exhibition, i.e. showing modern Western art but not showing modern tribal
art, must exhibitions be balanced?
2. What troubles Clifford about MoMA using the word “affinity” in the
exhibition title?
3. Why will it be difficult to put on an exhibition presenting « the impure,
inauthentic productions of present tribal life » ?
4. Why were the Royal arts of Africa (Ife, Benin sculptures, etc. ) not included in
the « Primitivism » in 20th Century Art exhibition ? What does this imply
concerning our understanding of African art ?
5. If an art museum uses what might be considered primitive/tribal art with its
exhibition, should the cultural information be included in the label as
practiced in the Center for African Art? Page 160.
6. Clifford gives an example of the IBM gallery exhibit on Northwest Art,
showing living artists' work at the end of the show. Does this solve the
problem of exhibiting tribal art in museum space?
7. The intention of the exhibition is quite obvious, what changes to the exhibit
might have made it better to project the true vision of comparing and
contrasting “tribal” art and modern art?
8. Clifford raises an important question, such as, who has the authority to speak
for any culture’s identity? Should tribal art be mixed with modern art or any
other art for that matter? In the case of Rubin, it seems as though he has
become the artist himself, in such a way that he used his creative authority to
choose what he wanted the public to see in both tribal and modern art.
9. Clifford critics the power dynamics that exist between the people studied and
those studying them, those who can “select, values, and collect the pure
products of others” (164) and those who can not. What are the implications
of this inherent inequality of power?
10. Clifford concludes, “The relations of power whereby one portion of humanity
can select, value, and collect the pure products of others need to be criticized
and transformed” what elements and principles might go into constructing a
conceptual framework where this transformation is possible?
11. Are modernism and tribalism separable? While defining the two, are we also
avoiding assimilation of the two?
12. Clifford poses the question, “why could one not learn as much about Picasso’s
or Ernst’s creative processes by analyzing the differences separating their art
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from tribal models or by tracing the ways their art moved away from, gave
new twists to, non‐Western forms?” What do you think?
13. Do Western objects merely mean objects that are made by processed
materials? Then what are non‐ Western objects?
14. Noting that “anthropologists, long familiar with the issue of cultural diffusion
versus independent invention, are not likely to find anything special in the
similarities between selected tribal and modern objects.” (pg. 151) What
other two mediums or types of art can be argued to have a similar lack of
attention that are in need of development?
15. I wonder if the didactic catalogue that was a part of Rubin’s “’Primitivism’ in
20 th Century Art” was more easily accessible or even maybe more visible
alongside the actual art objects that his exhibition would have been less
harshly criticized.
16. Would Clifford say that analyzing primitive art by its’ differences with
contemporary art would be completely useless, or rather could it serve some
intellectual purpose?
17. How has this debate about museums exhibiting "tribal" art evolved since the
1980s, when these articles were written?
18. Do you think both Natural History and Art museums have changed their
approaches to non‐Western art since the time Clifford’s article was written?
19. Clifford makes some interesting assessments regarding Western displays of
non‐Western art and the lack of acknowledgement of time. Why do you think
it was so hard for Westerners to accept that many of the objects displayed
were contemporary objects?
20. It seems that the art/artifact or ‘aesthetic anthropological debate’ has some
of its roots in the pattern of repeated opposition of relativism and
objectivism in western philosophical thought. Does bringing in the
experience of the artist in conjunction with cultural and historical context of
the work help to transcend this pattern? How do we learn accurately about
the cultural context of the artist?
21. What did the MOMA exhibit (and its resulting fallout) do to change the way
both art and cultural artifacts (sometimes one and the same) were perceived,
curated and displayed? How has it altered academic approaches to artistic
traditions (modern and otherwise)?
22. After reading the Clifford article, it appears that the premise of “Affinities”
section of the “Primitivism” MOMA exhibit could have as easily been applied
to modern architecture and illuminated manuscripts, or 1950’s automobiles
and contemporary kitchen appliances‐that is, two groups of material objects
that (inevitably) share aesthetic and/or structural similarities, either by
inspired design or the course of nature. Was this a condescending or facile
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perspective on the part of the curators, or did the exhibit expose an ongoing
struggle to communicate relevancy?
23. Clifford argues that certain items of material culture, such as Zuni ritual
objects, belong somewhere other than museums, exhibits, or private
collections. Is there a movement to return ritual objects to their rightful
owners?
24. Chinua Achebe writes about how the Igbo choose to honor the process, not
the outcome, as a means of encouraging each generation’s own creative
impulse. What are the implications of this belief system for the way
museums interpret Igbo objects/art?
25. According to Clifford, the MOMA’s primitive art exhibits (although not well
classified leaving other types of Native American art out of the classification)
depicts a high level of quality and a very rich aesthetic and anthropological
beauty and importance. One might ask if the primitive artists of the MOMA’s
exhibits were European could this art be considered “Modern”? There are of
cases like Fridah Callo, Diego Rivera, among others of similar importance in
across the Americas and the non‐western world (who painted and sculpted
traditional themes from colonized cultures) but are still leveled in a lower
place than European artist who did similar things, or like Norman Rockwell,
Andy Warhol who are placed at a very high level in the Western European
view, but their themes are strictly North American. Could it be the fact that
they from United States (a very powerful nation) that allowed them to obtain
that place?
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