Art,history, and gender: women and clay in West Africa

Women dominate the production of pottery in Africa, yet few scholars have considered women the likely creators of the figurative ceramic sculpture recovered archaeologically across the savanna. Indeed, the question of who made these highly celebrated ceramics is rarely raised. A close look at the art historical and archaeological literature exposes the gender biases that privilege men's high art over women's low craft, making men the presumed creators of these works. Examples of women's predominance in the production of ritually-destined figurative ceramics in Nigeria alone counters such unsubstantiated assumptions. Through such production women play important roles in the construction of social and cultural meanings. It does make a difference in our reading and writing of history to understand and reconstruct what women make as well as what men make.

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Résumé Les femmes dominent la production d'objets en argile en Afrique, mais peu d'experts ont considéré les femmes comme créatrices probables des sculptures figuratives en céramique découvertes dans des fouilles archéologiques dans toute la savane. De fait, la question de savoir qui fabriquait ces céramiques hautement prisées est rarement soulevée. Une étude plus approfondie de la littérature ayant trait à l'histoire de l'art et à l'archéologie met en évidence les partis pris sexuels qui privilégient l'art élevé des hommes par rapport à l'artisanat vulgaire des femmes, faisant des hommes les créateurs présumés de ces oeuvres. Des exemples de la prédominance des femmes dans la production de figurines rituelles en céramique au Nigéria contredisent ces suppositions non prouvées. Par cette production, les femmes jouent un rôle important dans l'élaboration de notions sociales et culturelles. Comprendre et reconstruire ce que font les femmes, de même que ce que font les hommes, nous fait lire et écrire l'histoire différemment.

     

The quest for constitutional reform in Tonga

Tonga's constitution was originally a liberal, 19th century document that economically combined popular representation and aristocratic direction in a unicameral vehicle instead of the conventional bicameral legislature. Subsequent amendments strengthened the executive, and the greatest of all, in 1914, significantly reduced representation of both nobles and people. The configuration of power sharing has not changed despite numerous minor constitutional amendments since. There was no significant pressure for fundamental constitutional changes until the 1990s. Whereas earlier reforms were initiated by the executive, the modern reform movement comes from the people's representatives and a small group of supporters drawn from the foreign-educated sector. This pressure has been ignored by the executive, and commands insignificant support from the nobles. The dissatisfaction with the system of representation and the distribution of power arose from the exposure of lavish provisions for overtime payments for members of parliament. Earlier dissatisfaction with government over land tenure had no such result. The impotence of people's representatives was revealed and grievances became focused on the principle of accountability. Failure to make progress on this issue drew attention to the concentration of power by custom as well as law, in the hands of the executive. Reformists began to consider institutional ways of making government accountable. Unfocused talk of democracy coalesced into a series of formal conferences in 1992, 1998 and 1999, all of them dismissed by government. Undeterred, the reform movement became better organised and, in 2002, produced two discussion documents outlining alternative constitutions in an attempt to frame a solution that co-opts modernity without abandoning Tongan tradition. The conservatism of these proposals suggests that in modern politics, culture will continue to prevail over institutional rationality.     

The quest for coordinates in space and time

Hall, Edward T. The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time. Garden City, New York: Anchor Press, 1984. 250 pp. including appendices, glossary, bibliography, and index. $15.95 cloth; $5.50 paper.

Pinxten, Rik, Ingrid van Dooren, and Frank Harvey. Anthropology of Space: Explorations into the Natural Philosophy and Semantics of the Navajo. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. xi + 240 pp. including appendices, bibliography, and name and subject indices. $32.50 cloth.     

当代艺术语境中的敦煌艺术刍议

历史上的异质文化输入对艺术的发展都有促进作用,敦煌艺术正是异质文化和本土文化碰撞融合的结果。在当代艺术语境中,敦煌艺术具有文化融合的典范作用和对传统文化冈子继承的双重身份。敦煌学研究的日益深入和多学科交叉研究的日趋成熟,为敦煌艺术研究的转型搭建了一个有益的平台。存中同当代艺术发展的进程中,西方现代主义艺术思潮之后的本土文化回归是目前面临的主要问题。敦煌艺术作为中国中世纪的一部美术史,深入研究其不同文化的相互借鉴和兴衰发展中隐含的艺术规律,对于重构中国传统文化精神,突出中吲当代艺术的民族性、时代性,都具有十分重要的现实意义。     

翰海春拍力推市场蓝筹——写实画派与学院艺术演绎独有景观

自2003年下半年开始,中国书画和接续至今的当代艺术的相继飙升助推了整个市场大盘的增量和结构性提升,在天价和流拍带动的涨跌舞蹈中,很多的收藏者和投资者被牢牢的栓在了前卫艺术的热门板块上体验惊风骇浪,     

大山深处的民间美院--热贡艺术散记

一 走遍世界,再也无法寻找到这样一所硕大而独特的美术学院:九曲黄河第一湾的青海省同仁县隆务寺周围的五个村庄里,就连每一缕清醇的空气都透着艺术的灵光。这几个村庄是:吴屯、郭麻日、年都乎、尕赛日等。在这里,“家家都从艺,人人会作画”,除