The Art of Remembering
Essays on African American Art and History
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Duke University Press
Published:2nd Apr '24
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£24.99(9781478030171)
In The Art of Remembering art historian and curator Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw explores African American art and representation from the height of the British colonial period to the present. She engages in the process of "rememory"—the recovery of facts and narratives of African American creativity and self-representation that have been purposefully set aside, actively ignored, and disremembered. In analyses of the work of artists ranging from Scipio Moorhead, Moses Williams, and Aaron Douglas to Barbara Chase-Riboud, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, and Deana Lawson, Shaw demonstrates that African American art and history may be remembered and understood anew through a process of intensive close looking, cultural and historical contextualization, and biographic recuperation or consideration. Shaw shows how embracing rememory expands the possibilities of history by acknowledging the existence of multiple forms of knowledge and ways of understanding an event or interpreting an object. In so doing, Shaw thinks beyond canonical interpretations of art and material and visual culture to imagine “what if,” asking what else did we once know that has been lost.
“The essays in The Art of Remembering show Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw to be a sophisticated thinker with a capacious interest in American art and culture and how it represents Black people. Her voice is both hard-hitting and subtle, unafraid of tackling meaningful and challenging topics.” -- Cherise Smith, Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Art History, University of Texas at Austin
“Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is fearless. At a moment in art history and criticism when consensus muddles clarity of perception, Shaw not only takes on subjects that otherwise would be neglected or overlooked in the pursuit of knowledge but also avoids expected and required analyses. Her laser-sharp perspective is particularly important in this age that professes a commitment to expanding the scope and depth of our knowledge of persons and events—all in the name of newfound fairness—but delivers accommodation and conciliation.” -- Lowery Stokes Sims, author of * Challenge of the Modern: African-American Artists, 1925–1945 *
"The Art of Remembering takes the reader from the 18th century to the contemporary moment. Along the way, DuBois Shaw shares incisive criticism of the aesthetics and politics surrounding pivotal moments in Black art and representation throughout history. . . . For those interested in African-American art history and anyone following how this dialogue has unfolded over the years, it is worth grabbing a copy of DuBois Shaw’s latest collection and diving deeper into both the historic and contemporary stakes of Black art and representation."
-- Alexandra M. Thomas * Hyperallergic *
ISBN: 9781478025924
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 748g
320 pages