Curatorial Networks and Museum Culture

Objects and Evidence in Museums of African Art

Bibliographic Data

ID2289499
AuthorsB Jules-Rosette (0000-0002-0649-7359, University of California San Diego)
Year2020
Volume43
Issue1
Pages14-28
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMuseum Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-8339 • E-ISSN: 1548-1379
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/muan.12215
OpenAlexW3026215683
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited14

The valuation and display of African art in museum contexts entails contrasting strategies of objectification. In this process, objects may be used as material evidence for larger cultural trends and new movements. This essay examines the role of curatorial networks in creating discourses about African art objects that reframe their cultural significance and economic value. These curatorial networks are treated as a habitus for the art and a discursive framework for its valuation. This analysis builds upon a taxonomic nodal model, which may be used to identify the reconfiguration of museum discourses, curatorial knowledge, and markets for artistic circulation. Two case studies, examining the paintings of Congolese artist Tshibumba Kanda Matulu (1947-circa 1981) from the 1970s and the collection of legendary Malian photographer Seydou Keïta (1921-2001) from the 1960s and the 1970s, demonstrate how curatorial networks reframe the circulation and evidential status of African art over time. The article concludes with an assessment of repatriation claims with relationship to a framework for analyzing the evidential claims of museums

Contemporary art, education, critique · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Museums and Cultural Heritage

Tools

Open DOI