Choose 1 of the 2 questions below:
1. In the article “African Aesthetics”, Rowland Abiodun states: “While it may have been useful to utilize only Western theoretical paradigms in the study of African art history and aesthetics early in the twentieth century, it has now become imperative to search carefully within the African cultures in which the art forms originate, and to use internally derived conceptual frameworks in any critical discourse on African art. There are, however, difficulties in translating this theoretical position into practice. The study of African art, having begun within the discipline of anthropology, inherited some pertinent and vexing questions, among which is the false assumption that Western scholars can fully understand and interpret the cultures of other peoples by using only Western cultural notions, values, and standards – a claim that cannot be divorced from Western imperialistic involvement in Africa. In the traditional discipline of art history, the importance of African art has hardly advanced beyond that of catalyst and for the revolutionary goals of European artists such as Picasso beginning of the twentieth century”
Do you agree with this assertion. Why or why not? Provide specific examples to support your position.
2. In the context of slavery and colonization enslaved people were forbade to read and write. Slave owners also prohibited enslaved people to sing and dance. Some scholars such as Jones in “Blues: Music as resistance” notes that what became jazz music is a combination of original African work songs from the native Africans combined with new languages based on the various colonizers (Portuguese, French, Spanish and English). Both music and storytelling for enslaved people is about survival and adaptation. What are some concrete ways in which people used culture in the forms of music, food and art to adapt and survive? Provide some specific examples from the assigned materials from this module.