Afro-Modern

This important new book addresses a key area of post-colonial studies coined by the British academic Paul Gilroy in 1993 - the notion of 'The Black Atlantic' - and its relation to visual art from 1900 to today. It traces the imaginary and actual journeys of influential artists and intellectuals from North America, the Caribbean and Latin America across the Atlantic to Europe, the reverse direction to that of the slave-ships that carried their ancestors, and from Europe and Africa to the United States, exploring the visual expression of the hybrid Black culture manifest in their work. While the narrative of modernism has often excluded artists and intellectuals of African descent, the concept of the Black Atlantic demonstrates that they have been central to the formation of modernity. Key academics, curators and artists from both sides of the Atlantic examine aspects of Gilroy's concept in relation to visual Modernism and contemporary art.
Topics explored include negrophilia and the early twentieth century Parisian avant-garde; the Harlem Renaissance; the cultural links between Africa and Brazil; contemporary and 'post-black' art; and the way Paul Gilroy's original concept of the Black Atlantic, developed in the early 1990s, remains relevant to current discussions of migration and exploitation. With extensive illustrations, a timeline of key figures and events, and an extensive bibliography, this is both a visual feast and an essential reference. Artists featured include: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Constantin Brancusi, Aaron Douglas, Ellen Gallagher, David Hammons, Palmer Hayden, Langston Hughes, Wifredo Lam, Fernand Leger, Glenn Ligon, Chris Ofili, Pablo Picasso and Kara Walker. Tanya Barson is Curator (International Art) at Tate Modern. Peter Gorschluter is Head of Exhibitions and Displays at Tate Liverpool. With contributions by: Petrine Archer, Roberto Conduru, Manthia; Diawara and Edouard Glissant, Courtney J. Martin, Kobena Mercer, Huey Copeland with Thelma Golden and Glenn Ligon.