Primitive Art (20045)
Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 3rd / 4th
Term: 1st
Number of ECTS credits: 5
Hours of student dedication:
Teaching language or languages: Spanish
Teaching Staff: Estela Ocampo Siquier and Roser Bosch i Darné
1. Presentation of the subject
This course is not intended as an exhaustive study of Primitive Art from the point of view of Art History, impossible within a term, but as an explanation of the fundamental principles that apply to Primitive Art from a theoretical-artistic point of view. Given that Primitive Art is established as an Art History object in the 20th century, the course starts with the colonialist process in the middle of the 20th century -which introduced most objects in Europe- and the aestheticization of those objects, caused by their inclusion in museums and their valorisation by avant-garde artists. A fundamental issue previous to the specific study of Primitive Art is the questioning of the "Primitive Art" and "Primitivism" concepts. The intrinsic study of Primitive Art will focus on formal aspects, that is to say, its style and meaning aspects, such as its relation to the myth and the rite, through pieces of African, Native America and Australian art. Primitivism, that is, the West remaking of Primitive Art, will also be included. And, as an epilogue to this course, there will be a block about Contemporary Indigenous Art exemplified by Aboriginal Acrylic Paintings from Australia.
2. Competences to be attained
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General competences |
Specific competences |
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•1. Analysis and synthesis skills. •2. Skills in managing information from a variety of sources. •3. Skills in interrelating knowledge from a variety of disciplines. •4. Skills in interrelating concrete aspects to their theoretical foundations. •5. Ability to transmit, in written and in speech, the acquired knowledge. •6. Understanding of the interrelation between Literature, History, Art and Thought. Interpersonal Skills •1. Group working skills. •2. Ability to conciliate personal contributions and group development. •3. Analytical reasoning. Systemic skills •1. Self-learning. •2. Continuous learning skills. |
•1. Being able to synthesize the conceptual elements from different disciplines such as Anthropology, History and Art History. •2. Analysing through formal means pieces of Primitive Art. Knowing the main principles applied to them. •3. Skills in analysing theoretical texts on Primitive Art. •4. Skills in relating theoretical texts to pieces of Primitive Art. •5. Skills in situating Primitive Art in its historical, social, political and cultural context, and to relate it to Western culture. •6. Skills in obtaining information from a variety of sources: cinematographic documentaries, literary witnesses, scientific texts. |
3. Contents
Unit 1: Historical contextualization of the "primitive" and the "primitive art". Elements for a definition of Primitive Art. Aesthetics and Anthropology. Primitive Art as a style in Art History: formal and conceptual issues.
Unit 2: Arts and ritual. The aesthetic forms of the American Northwest Coast societies.
Unit 3: Arts and myth. Approach to the traditional and contemporary aesthetics of Aboriginal Australian cultures.
Unit 4: Arts and formal language: abstraction and antinaturalism in African societies. Body as a canvas, individuals as artworks.
Unity 5: Primitivism. The remaking of Primitive Art in Western Contemporary Art. Formal and ideological Primitivism. Case of study: land and earth art.
•3. Assessment & seminars
Lecture-classes of this course are complemented with 3 seminars. Each of the seminars has a homework that will determine the 30% of the final mark (10% each homework). Seminars main objective is to enlarge theoretical knowledge and open debate in class. Some of the seminars will be linked to conferences given by specialists.
A final exam will take place at the end of the course that counts as the 70% of the final mark.
5. Bibliography and learning materials
5.1. Basic bibliography
Bühler, Alfred, Oceanía y Australia, Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1963.
Blocker, H.Gene, The Aesthetics of Primitive Art, Lanham, University Press of America, 1994
Caruana, Wally, Aboriginal Art, Londres, Thames and Hudson, 1994. (hay traducción castellana en Edit. Destino)
Gillon, Werner, Breve historia del arte africano, Madrid, Alianza, 1989
Goldwater, Robert, Primitivism in Modern Art, Londres, Harvard University Press, 1986.
Guiart, J., Oceanía, Madrid, Aguilar, 1963.
Laude, J., Las artes del Africa Negra, Barcelona, Labor, 1968.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, Arte, lenguaje, etnología, México, Siglo XXI, 1975.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, El pensamiento salvaje, México, FCE, 1972.
Ocampo, Estela, Apolo y la Máscara, Barcelona, Icaria, 1985.
Ocampo, Estela, El Fetiche en el Museo, Madrid, Alianza, 2011
Thomas, Nicholas, L'Art de l'Océanie, Paris, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (hay traducción castellana en Edit. Destino)
VVAA, "Primitivism" in 20th. Century Art, Nueva York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1984.
Willett, Frank, African Art, Londres, Thames and Hudson, 1993 (hay traducción castellana en Edit. Destino)
5.2. Complete bibliography
A complete bibliography of this study-field can be found at the following link from Pompeu Fabra University research group on Primitivism and Primitive Art (CIAP):
http://www.upf.edu/ciap/enlaces/
and the course webpage: www.upf.edu/intranet/webs_huma/primitiu
5.3. Learning materials:
Course webpage: www.upf.edu/intranet/webs_huma/primitiu
The artworks and images seen in class.
Ethnological and anthropological documentaries.
Ethnological and anthropological texts.
6. Schedule
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Primivite art (20045) |
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Monday |
Wednesday |
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29/09 - 01/10 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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06/10 - 08/10 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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13/10 - 15/10 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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20/10 - 22/10 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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27/10 - 29/10 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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3/11 - 5/11 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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10/11 - 12/11 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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17/11 - 29/11 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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24/11 - 26/11 |
LECTURE |
LECTURE |
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01/12 - 03/12 |
LECTURE |
CLOUSURE |
*seminar sessions will be scheduled the first day of the course.