With the perspective reached after fifty years (yes!) working with museum collections of art from Africa, I see a critical juncture now for “African art”—the famed historic sculpture tradition that forms the canonical core—both as an idea and as material objects present in the American art world. In museums especially, “African art” is now being fundamentally redefined by people outside the field while at the same time it is fading from view. The situation in academia is quite different, but in American museums, activity peaked around 1990, then gradually declined during the 2000s, before rapidly losing steam in recent years, even though contemporary African artists are now a regular part of the international art world. Africa's historic art enjoyed almost fifty years of admiring press coverage, special exhibitions, permanent installations, auctions, acquisitions, and a steady stream of substantial publications. After this long run in the spotlight, it is probably now...
The Long View: Leadership at a Critical Juncture for “African Art” in America Unavailable
Susan Mullin Vogel has a PhD in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. She has served as curator at the Museum of Primitive Art and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, founding director of the Museum for African Art, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Yale University Art Gallery, and professor of art history at Columbia University. She received the leadership award for lifetime achievement from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. She is a dropout (after two years) of the MFA Film program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and has five documentary films on African art in distribution with Icarus Films. She is currently working on a history of African art in the American art world. [email protected]
Susan Mullin Vogel has a PhD in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. She has served as curator at the Museum of Primitive Art and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, founding director of the Museum for African Art, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Yale University Art Gallery, and professor of art history at Columbia University. She received the leadership award for lifetime achievement from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association. She is a dropout (after two years) of the MFA Film program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and has five documentary films on African art in distribution with Icarus Films. She is currently working on a history of African art in the American art world. [email protected]
Susan Mullin Vogel; The Long View: Leadership at a Critical Juncture for “African Art” in America. African Arts 2023; 56 (1): 10–12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/afar_a_00692
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