Impact of Intercultural Exchange on African Art

Prepared Interpretive Essay (1 essay, 70 points)
In the second section, you will write an essay in response to one of the following prompts. Both will appear on the exam. Your essay will be graded on three aspects:
A) The presentation of a clear, creative argument in response to the prompt (10 points)
B) The critical analysis of at least three images, each from a different context (30 points)
C) Appropriate and accurate use of contextual information for each image (30 points)
Feel free to use any image discussed in class or in the readings. You are encouraged to prepare this essay ahead of time, but during the exam you may consult only the images you chose, with no other additions, notes, or makings. Please include these images in the word .doc of your exam. You should type your essay into the exam word document, but you must do so at the time of the exam and without any other notes.
1.In a 2005 book, J. Lorand Matory, a scholar of African religious arts, wrote that his research was trying to show “not that we can no longer treat geographical isolation as a condition of cultural production in Africa, but that we never could, in Africa or anyplace else.” In other words, he argued that African arts both respond to, and participate in, ongoing inter-cultural interactions, exchanges, and/or clashes. Analyzing at least three different images from three different contexts, provide evidence to support Matory’s conclusion. Defend your ideas with clear examples and appropriate contextual information.
2.Robert Farris Thompson writes that African “objects can embody a liveliness and vitality of their own.” We have also seen ample evidence of moves in the opposite direction: African bodies intentionally transformed into objects and visual metaphors. Utilizing three different images (each from a different context), describe a few ways that African arts break down the dichotomy between “bodies” and “objects.” Defend your ideas with clear examples and appropriate contextual information.
How long should this essay be?
Long enough to answer the question. Your essay should have, at bare minimum, and introductory section that summarizes the key arguments you will make; three body sections each dedicated to analyzing a specific artwork and its context; and a conclusion that brings together the various argumentative threads you created during your writing. In all these areas, you need to provide space to make clear, succinct points, while at the same time being sure that all your arguments and conclusions have a basis in visual analysis and contextual information. It will probably be difficult to accomplish this in less than 1200 words; but, strictly speaking, the essay has no minimum or maximum length guidelines. I strongly recommend you prepare a response to the essay first by gathering up your notes and ideas. You should come into the exam knowing exactly what you want to say.
What do you mean by “context”?
This essay asks you to analyze “three images, each from a different context.” Two images from the same “context,” in this sense, would come from the same geographic and cultural origin. In many cases, this would also mean they share the same historical/temporal origin. For example, I discourage you from using two images from the Kongo Kingdom, even if they were produced centuries apart. Meanwhile, I would be fine a comparison between Great Zimbabwe and a Dogon statue since even though these were constructed around the same time, they are from very different cultural contexts. Use your best judgement: your goal is to provide three clearly distinct and novel responses to the prompt.