High ethnic art, collectibles, crafts, kitsch—the Western model of
primitive art has become, in the past 15 years, a much-fractured thing.
Developing states, meanwhile, use “the primitive” to encapsulate, sanitise, and
even manufacture a glorious national past. In The Death of Authentic Primitive
Art and Other Tales of Progress, Shelly Errington juggles competing cultural
discourses without cant or embarrassment. The result is a wry and witty antidote
to the sophistries of museums, galleries and “cultural theme parks” both here
and elsewhere. Published by University of California Press, £13.95/
$19.95, ISBN 0520212118.
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