PROMOTING AFRICAN ART - THE CATALOG TO THE EXHIBIT OF AFRICAN ART AT THE ROYAL-ACADEMY-OF-ARTS, LONDON

The large exhibition of African art shown recently in London, Berlin, and New York provides rich data for reassessing current values and aim s in presenting African artefacts to the public. Issues of regional an d ethnic bias, questions of authenticity, hostility to modernism, defi nition of what is art, contestation over ownership of cultural propert ies, and commercial opportunism all figure in many such public exhibit ions. This essay examines some of these problems using this prominent exhibit to illustrate these points.