The Bright Continent: African Art History

Reviewed by Roann Barris, Professor, art history and ethics, Radford University on 5/24/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Ity contains a lot of material but the organization is confusing and seems to correspond more closely to an introduction to art textbook than an introduction to African art history.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

because discussion is divided between different chapters, it is difficult to assess the accuracy; it is unbiased but is it error free? I cannot judge not because I lack the knowledge but because I cannot follow her organization

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

covers a lot but the contemporary material seems dated and underexamined
many lists of additional readings are provided but no documentation of the text is provided which would make it hard to use this with students who are learning how to do research

Clarity rating: 3

the writing is easy to follow but as I noted above, the organization is not; this book would better suit a course in art appreciation

Consistency rating: 4

consistent for the level she has chosen which is not the level I am seeking

Modularity rating: 4

the chapters are very long and include multiple subsections but it is not always clear as to why so many subsections are included

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

confusing and arbitrary for reasons already noted

Interface rating: 2

the Open Text interface did not work well and it did distort spacing around images; to read it I downloaded a pdf from a web site that was not part of the Open Text link

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

the grammar is correct

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

it is relevant although her approach is not as relevant as the content

Comments

There are some excellent books on African art history --one of which she refers to as not suiting her style of teaching and therefore she wrote her own; that would appear to have been a mistake. Unfortunately, the existing sources that I have used in the past are very costly and not available in open source formats and I was hoping to find a replacement but I will continue with the sources I have already used

Reviewed by Tammy Cotton-Jennings, Lecturer/Art, Leeward Community College on 12/2/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

For an introductory level textbook, this one had a wealth of information that I will pick and choose from. It was especially helpful, to readers who have no former experience with Africa as a continent and/or the art and artists of the "Bright Continent". Unfortunately, there is neither an index nor a glossary, which I believe would be useful to students. However, explanations for terms that are in bold throughout the text, do point out important vocabulary and concepts. Perhaps In future editions, with a glossary added, there will also be an e-text format to link the words to their place in the glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content appears to be accurate, but my knowledge of the subject limits my ability to comment on that. I found no bias from the author's point of view.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Overall, this is a book that with added information could be used for years to come. I found the contemporary art section a little small, and would have liked more.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is clear and accessible for beginning students. There were a few places where there was some repetition but overall lucid and easy to follow.

Consistency rating: 4

Reading this book, I found minor issues with the framework. The order of the chapters seemed random at times. For example, Contemporary art may have been better served at the end of the book, rather than in Chapter 1.

Modularity rating: 4

In Chapter 1.2: Gender, Materials, Techniques in Traditional Art, the author presents the difference between subtractive and additive sculpting, but I would like to see this explained at the very beginning of the chapter.
The author makes the case that "traditional African art restricts the use of certain materials to a specific gender—in most cases.”
It is important to point this out, but there are too many contradictions to the gender restrictions cited throughout, making it seem. a bit repetitive.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

It is wonderful that this book starts with perception…orientation..maps and the true size of Africa. The visuals are well presented, if a little dated. The topics could be presented in a more logical order.
Also, there is a chart with the Learning Objectives starting in Chapter 2, but why none in Chapters 1, 3, and Chapter 4?

Interface rating: 4

There are some links that don't work. Page 147 links to Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibe (photography). There are also many instances where the text and the Fig.s used didn't align.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No issues were found, but the prose is a little dry in places, and reads like an older textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I didn't find any instances of anything culturally insensitive or offensive. This book is successful in giving an unbiased account of the wonders of art from Africa.

Comments

I really enjoyed reviewing this book and learning more about a topic that I was not very familiar with. I walk away with an introductory understanding of the history of African art. There are a few issues, as noted, but I do plan on using parts of the text in my Introductory to Visual Art class, and appreciate the work that went into creating this text. It feels a little dated to me, but that can easily be updated, either by the author or instructors choosing to use certain areas of the text. Overall, this book is a success. It has inspired me to share more of the "Bright Continent," with my students.