Contemporary British Artists of African Descent and the Unburdening of a Generation

This book explores the notable roles that contemporary British artists of African descent have played in the multicultural context of postwar Britain. In four key case studies Magdalene Odundo, Veronica Ryan, Mary Evans, and Maria AmiduMonique Kerman charts their impact through analysis of works, activities, and exhibitions. The author elucidates each of the artists' creative response to their unique experience and examines how their work engages with issues of history, identity, diaspora, and the distillation of diverse cultural sources. The study also includes a comparative discussion of art broadly defined as black British, in order to question assumptions concerning racial and ethnic identities that the artists often negotiate through their worksparticularly the expectation or burden of representing minority or marginalized communities. Readers are thus challenged to unburden the artists herein and celebrate their work on its own terms.

Investigates the work and career trajectories of four artists under-represented in scholarship of contemporary British artists of African descent Analyzes the ways in which activities associated with black British art in the 1980s impacted these artists and their peers Reflects upon the expanded audience and increased visibility of contemporary British artists of African descent since the 1990s with an assessment of how these have evolved from the 1980s to the present Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Monique Kerman is Assistant Professor of African Art History and Visual Culture at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, USA. Her articles have appeared in Africa and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art, n.paradoxa, and Critical Interventions: Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture.

Inhalt

1. Chapter 1: Introduction.- 2. Chapter 2: Magdalene Odundo.- 3. Chapter 3: Veronica Ryan.- 4. Chapter 4: Mary Evans.- 5. Chapter 5: Maria Amidu.- 6. Chapter 6: Reckoning with Identity, Race, and Gender.- 7. Chapter 7: Achieving Parity.