Description
Book SynopsisIn April 1937, the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted an exhibition that served as a catalyst for the appropriation of prehistoric rock art in postwar abstract painting. With the title Prehistoric Rock Pictures in Europe and Africa, it displayed a range of copies from the influential collection of the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius.Largely disregarded in modern American art history up until now, this book highlights the importance of this exhibition to artists such as Josef Albers, Adolph Gottlieb, David Smith, and The American Abstract Artists group, who sought inspiration from the prehistoric images' primordial creativity. With a transnational scope, this book reveals new facts about the connections between Paris and New York, and the importance of communication and collaboration between them for these artists. In doing so, Seibert shows that this debate was about more than just legitimizing abstract art forms from the past, but about recognizing an autonomous American abstrac
Trade ReviewOpens a fascinating discourse on the undervalued artistic reception of prehistoric works in American 20th century art. This thoroughly researched book demonstrates not only the inspiration they had on modernist artists, but also how use of the controversial term “primitivism” was directly related to ethnographic and anthropological thought at the time. * Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Director Emeritus, Getty Research Institute, USA *
Meticulously researched and strikingly ambitious in its aims and range, Elke Seibert’s study is a highly original contribution to our understanding of American modernism. Drawing on largely neglected material from a rich variety of sources - from anthropological debates in 1930s New York to the activities of the American Abstract Artist group - this book explores with brilliance and in impressive detail the impact that an exhibition of prehistoric art made on artists in the 1930s, a phenomenon that until now has been largely overlooked. Apart from its importance for the history of modern art, this is an enthralling case study in the relationship between prehistoric and 20th century art that will resonate with any art historian concerned with issues of artistic influence and appropriation across history. * Malcolm Baker, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History, University of California, Riverside, USA *
An illuminating journey into the nexus where prehistoric art, emerging modernism and discourses of the indigenous intertwined and generated a new understanding of what American art could be. A lucid testament to the power of art across time. * Annette Bhagwati, Director, The Museum Rietberg, Zürich, Switzerland *
Table of ContentsPart One: Introduction 1 Preface
2 Prehistory as a Modern Idea in Europe and “Primitivism” as intertwined concepts (1900–1940)
Part Two: Prehistoric Artifacts, Prints, Painted Copies and the Genesis of Modern Art in New York (1937) 3 Alfred Barr’s View of Prehistory and Modernism as Shown at MoMA
4 Barr`s exhibition concept: “Prehistoric” Avant-Garde and Lala Eve Rivol’s Federal Art Project
5 Leo Frobenius’s Objectives, His Collection in Western debates—and Henry Moore
6 The Making of the MoMA Exhibition
Prehistoric Rock Pictures in Europe and Africa (28 April–30 May, 1937)
Part Three: The Art of Copying the Past—in Transatlantic Dialogue 7 Copies and Copyists: Pictorial Heritage at the Museum of Modern Art
8 Copying for the Index of American Design (1935–42)
Part Four: Modern American Abstract Art and their Re-appropriation of Prehistoric Rock Paintings 9 The Founding of the American Abstract Artists (1936) and their Appropriation of Prehistoric Rock Paintings (1937–40)
10 Bridging Time and Space:Transcontinental AAA Networks in the Interwar Period
11 The Influence of (prehistoric) Artistic Concepts from Mexico on the American Abstract Artists
12 Prehistorical Modernists: Gottlieb, Lassaw, Schanker, Smith
Part Five: Conclusion 13 The “Modernity” of Prehistory in the Thirties in Paris and New York
Appendix I and II Bibliography Index
