USA Africa Dialogue Series - Is Rowland Abiodun's Landmark Book in Classical African Aesthetics Being Marginalized and Made Difficult of Access by the Western Art Establishment? : A Debate

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Moyo Okediji updated the group photo.

August 19 at 6:35 PM

The Rowland Abiodun masterpiece, YORUBA ART AND LANGUAGE: SEEKING THE AFRICAN IN AFRICAN ART is the Holy Bible on African art history.

It is already four years old on the intellectual market. Yet it daily inspires reviews. The latest review by Prof. Nkiru Nzegwu is also so elegantly written and insightful that it deserves a mention in the history of African art.

What is even more amazing is that this masterpiece by Professor Abiodun has not won a single prize. And worse, it has been denied a paperback version by Cambridge University Press!

Is something wrong with academic integrity in the study of African art? Is the basis of African art history built on falsehood, subterfuge and double standards?

Does this not call into question the need to examine who have been winning the prizes awarded for African art history scholarship, if the very best book ever written on the subject is sidetracked, while prizes are doled out to light coffee table materials?

When the paradigm shifts, are the powerful brokers in African art studies trying to stifle the book that shifts the paradigm?

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Evelyn Ariam Thank you for putting this on my radar 💥🙏🙏

Evelyn Ariam It's truly a shame that it's only available on reference at the Schomburg (it's the only copy in the entire NYPL catalogue)! It's also $363 on Amazon 🤨

Moyo Okediji Evelyn Ariam I hate conspiracy theories (as President Trump must be saying), but isn't it clear that power brokers are doing their desperate best to keep this book out of the hands of folks?

Evelyn Ariam Sadly, I find many books on African Art to be inaccessible (either unavailable entirely or cost prohibitive). My college education in Art History simply did not provide a comprehensive study of African Art, which is why I am keen on owning books such as this one. This group helps me keep abreast of texts regarding the subject; and for that I am thankful. All the best Moyo Okediji!🙏

Suzanne Preston Blier On prizes: One can look at the committee members for each of the main prizes: Herskovits (African Studies Association), ACASA (Arts Council of the ASA), CAA etc. I have never heard accusations that such prizes are "set up." Alas this kind of statement denigrates those who did receive these awards recently like Chika Okeke-Agulu and Cecile Fromont. As to the other awards, the Prose prize is awarded by the larger group of publishers themselves. I think the Choice awards are made by librarians and may be based on non-academic issues like broader interest/readability. As to paperbacks, who knows how they decide, but unfortunately paperbacks too rarely happen in African art, and where they do, a combination of things from marketing potential to prizes seem to factor in. An author can also move a book to another press in seeking a paperback. There may well be presses here and in Nigeria who might be interested.

Moyo Okediji We have a Yoruba proverb: Kó má a ró kìì nínúu wọn.

It defies translation because it does not align with the Romantic languages. And it answers the issues of denigration raised here.

The matter that moves this post remains: the best book ever published in African Art, this incredible paradigm-shifting publication, has been denied an award. That matter will continue to plague the entire history of anointing and will keep questioning the politics of winning laurels in the history of African art writing.

And does Cambridge University Press not appear to be contributing to this question as long as it refuses to issue a paperback edition of this important book? Does It not brazenly open itself to insinuations of "catch and kill," even after a committee of senior scholars of African descent wrote letters to its editors requesting a paperback edition to be issued? If CUP has a blanket policy of not issuing paperbacks in African art, it is understandable. But when CUP issues paperbacks for certain books and denies the book that has generated the most reviews in the history of African art publication (I have counted seventeen great reviews now), is it not fair to ask questions about balance?

Suzanne Preston Blier Moyo - "raising up" people is important. To your point on prizes, you would have to look at the individual committee members and talk with them on their choices. But yours is a pretty severe accusation and again denigrates some incredibly important books that have won these prizes when others did not. I don't know of any press that has a blanket policy re. paper, but when CUP declined to republish my Anatomy of Architecture book in paper, I contacted another press to see if they were interested and Chicago did chose to bring it out in paper. That is why I suggested that Rowland send his book to another press here or in Nigeria. On reviews -who knows who gets reviewed and why, I know that once one book in a field gets reviewed they are less likely to do a second one, and for some the vitriol that this issue has engendered has not been good for the field. Note: increasingly it will be far harder for any of us to publish anything in African art because university presses (and libraries) are suffering greatly in financial terms. I toyed with the idea of self-publishing my forthcoming Picasso book - or simply putting it up on a website - after many turn-downs from publishers. I was fortunate in the end to get Duke but it has taken several years just to do the work for the images.

Moyo Okediji Suzanne, some of us have dedicated our entires lives to pioneering the practice and studying of African art, growing up in countries without museums, libraries and even schools without basic facilities such as bathrooms. They say it is colonialism--but that mild and perfumed term is nothing but a distraction for something much more pungent: ìkónilẹ́rú and ìkónilẹ́rù.

Ìkónilẹ́rù continues unabated under another sanitized term of "postcoloniality," mostly because of the tactics in the academic publishing industry--which pretends to be transparent, but which is part of the highly funded and political order of Ìkónilẹ́rù things that produced Tom Braden. I had the opportunity of living with Mr. Braden during the last years of his life in Denver, Colorado, and he instructed me about resisting Ìkónilẹ́rù.

The political aesthetics of African art history during our era can be studied but will not be published. It is subject to the hegemonic order of ìkónilẹ́rú and ìkónilẹ́rù.

Silence is easy. For the scholars to confront these issues is by far more difficult because they will be punished for doing so by their powerful peers.

Suzanne Preston Blier Moyo - Silence is never the answer; the only way I know to address punishment by peers is to speak out, regardless of ones position in or out of the academy. Whether we teach in elite programs like the University of Texas, Amherst, or Harvard, we have a special responsibility to promote the field and scholars of various interests - as well as to do everything we can to support the work of others - whether we agree with them on every issue or not.

Moyo Okediji Speaking out has its consequences: the cockroach is seeking justice in the court of roosters. (It's a Yoruba proverb that has no meaning in ecologies where the cockroaches are exterminated with insecticides; but it makes sense in villages where the cockroach, as it ventures out of its hiding places, encounters bands of marauding roosters and hens in the open forage spaces). The academia, university publishing, peer review processes, museums, and art markets, unfortunately, turn into open forage spaces for marauding roosters. It is just the prevailing order of things, as Tom Braden often told me, as we sat in front of his fireplace, his pipe held fancifully in his left hand, as he sipped cognac.

It does not matter whether a cockroach teaches in elite colleges. It tastes even more delicious in such fanciful menus., Suzanne.

And one must be supportive of all works, particularly those the power elites try to eradicate with tactical measures.

Jennifer Burchill Kind of like many snobs I have met in the art world. If either you, and/or your ideology, conflict with their narrow views, they attempt to eat you up. I once tried to include traditional African art as a source when doing a research project. The professor(who shall remain unnamed) ripped me a new one and deducted the final grade.

Suzanne Preston Blier Moyo: Eradicate? Fortunately now everyone can upload to the web (as you and I have done) and/or self-publish. it is important that we all support the works of others - regardless of status, education, means. Knowledge is knowledge. I will spare you my academic scars from periodic attacks - as well as details of the two threatened law suits (one simply to get my Ife book published). But that is behind me. I subscribe to the Yoruba oriki: "Elders resolve disputes; they do not goad disputants on." I will continue on this path, and now will head back to writing.

Moyo Okediji Self-publishing and off-loading materials to the web has never been an option to the academic community--no one gets tenure with offloaded materials, Suzanne.

But it goes beyond that.
It is the moment that parallels the history of the Hollywood Academy Awards.

Until others began to raise objection to the practice in recent times, all the Grammies went to only a single set of people.
Also, virtually all the movies were written for racially exclusive groups, and there were hardly any movies including lead characters of color.

Many people in the Hollywood world were too scared to say anything about this convention until a few really bold colored film makers began to raise their voices.

As we write, the highest grossing film this week is CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Those of us who raise our voice are not simply trying to create problems in the discipline of African art history. We are identifying problems that already exist: there is a need to see beyond The Wall in African art history. There is a wall. And those on the other side of it know it is there, though those who raised the wall might not understand why there shouldn't be a wall, or that it should be pulled down.

Juergen Stork Africa is so great.

Ayoola Mudasiru I'm surprised at this academic information... Can we get the book online...?

Moyo Okediji Yes, you can get the book online as an electronic copy.
But if you were in Africa, (as I was until two weeks ago), you need high speed internet, (which eluded me seven days out of seven in Nigeria), to access your copy electronically. Plus you need a generator, (because of power shortage). And who needs this book more than Africans on whose art the book focuses?

Beathur Mgoza Baker I would love to acquire it Prof Moyo. How can I do so? Not acknowledging such good work and research is a travesty.

Moyo Okediji You may be able to get a used copy at Amazon but it may be as much as $500 a copy.

Beathur Mgoza Baker Wow Prof Moyo Okediji 😮 thanks. Will check academic libraries here too 👍🏽

Omo Oba The need to have and establish our own press and other multimedia outlets. We can't rely on the system of oppressors for us to thrive.

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