December 2017
Intermediate to advanced
208 pages
3h 39m
English
“Tribal” art refers to art made by people living in communities cut off from, or only recently acquainted with, the international community. These cultures are nonliterate, generally organized into small villages, and subsistent on hunting and gathering along with small-scale agriculture.
Most tribal art is integrated into ritualistic practices or otherwise forms a ceremonial role within the community. Anthropologist Alfred Gell suggests that many tribal artifacts have a “magical utility,” in which their form and decoration assist with some important task. The decoration on a spear, for instance, may help it to its target. Without knowing this cultural context, an outsider may be hard-pressed to understand the nature of the artifact. ...