HASELBERGER Method of Studying Ethnological Art

MethodofStudying Art
Ethnological
byHertaHaselberger
INTRODUCTION ideas to the significanceof the term culture" (Ger-

brands 1957: 17).
THE TERM "ETHNOLOGICAL ART" Such termsas "tribal," "traditional,""native," and
"ETHNOLOGICAL ART" is used here to denote the tribal "indigenous" art, according to Gerbrands (1957: 18-
and touristartofthosepeoples in Africa,America,Asia, 19), are too stronglyassociated with the concept of
Australia,and Oceania who are the objects of ethno- backwardness.It may also be noted thatthesetermsdo
logical (or, as it is called in the Anglo-Americantradi- not comprehend the whole of ethnological artistic
tion,anthropological)study.As such,it correspondsto activity,sincetheyexclude touristart,whichsometimes
the area of art thathas oftenand unsatisfactorily been has aestheticimportance(Fagg, Forman,and Forman
termed primitive,tribal, traditional,native, indige- 1959).
nous, folk,or popular. The terms"folk"or "popular" art,proposedin 1949
None of these terms,as Gerbrands(1957: 9-24) has by a committeemeetingin Paris under the sponsor-
shown,withstandsthoroughcriticism. ship of UNESCO (Gerbrands1957: 21), are unsuitable
The term"primitiveart" encountersserious objec- because theyare generallyused for"everything not be-
tion: Gerbrandspointsout thatthe art formsof ethno- longing to high art or higher applied arts" (Hahm
logical peoples are not particularlycrude or early,i.e., 1932: 15); and manyethnologicalpeoples lack strongly
are not "primitive";while Tax and Mednick (1960) markedsocial strataand consequentlyhave no "folk"
have recentlyemphasizedthatthesymbolicmeaningof art.Only in exceptionalcases-e.g. Benin (Elisofonand
"primitive"may lead to considerablemisunderstand- Fagg 1958: 64) or Hawaii (Christensen1955: 282)-is it
ing. possible to distinguisha "plebeian" and a "patrician"
Kunst der Naturv8lker, frequentlyused in German styleamong ethnologicalpeoples.
literature,is not a suitable appellation forethnological It is obvious that "ethnological-art," which is used
art, because "the contrastingof 'Naturvolker' and throughoutthis article,is the only termthat exactly
'Kulturvolker'is completelyat variance with modern fitsthe area of art under discussion.Yet the definition
it offersis essentiallynegative: it comprehendsall art
objects thatdo not belong to culturesusually included
HERTAHASELBERGER is Dozent of Art Historyin the department in studiesof art historians;and is, therefore,no more
of architectureat the Vienna Technische Hochschule, which than a workingterm.
has universitystanding. Born in 1927, she was educated at Perhapsthe fruitlessnessof all attemptsto formulate
Vienna University(Dr. Phil. 1951) and later workedas scientific
assistantat the Vienna Universityand the Vienna Technische an accurateand generallyaccepted termthat compre-
Hochschule, where she received,in 1960, the venia legendi. hendsthisfieldof art is explainedby thefactthatthere
HASELBERGER began her researchwith studies of Africanart.
In 1956 and 1960 she did fieldworkon mural painting in West simply are no stylisticcharacteristicslimited exclu-
Africa. She is currentlyengaged in a study of tribal architec- sively to it (Gerbrands 1957: 138). The art of ethno-
ture in several West African areas. logicalpeoples differs fromotherartonlyin degree;and
The presentarticle,submittedto CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY on
May 2, 1960, was sent for CA* treatmentto 49 scholars, of the differenceis not sufficientfor designating the
whom the followingresponded with writtencomments:Ralph formerby a single distincttermthat is both accurate
C. Altman, Emmanuel Anati, Gilbert Archey,Guy Atkins,T. and definitive. However,thefineartsof all ethnological
Barrow,Beatrice Blackwood, Ingeborg Bolz, Edmund Carpen-
ter,Adr. G. Claerhout, Bernard Fagg, William Fagg, William peoples shareenoughcommonfeaturesso thattheycan
N. Fenton, Douglas F. Fraser, Robert Bruce Inverarity,Arne be studied by the same methods and with the same
Martin Klausen, George Kubler, Henri Lavachery, Phillip principles.Thereforethe workingterm,"ethnological
Lewis, Andreas Lommel, C. Nooteboom, Fokke Sierksma, P.
Jan Vandenhoute, James Walton, Gene Weltfish, Anthony art," strictlydefinedand not weightedwith any sym-
Whitty,and Frank Willett.The commentswrittenforpublica- bolic meaning,cannotbe avoided.
tion are printedin full afterthe author's textand are followed
by a replyfromthe author,who also discussesin the footnotes Within a few years,more adequate historicaland
several points raised by commentators. ethnological knowledgewill give us a better under-
Vol. 2 -No. 4* October 1961 341
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standingof theseart areas, and the differences among among the Italian cities stimulatedrecordingof the
ethnologicalstyleswill become more significantthan lives of noted artists,while pride in the past directed
their common features.The presentclassificationof attentionto thefineartsof ancientRome. The studyof
verydifferent art stylesunder the rubricof "ethnolog- art,however,remainedunsystematic until the 18thcen-
ical art" will then be replaced by a more appropriate tury,when theworkof JohannJoachimWinckelmann
and we may give up this term.
stylisticclassification, (1717-1768), a classicistwho considered the histori-
cal and cultural backgroundof art important,intro-
THE SCOPE OF ETHNOLOGICAL ART duced a scientificorientationand initiatedthedevelop-
The term"art" is used hereonlyfortheso-calledfine mentof a scienceof art. With rediscoveryof medieval
arts, namely: architecture(including space-configura- artisticvalues when classicismwas succeeded by the
tionsand organizationof mass,planning of roads and romanticmovementat the beginningof the 19thcen-
squares, and, in the highercultures,town-planning); investigation
tury,scientific was extendedto Gothicart.
painting and drawing; sculpture;arts and crafts(dis- Later, otherstylesof European art-Baroque, Roman-
tinguishedfromthe "great" arts by theirmore utili- esque, and manneristic-gainedappreciation and be-
tarian purpose and more decorativeintent,and ap- came objects of study.Systematicinvestigationswere
proaching the non-artisticspheres of culture). The also made of Egyptian,Oriental,and Indian art, and
transitionsbetweentheseare fleeting. thisexpansionofinterestin theartof thenon-European
But which ethnologicalobjects are art objects?Is a civilizationswas accompaniedby growingappreciation
wind screen of the Pygmies,for instance,a work of of ethnologicalart.
architecture?All of our experience indicates that a Althoughspecimensof ethnologicalart had been in-
strictline cannot be drawn between the artisticand cluded in European collectionsas earlyas the 15thcen-
non-artistic;witheach doubtfulobject, the determina- tury(Fagg and Forman 1959; Maesen 1958), theywere
tionof whetheror not it is a workof art mustbe newly valued onlyas curiositiesor exoticobjects,ratherthan
undertaken. foraestheticreasons.But thisattitudebegan to change
Differencesof opinion about the boundariesof art, during the firsthalf of the 19th century.As early as
and even the meaning of the term,have given rise to 1842, Franz Kugler's Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte
manycontroversies, summarizedby Munro (1951) and included descriptionsof ethnologicalart fromOceania
Gerbrands(1957: 3-8). The Evolutionistsregardedas and NorthAmerica.After1890,both ethnologistsand
preliminaryforms of art all objects and buildings art criticsgave increasedattentionto the finearts(par-
whose counterpartsin the high culturesare considered ticularlythe ornamentalart) of what were then called
art. Since the Evolutioniststook 19th-century natural- "primitives."The materialcollectedby K. Woermann
ism as theculminationof art,theywereforcedto inter- and publishedin his Geschichteder Kunst aller Zeiten
pretworksof art fromall historicperiodsin termsof a und Vdlker(1904) was astonishingly rich.About 1904,
theoryallowing themto demonstratea developmentof the enthusiasmof artistsand art criticsin Paris, Brus-
artfromstylizationto naturalism.The existenceof this sels, and Dresden stimulateda wide interestin ethno-
trend,however,was questionedby Pitt-Riversas early logical sculpture(Fraser1957,Goldwater1938),which
as 1875,and the theorydied afterthe discoveryof the became much soughtafter.Books and papers dealing
realisticcave paintingsof the Late Paleolithic. Evolu- withethnologicalartwerepublishedunder the patron-
tionismcan contributelittle to such questions as the age of the colonial powers; ethnologicalmuseumsar-
boundaries of art. The "Culture-historicalVienna rangedtheirartcollectionsto separatedifferent stylistic
School" of ethnology,which connectsa priorian artis- areas,and publishedseriousscientific studiesof the art
tic facultywith the concept of mankind,is similarly of ethnologicalpeoples. Today not onlymuseumsand
unable to provide an answer. collections,but also a numberof UniversityInstitutes,
This problem can be solved only with the help of such as the Instituutvoor Kunstgeschiedenis en Oud-
aesthetics,which holds that a work of art involvesan heidskundeat Ghent University, Belgium,are devoted
intention.If the Pygmyerectsa wind
artistic-aesthetic to researchon the art of ethnologicalpeoples.
screenfor the exclusivelypracticalpurpose of protect- The effortsto enlargeour knowledgeof ethnological
ing himselffromwind and rain, he does not create a art are describedby Gerbrands(1957) and Herrmann
work of art; but if a Melanesian carvesa paddle and (Herrmann and Germann 1958: 3-29); other funda-
strivesto give it a beautifulform,then,even without mental bibliographical references are Christensen
ornamentaldecoration,the paddle may be treatedas (1955: 367-76), Douglas and d'Harnoncourt (1941:
an art object because of thisaestheticintention. 211-18), Elisofon and Fagg (1958: 252-54), Harding
Then is it artwhen someoneplayfullydrawslines in and Bolling (1938), Lem (1948: 33-38), Linton et al.
the sand, or scratchesthem on rocks?Not if playful (1946: 196-99), McCarthy (1958: 67-68), Segy (1952:
activityis his main object. Art is involved only when 231-36), and Wingert (1953: 46). These can be sup-
the action producesresultsdesignedto affectsomeone, plementedby bibliographicalnotes accompanyingthe
and is not,like play,an end in itself. chapterson tribal arts of Africa,America,Asia, and
Worksof art are therefore distinguishedfrompurely Australiain the firstthreevolumesof theEnciclopedia
utilitarianobjectsby the aestheticintention,and from UniversaleDell'Arte (1957-59).
play by the strivingforeffect.
PRESENT INADEQUACIES
PRE~VIOUSRESEARCH In what situationdoes the studyof ethnologicalart
Interestin the historyof art developed in Europe finditselftoday?An inspectionof publicationsdealing
during the Renaissance,when intensecultural rivalry withthe art of ethnologicalpeoples showsthat,except
342 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

forthespecial attentiongivenAfrica,art investigation Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
-depending, of course,on ethnographicalknowledge

-tends to be equally advanced in all accessiblepartsof ofartand artistout-
peoples?Whatis theroleand influence
the world; but that the branchesof art-architecture, sidethehighcultures? socialorganiza-
How areart,economy,
sculpture, painting,and artsand crafts-aretreatedvery lifeinterrelated?
tion,and intellectual
(4) The historyof art. Even if his work concernsethno-
upevenly. theinvestigator
logicalcultures, ofarteventually movesinto
Researchon architecture, witha fewexceptions(Be- problemsof timeand space.He establishes dates(at least
guin et al. 1952; Engestrom1957; Gltick1956; Phillips forartobjects,and assignsthemto a particular
relatively)
1952, 1955), has been confinedto ethnological,ecov locality;he tracesrelatedcomplexes,and describestheir
nomic,or sociological problems.Almost no attention causaland dynamicinterrelations.Further, he siftsout the
has been given to the artisticformationprinciplesof pioneering,historically artistsand worksof art,
significant
housesand villages.The decorationof buildings,par- and seeksto identify periodsand specifictrendsthrough
ticularlythe carvingson Maori housesand food stores, time.
is theonlyaspectof architecture withwhichart investi- All fourproblemsare equally importantand should
gators among ethnological peoples have frequently be carried on simultaneously;one can never make a
dealt. detailedstudyof a workof art withoutdeterminingits
The disproportionately largespace givento sculpture place in the total structureof the cultureas well as in
bymanyauthorscan be attributedto the abundance of historicalstyle-sequences.Similarly,one cannotinvesti-
ethnologicalsculpturein European and Americanmu- gate theplace of art in a whole culturewithoutthesci-
seums,on whose collectionsmanypublicationson eth- entificfoundationprovided by studies of art objects
nologicalartexclusivelydepend.While muchattention and biographiesof artists.Conversely, one cannotwork
has been given to sculpturein wood, stone,and metal, within the historicaldimension of non-literatetime,
sculpturein mud and clay,sometimesof high artistic nor re-createthe historyof art during such a period,
quality, but fragileand seldom broughtto museums, withoutfirst havingdealt in detailwithitsworksof art.
has remainedalmostunnoticed.
The studyof ethnologicalpaintinghas particularly THE NEED FOR A COMBINED APPROACH
lagged. Only rock paintingsand engravings,which at- For the firstfewdecades of thiscentury,the studyof
tractedattentionbecause theyresembleprehistoric rock ethnologicalart was primarilylimitedto ethnologists.
pictures,are relativelywell known.The othertypesof Recently,however,arthistorianshave again recognized
painting have been neglected.Almost no researchis thata world-widehistoryof art can not neglectethno-
being done on the aestheticprinciplesof tattooingand logical art,while ethnologistshave become aware that
body painting.The bark,mud, or wood muralsof eth- the art traditionsof the peoples with whom theydeal
nological peoples in Africa (Cory 1953; Haselberger require aestheticas well as ethnologicalinvestigation.
1957; Redinha 1953), Australia, central India (Elwin For the fruitfuland effectivedevelopmentof the
1951), NorthAmerica,and Oceania have seldom been studyof ethnologicalart,both fieldstudyand theoreti-
investigated, and are ratherundervalued.Drawingsand cal researchmustbe based on propermethods,adapting
paintingsin sand, the mostfamousof whichare made the conceptsof European art historyand ethnologyto
by theNavaho Indians of theU.S.A.,' await systematic the needs of thisnew science.We still lack the criteria
investigation, as do the painted decorationsof cult and thatwould facilitatetherecognitionof standardsof ar-
ceremonialobjectsas well as thoseof utilitariannature. tisticquality among ethnologicalpeoples and help us
The most urgentneed is systematicfieldstudyon a achieve a stylisticclassificationof all art objects. The
large scale. The whole of the art-production of all eth- conceptsof European arthistoryare insufficient forthis
nological peoples should be collected and described purpose;but ethnologicalconceptsdo not suffice forthe
systematically; and all native traditionsabout art and comprehensionof specificartisticvalues. A satisfactory
artistsshould be recorded.Such fieldinvestigations will understandingof the world of imageryof ethnological
provide the foundationfor furtherscientificresearch peoples can be obtained onlywith the methodological
on ethnologicalart. tools of both disciplines.To meet thisneed, new con-
ceptual toolsmustbe forged.
MAJOR PROBLEMS FOR INVESTIGATION
This article,therefore,is designed to broaden the
The studyof ethnologicalart involvesfourprimary rangeofvisionofethnologists and arthistorians,so that
tasks: they understand each other'smethodsand thus arrive
(1) Detailed systematic studyof individual art objects. at a new method. An attempt will be made in the fol-
Sucha studyshoulddescribethegenesisand structure ofthe lowingsectionsto describea methodof artstudyamong
object,establishits spatialand temporalclassification, and ethnologicalpeoples thatis based on our presentknowl-
analyzeitsplace withinthewholeculture. edge ofarthistoryand ethnology.
(2) The artist'sbiography. The biography shouldinclude
a chronological accountofall important eventsin theartist's, METHODS OF FIELD RESEARCH
life.It shouldalso tracethe development of his styleand
Gerbrands(1957: 66) notes:
characterizehiscreativeability.An accountof theinfluence
exertedbyhis workis also desirable. It is reallyonly in Africathatart in itselfhas been the
(3) Study of art in the whole structureof the culture. subjectoffieldwork, ifweexceptHimmelheber's workamong
Whichobjectsare considered worksof artby ethnological the Eskimo that
(1938), of Fentonamong theIroquois(1941),
and the researchof the Berndtsin NorthEast Australia
(Elkinand Berndt1950),
1Sierksma* (p. 373) cites,as examples of the scientificstudy of
Navaho sand-painting, two works by Gladys Reichard. and I mayadd, thatofAdair (1945) among theNavaho,
Vol. 2 *No. 4 - October 1961 343

Kaudern (1944) in central Celebes, and Mountford within the object. The best solution of this problem
(1956) in ArnhemLand. Much work,therefore, awaits would be a seriesof photographsshowingthe object in
the art-investigatorin the field.Particularlyin New several differentpositions; excellentreproductionsof
Guinea, but also in centralIndia, Indochina, western thiskind appear in the book The-Sculptureof Africa
and northernAustralia,South America,Africa,Indo- (Elisofonand Fagg 1958: 80-81). For the exact investi-
nesia, Oceania, and even in North America, "tra- gation of buildings,orthogonalplans,reduced models,
ditional" art may be studied withintribal culturesat and position-sketches are indispensible.Excellent ex-
the presentday. Apart fromthis,a new "tourist"art, amples of architecturaldrawingsare presentedby the
whose world-wideformationand developmentis one French architectBeguin and his colleagues in their
of the most interestingphenomena in the art-lifeof book, L'Habitat au Cameroun. Only when based on
ethnologicalpeoples today,is cultivatedwithina num- such drawingswill the comparativestudyof ethnologi-
ber of traditionaltribal cultures,and should not be cal architecturebe successful.Knowledge of architec-
neglectedby the artinvestigator. tural drawingis thereforeindispensiblefor all those
The main tasksof artresearchin thefieldare: (1) col- who want to deal withthe architectureof ethnological
lection;(2) description;(3) inquiry;(4) observation. peoples.
The investigatorwho examinesan artobject forsci-
COLLECTION entificpurposeshas to fulfillon thespot the same tasks
It would,ofcourse,be desirableto leave artobjectsin prescribedabove forthe art collector.
their cultural environment;but well-cared-for collec-
INQUIRY
tionsnow seemto offertheonlyhope fortheirpreserva-
tion. Throughouttheworld traditionalart objects are There are two methodsof inquiry: (1) general in-
now threatenedwith destruction:ethnologicalpeoples quiry,in which one questions a series of informants
todayseldom have the means or desire to preservethe about theirrelationsto art; and (2) individual inquiry,
artof theirpast; and the transitionto Westernciviliza- in whicha singlepersonis askedabout hispersonalrela-
tion often promotesconditionshostile to traditional tions to art. To obtain resultsof scientificvalue, data
arts.Duringa tripto Guinea in 1956,forinstance,I was gatheredby generalinquiryshould be comparedwith
repeatedlytold that the abstractmuralspainted by the informationobtained by the methodof individual in-
women,based on traditionsthatcan be tracedback to quiry.
the neolithic Mediterraneancultures,were "old fash- GENERAL INQUIRY
ioned," and thatthepracticewas being abandoned. theexpres-
Artis alwaystheconcernof a community,
The art investigatoracquiring a piece of art should
sion of its collective inner-life.This is why general
immediatelyrecordtheinformation needed foritslater valid. The best resultswill be
inquiry is scientifically
scientificevaluation:
obtained froma rangeof competentauthoritiesin dif-
(1) He shouldfixtheplace wherehe obtainedtheobject ferentsocial positions,who are shown art objects and
bymarking it on a map,and addinga roughsketch, a photo- askedabout theartisticvalue of theseas well as theasso-
graph,and an exactdescription of thelocation. ciationsconnectedwith them.Continuingthe inquiry,
(2) He shouldalsorecordthedateand timehe foundthe the informantsare asked whethertheyown worksof
object. these were acquired, and whether
(3) A briefdescription of the object,includingits size, art, how and why
material,execution, artisticform,and stateof preservation they are preserved and cared for. Further questions
shouldbe given. should bringout the social and culturalroles assigned
(4) Finally,theinvestigatorshouldmakean inquiry among bytheinformants to artand artists.Such inquirieshave
theonlookers, concerning themeaning, use,origin,and age been conductedbyCordwell(1952),Maesen (1946),and
of theartobject,and seekinginformation abouttheowner Vandenhoute(1945).
and the artist.With thesestatements, his recordsshould
includean evaluationof theauthenticity and credibility
of INDIVIDUAL INQUIRY
theinformants. However,one shouldnot be too skeptical, The knowledgeprovidedby thismethodof inquiry
as shownbymyownexperience in Guinea.Askingwhopro- is deeperand moreprofound,but itsvalue is necessarily
ducedthewell-known wall decorations on Fulanihousesin individual rather than general. The most important
theFoutamountains, I obtainedno lessthanthreecontra- informantis the artisthimself,who should be asked
dictory answers.LaterI succeededin showingthatchanging
customsaccountedfor the contradictions. Formerly,such about his choice of artisticprofession(e.g. whether
decorationsweremade only by womenbelongingto the hereditaryor freelymade); the aim of his artisticwork
Negropopulationin thearea;butin thelastdecadesFulani (e.g. economic profit); professional organizations
women-andtoday,talentedmenas well-havelearnedthis (guilds, corporations);patrons; selection of materials
once-despised artfromthepeasants. and tools for his work; execution of art objects; pay-
ment; religious ceremoniesaccompanyinghis work;
DESCRIPTION and his own ceremonial,social, and economicposition.
If a workof art is not portable (e.g. a building),or if The great importanceof such investigationsfor the
itsacquisitionis not possible,it shouldbe made accessi- studyof art is best shown by the successfulfieldwork
ble for scientificstudy by exact description-photo- of Cordwell (1952), Himmelheber (1935, 1938, 1939,
graphs, drawings, and replicas in easily handled mate- 1959),and Vandenhoute(1945).
rial. Photographs and drawings should show the object
as it ordinarily appears; other aspects may be more OBSERVATION
effective artistically, but are without scientific value The investigatorshould analyze the attitude of a
because they show qualities that in reality do not lie group or of a competentindividual (e.g. an artist)to-

ward art objects. He describesthe artistat work,and Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
the tools he uses, as Vandenhoute (1945) has done so
thoroughly. My own experiencein Guinea suggeststhat
TECHNIQUE
ethnologicalpeoples are proud of theirartisticabilities
and enjoy demonstratingtechniquesof painting and The technique of execution may also indicate the
carvingto an interestedperson. object's date and place of origin.
I am thoroughlyaware of the difficulties
thatan eth-
PURPOSE
nographerworkingin the fieldwill meet in fulfilling
the tasks set forthabove. Not only do his time and Ethnological and prehistoric peoples have produced
moneyrun shortall too soon, but oftenhe lacks the works of art fora number of purposes, some of the more
indispensibleknowledgeof local languages.Therefore, important of which are:
if we are to salvage at least an importantpart of the (1) Utilitarian.-e.g. a building for protectionfromrain.
traditionsconcernedwith fine arts, during the brief (2) Ritual.-e.g. a building housing a sanctuary; or a
timeremainingbeforethe completeruin of tribal cul- statuein whichan ancestoris to reside.
tures,it is desirablefornot onlytheartinvestigator,but (3) Educational.-e.g. Australian bark-paintings,used at
everyethnologistengagedin fieldstudy,to know what initiation and age-gradingceremoniesto teach young men
data are of importanceforart-science. the mythsand folkwaysof the tribe (Mountford1956: 6).
(4) Commercial.-e.g.art objects produced as tradegoods,
DETAILED STUDY OF A WORK OF ART such as the modern"touristart."
(5) Social prestige.-e.g.artisticcreationsrepresentingthe
One should firstcarefullyexamine the art object, power and wealth of a ruler.
establishingits authenticity, identifying latermodifica- (6) Social control.-e.g. masks to maintain order and dis-
tions,and, ifnecessary, reconstructing itsoriginaleffect. cipline.
Next,itsdate and place oforiginshould be determined. (7) Art for art's sake.-Himmelheber (1935: 49) reports
In the absence of traditionalor documentaryevidence that in the Atutu village of Afotobi,Ivory Coast, he found
for the positionof an object in time and space, it is small signal horns, ointment containers,and sword grips
always preferableto give priorityto determiningthe without any practical functions: the sword grips lacked
localitywhereit was produced;amongnon-literate peo- openings forinsertingthe blade; the salve containerscould
not be opened; the signal horns lacked mouthpieces.On
ples,period stylesremainveryconstantand are harder
being questioned, the natives stated that on festivaldays
to identifythan local or regionalstyles.In fact,a great theyset these objects before themselvesto rejoice in their
deal of ethnologicalart can be fixedonlyin space, and sight.Himmelheberconclusivelyestablishedthattheseitems
not in time.For instance,an investigatorcan easilytell weremade withoutEuropean influence.In 1956I foundthat
whethera wooden sculpturefromthe Congo area was most of the murals painted2by West African women are
made by a Bushongo,Bapende, or Bena Lulua carver; valued only fortheirdecorativeand aestheticqualities: they
but onlyifit is a portraitof a Bushongokingis he likely are intendedto make the house look beautiful,and have no
to determineitsdate.2In Europe,on theotherhand,the practicalor ritualfunctions.4For thesereasons,I cannotshare
period styleis generallymoresignificant than the local Gerbrand's(1957: 74) skepticismabout the existenceof "art
style.Thus an educated,but not professionally learned, for art's sake" among ethnologicalpeoples.
person can, without much difficulty, tell whethera The primary purposes of artistic creation differ in
statue of a Madonna is of Romanesque, Gothic, or each style epoch and among each people. Therefore a
Baroque style;but fromits stylealone he will not be description of the use and purpose of art objects can
able to name its area of origin. help determine the time and place of their manufac-
Knowledge of the place wherean art object was ac- ture.5
quired or photographedmakes it easier to determine
theplace whereit was made. The date of its acquisition CONTENT
or photographingprovidesa terminus ante quem, be- Examples of the content of works of art are the
fore which it must have been executed. If an object Gothic cathedral as an image of the Celestial Jerusalem,
belongingto a recentethnologicalculturehas been ex- or a wooden sculpture as the portrait of a ruler.
cavated,the soil stratification of the site is particularly Interpretation of the content of ethnological art ob-
importantfordatingit.3 jects should be drawn, if possible, fromwritten sources,
Above all, in each case one must use the following as well as from oral statements and traditions that re-
criteria to furtherestablish the object's position in quire critical evaluation according to the methods es-
space and time. tablished by Graebner (1911), Schmidt (1937), and Van
Bulck (1931). If the content of an artistic creation must
CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION be interpreted without oral or written sources, one first
determines what is actually represented, seeking objects
MATERIAL
in nature that might be the model. Thus, one may find
Because the materials used for art objects differ that the object represents,let us say, a man, or a mother
among peoples and throughtime, the material may with child, or an animal. Once this is determined, the
formone criterionforthe place and date of execution. mythology,religion, and historyof the culture involved
may be drawn upon for further classification of the
2W. Fagg* (p. 366) points out that this is true only for the past
70 years. 4Blackwood* (p. 360) cites another example of "art for art's
3 Of course, there are other criteriafor obtaining the terminus sake," fromNew Guinea.
ante quem; some of these are noted in Claerhout's* comment 5As Altman* (p. 357) points out, every art object may simul-
(p. 364). taneouslyserve several purposes or functions.
Vol. 2 No. 4 *October 1961 345

object.Should thisbe insufficient fora clear interpreta- theeffectand proportionsof theobject as a whole-and
tion of the content,one uses the methodof unilateral onlythenturnsto details;for,detailswithsimilarforms
interpretation,i.e., one comparesthe object whosecon- can have differentkinds of origin. If the object is a
tentis unknownwithan object ofsimilarformthathas statue,forinstance,one firstdescribesits proportions-
alreadybeen explained. If such an object is not avail- whether these are natural, thick-set,or deliberately
able, one turnsto the methodof reciprocalinterpreta- lengthened-and only afterwardtakesup physiognomy
tion:an artobject,whosecontentis partiallyknown,is and otherdetails.
comparedwith a similar object whose contentis also For the comparisonof art objects, Franckl (1938),
partlyinterpretedbut with respectto different parts, Panofsky(1915, 1920-25), Rank (1932), Riegl (1893),
so that the two objects complementeach other. Both Schmalenbach (1958: 310ff),Schmarsow(1905), Segy
unilateraland reciprocalinterpretation require the use (1956: 104), Wolfflin(1915), Wulff(1917), and others
ofobjectsas close as possibleto each otherin space and have workedout pairs of contrastingstyletypesto dis-
time.Interpretativestudies based on the comparison cover formal characteristicsof decisive significance,
of objects by long periods of time or great distances whichwould otherwiseremainunnoticed.These oppos-
require awareness of the fact that entirelydifferent ing pairs,however,wereobtained throughthe studyof
startingpointscan lead to verysimilarforms. European art,and onlya feware usefulin artinvestiga-
The interpretationof contentproceedsstep by step. tion among ethnologicalpeoples. This is shownby the
First,one determineswhat is represented.If the ob- followingexamples, arbitrarilychosen from a great
ject is,forinstance,a bear,one next triesto discoverthe numberof possibleoppositepairs:
meaningof therepresentation of suchan animal in this
particularcase: a huntingscene,forinstance,an alter Tectonic-Atectonic
ego, or a totemanimal. One moves to a thirdlevel of Tectonic-Internalstructureis clearlyevidentfromthe
meaningin askingabout thesignificance of thehunting externalview.Example:an earthenvesselwhosebase,body,
scene,forinstance,and perhaps learningthat it repre- and neckare clearlycontrasted, and whoseornament may
sentshuntingmagic. Thus, in the case described,one emphasizethisstructure, suchas Atticvasesof thegeomet-
can establishthreelayersof meaningforan art object.6 ricalstyleperiod,Dipyloncemetery.
Aftermakingas thorougha studyas possible of the Atectonic-Theinnerstructure of theobjector building
motifs,the art investigatorcan turnto theircompari- is notaccentuated-and sometimes evenveiled-byitsform.
son. Such a comparison can show the origin of the Example:an earthenvesselwhosebase,body,and neckrun
intoeachotherwithout sharpdemarcations,suchas neolithic
motifs; possible convergencesamong them (i.e., the vasesfromThessalyor ZapotecvasesfromMexico.
same motifsmay be produced at differenttimes and
places fromthe same assumptions);and theirdiffusion, Haptic-Optic
mingling,borrowing,penetration,etc. Thus, starting
Haptic.-Formsthatare bestcomprehended whenseenat
with the contentof art objects,the investigatorarrives closerange,or byhandlingand touching. Example:A great
at theirprovisionaltemporaland spatial classification. deal ofethnologicalsculpture,suchas royalstatuesfromthe
Research directed toward explaining the content of Bushongotribe,Congo.
ethnologicalart has been ratherneglected,and such Optic.-Formsthatare mosteffective at a distantview.
studieshave been few,except forthose of Boas (1908) The opticalconception, beingtypicalof thelatestphasesof
and his pupils, Karutz (1927), Kaudern (1944), Mount- artstyle,is,as faras I know,nowherefoundamongethno-
ford (1956), Nuoffer(n. d.), Sierksma(1960), and Vis- is notusefulin ethno-
logicalpeoples.This pair,therefore,
sers (1948). logicalartresearch.
FORM Sensuous-Imaginative
Anotherbasis for the classificationof art objects is Sensuous.-Naturalistic, thesubjectbeingrepresented as it
analysisof theiroutwardform,or stylecriticism.The is comprehended by the senses-particularly, by sight-and
styleof an artworkis bestgraspedthroughdescription. notnecessarily as it is shapedin reality.This conceptis rare
in ethnologicalart. Example: animal representations in
Such descriptionis not only a preliminarystep; it is
Magdalenianrockpaintings, as at Altamiracave,Spain.
also thegoal of the precedingscientificanalysis,whose Imaginative.-Stylized; the artist'spoint of departureis
resultsthe descriptionpresentsin a systematicform. his own idea of the object represented, and he abstracts
The individualstyleof anyworkofartis broughtout fromwhathe seesin nature.To thistypeof artbelongsthe
most clearlyby comparisonwith similar objects. Style greatest partofthatproducedbyrecentethnological peoples.
comparisonsmustdrawupon objectsthat,as faras pos- Example:animalrepresentations on rock,fromtheScandi-
sible, correspondin material,technique,purpose,and navianNeolithic.
content,so that differencescaused by thesefactorsare Since the imaginative stylepredominates amongethno-
minimal,while differences in the formalartisticchar- logicalpeoples,it mayusefully be brokendowninto:
(1) X-raydrawings, showing notonlytheoutwardappear-
acterof theobjectsare emphasized.Thus, theinvestiga-
ance of an animal,but also its interiororgans.Example:
tor does not comparea wooden sculpturewith a brass drawings fromAustralia, Melanesia,and Northwest America
casting,nor an idol with a portrait;he comparesidol (Adam1949:38).
with idol, portraitwith portrait,brass casting with (2) Dissectionof theanimalintolimbsand organs,which
brasscasting,and wooden sculpturewithwooden sculp- are reconstitutedas mosaic-likeinorganiccombinations.Ex-
ture. ample: Animal pictures drawn by the Haida and Tlingit
One beginswith thecomparisonof the whole form- Indians, NorthwestAmerica.
1 The method of content-investigationoutlined in Altman's* (3) Pars pro toto representations,omittingunimportant
comment (pp. 355-358) proves very useful. parts of the representedobject (Schlosser1952). Example:

earthenwareimagesof the eye,made in England duringthe Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
secondand firstmillenia B.C.
Harmony with the Material- Material

Independence fromthe Material
The material,like the techniqueof execution,con-
Harmony with the material.-The artisticform respects siderablyaffectsthe formof a workof art.Yet, material
the materialof which it is composed. Example: Sculptured
and techniqueare not the onlyfactorsdeterminingthe
posts,Galla, East Africa.
Independencefromthe material.-The material does not style,as was alleged by a materialistictheoryof art
influencethe aestheticform;or the formimitatesanother founded by Semper's (1861-63) pupils, the effectsof
kind of material. Examples: wooden containersimitating whichstill persist.In certainperiods,the propertiesof
the surfaceof wickerwork,Bushongo, Congo. materialswere an importantconsiderationand their
characteristicqualities were accentuated. Thus, the
Frontality-Space-Depth bulk and heavinessof stoneweredecisivefactorsin the
Frontality.-The work of art has one main prospect,a effectproducedby architectureof the Romanesque pe-
single viewpointfromwhich it is most effective;if viewed riod. But otherperiods of stylehave given art greater
fromanotherposition,ugly displacementsresult.This fixed freedomfromits materials,theessentialcharacteristics
viewpointproduces an effectof flatness.
Space-depth.-The vieweris intended to look at the work
of which mightbe negated. Thus in Gothic architec-
of art fromall angles; with architecture, he has to seek dif- ture,stone was freedfromits natural weight,and was
ferentpoints of view in the interioras well to admire the etherealized in order to obtain a diaphanous wall
overlappingof forms,and he must walk back and forthto structurecorrespondingto the cathedral'ssignificance
obtain an impressionof space-depth. as an image of the Celestial Jerusalem.In still other
The intentionaluse of space-depthis rare in the art of periods of European art history,architectssuccessfully
ethnologicalpeoples; but the almost universal appearance triedto simulatethe appearanceof materialsthatactu-
of frontalityis misleading.In ethnologicalart, "frontality" ally were unavailable. Thus, Baroque architectssome-
is usually not a contrastto space-depth,but rathera mask- timestreatedstuccolustroin such a way as to produce
like rigidityor immobility,characteristicof ghostsand the
the effectof marble.
dead-a binding of sculpture to the block. This condition
potentiallycontainsboth space-depthand frontality, whose The studyof European art thusindicatesthatwithin
separationis carriedthoughonly in thehighcultures.There- thetotalstructure ofa workof artthematerialcan have
fore I agree with Schmalenbach (1958: 310ff)that Lange's threedifferent kinds of significance.Furtherresearch
(1899) "law of frontalityof all pre- and non-Greekart" is on such differentpossibilitiesin the art of ethnological
confinedto artisticcreationswithin the primaryhigh cul- peoples will be one of the tasksfor the ethnological
tures,and does not hold for the fine arts of recent ethno- studyof art.
logical peoples. Ethnologicalart is fartoo alive, too real and
corporeal, to be subject to mere aesthetic laws. When a Technique
Baffinland Eskimo, for instance, portrays an animal Similarly,techniquehas varyingimportanceforthe
(Schaeffer-Simmern 1958),his sculptureis intendedto repre- finalstateofa workof art.At presentthereis a tendency
sent the living animal in all its reality. Base and main-
prospectare superfluousforsuch a carving,and are therefore
to make the genesisof a workof art clearlyvisible.Ex-
neglected. Many of the magnificentancestor-figures from amples of thistrendinclude the impressionsof wooden
Africaand Oceania, which we admire in the light-flooded formsin the poured concreteof Le Corbusier'sbuild-
showcasesof museums,were originallyplaced in unlighted ings,and the brush strokeon Impressionistpaintings.
cornersof darkroomswheretherewas no possibilityof their Other styles,however,tend to effaceany trace of the
being seen froma favorablepoint of view. Observationby labor; thus, on Michelangelo's Pieth in St. Peter's,
the carver of an aestheticfrontalitylaw, therefore,would Rome, themarblehas been smoothed.Similarcontrasts
have been useless. in stylecan be shownin ethnologicalart,but thisprob-
When it involves comparisons, the study of ethnolog- lem has not been intensivelyinvestigated.
ical art will have to use ideal types of opposite pairs of
formal characteristics. Since only a few of the contrast- Purpose
ing pairs defined by European art historians apply to The purpose of a workof art,withinits total struc-
ethnological art, an important preliminary task is the ture,has also been given unequal considerationat dif-
discovery of opposed pairs that demonstrate essential ferentperiods.Sometimesfunctionalismis the end. At
principles of formin the latter. othertimes,the formitselfwas consideredof such im-
When the artistic-formalprinciples of an art object portancethatartistswould sacrificecompletefunctional
have been identified through comparison of its stylistic utilityto preservetheiraestheticideal. An example of
peculiarities, furthercomparison will establish its place such cases wherethe formoverridesthe purpose is the
in the development of art styles. This in turn provides Palazzo Piccolomini at Pienza, Italy: the exterioror-
additional criteria for determining its time and place of ganizationdoes not correspondto the interior,and be-
origin, and ensures its best possible classification in hind the magnificentfacade are several dimly-lighted
those respects. intermediatestories.
Researchto date indicatesthattheethnologicalartist
STRUCTURE is less concernedwiththe aesthetic-formalprinciplesof
The detailed study of a work of art also requires the object he shapes than with its practical or ritual
investigation of its structure, and thus of the mutual purpose. But this subject needs deeper investigation,
dependence and interaction of material, technique, which may produceunexpectedresults.The "purpose-
purpose, content, and form. bound" characteroftenascribedto ethnologicalart is
347
Vol. 2 *No. 4 *October 1961

surelyan exaggeration.My own experience,like that
ofotherfieldworkers in Africa(Gerbrands1957: 74, 75, CULTURAL CONTEXT
78, 89, 111) has convinced me that artistic-aesthetic In thesystematic studyof a workof art,the finaltask
motiveshave considerableimportancefortheethnolog- is placing the object withinthe cultureto whichit be-
ical artist,and thathe is entirelycapable of recognizing longs. Does it belong to the beginning,the climax, or
formal-aestheticqualities. In ethnological societies, theend of developmentof a particularstyle?Is it a pio-
body-decorations, clothing,and houses oftenindicate neering,a mature,or a late workof thatstyle?Compari-
the existenceof a well-developedsenseof beauty.Any- son of the object with otherworksof its stylisticstage
one who has observed,as I did, theeagerrivalryof Kissi will enable the investigatorto draw conclusionsabout
women painting secular wall-murals,theircriticalex- its artisticmerit.
amination of any newly invented motifs,and their It is importantto discoverhow farthe positionof an
carefulexecutionof detail,can no longerdoubt thatthe artobjectwithinthetotalcultureis determinedbynon-
artisticactivityof ethnologicalpeoples aims at aesthetic artisticfactorsof an economic,political, or spiritual
purposes. nature;and whatimportancetheartobjecthas forsuch
non-aesthetic spheresof cultureas education or propa-
Content ganda. Anothersubject for investigationis the value
Another subject for investigationis contentwithin the workhad at the time of its creation,whetherthis
the total structureof an art object. Content is deter- has changed, and what changes have occurred.This
mined,first,by the purpose of the art object, and sec- largefieldstillawaitsstudy.
ond, by thewishesof thepatronor thoseof still a third
personwho may influencethe patron.I have in mind, THE ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY
forinstance,a medicineman who wantsan imagemade First, the life of the artistshould be presentedin
in a formaccordingto detailshe gives,forplacatingan chronological order against the economic, political-
angrydeity.He describesthesedetails to a personwho historical,and intellectualbackgroundof his timeand
has to pay an artistforfabricatingthe image according country.His racial and national originand his ancestry
to the wishesof the medicine man. The wishesof the should be given,and his home, childhood,and educa-
artisthimselfalso have a role in determiningthe con- tion described.How did he findhis vocation?Was the
tentof a workof art. Yet among ethnologicalpeoples, drivingforcethe joy of artisticcreation,or was it eco-
muchmorethan amonghighlyculturedones,both art- nomic advantage?'The descriptionof the artist'slife
ist and patron are subject to a tradition founded- should also show whetherhe worked on the basis of
accordingto theirbelief-on divine command,and to ordersreceived,or forlater sale; who were his patrons
thekind of spirituallifeprevailingin theirculture.For and customers;what social sphereshe frequented;in
this reason, theyare not freein choosingthe content whatesteemhe was held; and whathisspiritualinterests
fora workof art. were.It is also necessaryto note the dates of important
The role of contentin shaping a work of art is not eventsin his life,and of his changesin residence.Such
uniform.In some periods,the power of expressionis biographicaldata has seldom been presented;the few
verystrong,and is the primaryaim of the artist,as in exceptionsinclude Adair (1945), Cordwell(1952), Him-
the Expressionistschool of twentiethcenturypainting. melheber (1935, 1939, 1953, 1959), and Vandenhoute
At othertimes,the"meaning"ofartworksis so reduced (1945).
thattheirdecorativevalue becomesalmostthesole con- The second part of the biographyshould show the
sideration,as in decorativepaintingsof the Baroque developmentof theartist'spersonalstyle.His worksare
and Rococo periods. firstto be orderedchronologically, and each one treated
There is not yet enough evidence to draw general according to the principles set forth above. Subse-
conclusionsabout thesignificance ofcontentwithinthe quently,particularlyimportantperiodsof his creative
totalstructureofethnologicalartisticcreations;further work,markedby commonstylisticfeatures,should be
researchis necessary. separatedfromthe purelychronologicalmaterial,and
their essential propertiesshown; and ultimatelythe
Form
artist'sentireworkshould be describedwith a view to
The artisticformhas a decisiverole in the structure thedynamicsof consecutiveperiods.The nextstepwill
of a work of art. Beyond the factorsdefined above be an evaluation of the historicaland aestheticimpor-
(material, technique,purpose,and content),formis af- tance of his work.Such investigationsof the personal
fectedby the environmentin which a work of art is styleof the ethnologicalartisthave hithertobeen neg-
produced,1bythe people and race to which the artist lected.
and patron belong, by theireconomicand social posi-
tion,and, finally,by political,historical,and spiritual USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS
conditions.The artist'smasteryof material,technique, A closer approach to the artist'spersonalitymay be
purpose,and contentdecides the artisticvalue of the gained throughpsychologicalmethods,which are of
object. Undoubtedly, ethnological peoples place a particularvalue in the studyof the art of ethnological
highervalue on the formof theirartisticcreationsthan peoples, whose work largely resists the historical
Westernartcriticshave supposed; but a definiteresolu- method. Adam (1949: 62-67), Freud (1934), Maes
tionof thisproblemis not yetat hand. (1926), Muinsterberger(1955), Segy (1950), Sydow
Interactionof the fiveelementsoutlined above-ma- (1927),Verworn(1908), and othershave writtenon this
terial, technique,purpose, content,and form-consti- subject.
tute thestructureof a workof art. For investigatingthe psychologicalfoundationsof
348 CURRENT AN THROPOLOGY

the enhancedreceptivityand expressivepower of the Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
creativeartist,the methodsof both individual psychol-
ogyand psychologicaltypologypromisegood results. nation toward abstraction;and a static,quiet style.
Workcreatedby artistsof thisgroup is characterizedby
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY purpose-oriented ornament.Non-aestheticfactors-con-
The method of individual psychologyprovides an tentand purpose-are moreessentialto thisart than is
understanding of theindividual artist'spersonality.Its the formal-aesthetic element;as a result,the influence
best-knownbranch is psychoanalysis.One important of the political, social, and economic environmenton
subjectforsuch investigationsare the mental motiva- artis farreaching.
tionsof creativeactivity.The psychoanalystexplores The secondgroup is characterizedby strongtenden-
the subconsciousand unconsciousimpulsesleading to cies towardfantasyand realism,an emphasison color,
artisticcreation,and discoverswhetherthe act of crea- and preferencefora dynamicstyleand curvilinearor-
tionrepresentsthe artist'swish to represspast adversi- nament. Formal viewpointsare more importantthan
ties, to sublimate repressedinstincts,or to express a practicalones, and art belongingto thisstyle-tendency
particularvision.Yet it mustbe notedthattheaesthetic is thusmoreindependentof the generalhistoricalsitu-
notions used in psychoanalysisso far are too vague ation.
forachievingreally importantinsightsinto the essen- These twoconstitutionaland stylistic types,however,
tialsubstanceofan artist. are onlyextremeexamplesof a whole seriesof types.
The threemain problemsof ethnologicalartresearch
TYPE PSYCHOLOGY
involvingconstitutionaltypesare: (1) to identifycon-
The methodof psychologicaltypologyuses "heuristic stitutionaltypesthatwill be usefulin investigating the
ideals" ofvarioustypesof artiststo approachthenature artof ethnologicalpeoples; (2) to identifystylisticqual-
of the artistfroma directionthat cannot be compre- ities in theirart; and (3) to correlateracial, anthropo-
hended with the methods of individual psychology. logical,or psychologicalpersonality-types withdifferent
The defectsinherentin such heuristicideal typesas stylistictendencies.
have been established are obvious: they cannot ap- Several studies of ethnologicalpeoples suggestthat
proach the unique quality of the artist'spersonality. such ideal typescould be establishedfor theirartistic
Yet theirusefulnesscannotbe disregarded.Of thegreat production. Thus, the Anglican missionaryEdward
number of ideal types,the followingare some of the Paterson(1949),who gave drawinglessonsto boysfrom
mostimportant. the Matabele, Shona, Barziwi, Makalaka, and Nyasa
tribes,whose ages ranged from eight to twenty-two
ConstitutionalTypes years,noticedconsiderabledifferences among the vari-
A constitutionaltypeis the ideal of a personparticu- ous tribes,regardlessof general talent.The Matabele
larly distinguishedby a number of psycho-physical youths,whose people led the nomadic life of cattle-
qualities. When such a Konstitutionstypus is strongly breeders,painted more realisticallythat youthsof the
presentamong a people, its effectmay be seen in all agriculturalShona tribes,whose talent tended to be
parts of their cultural life; a uniformtendencywill more ornamental.
characterizesuch a people frombodily appearance to The finalword on thisproblem,however,will have
the highestproductionsof their culture (Kretschmer to be givenbyexpertpsychologists; and so far,veryfew
1955, 1958). Empirical proof of the hypothesisthat a studieshave been made by them.
constitutionaltypeis correlatedwith a particularstyle
of art is considerablycomplicatedby severalfactors:in Types of AestheticVision
practicethereis never a pure type;the resultsof type A different classificationof artistsinto psychological
psychologyare valid onlyforthe genotype,and not for typesmay be based on kinds of aesthetictalent. Four
the phenotype;psychicand physicalnature have a di- standard typesdeveloped by Miiller-Freienfels (1923-
vergingheredity;and, finally,we still lack a definitive 1933) are:
typepsychology, because researchis in such fluxthatwe (1) The sensorytype.This typeof artistespeciallyinter-
musttime and again adapt ourselvesto the latestposi- pretsthe sensualperceptions producedby a workof art;
tion. otherassociationsareofminorimportance to him.Forsuch
But it is quite certainthatconnectionsbetweencon- a paintingconsists
an artist, primarilyof colorsand shapes,
stitutional types and artistic styles exist. Strongly and itscontentis lessimportant.
marked differences have been shown between artistic (2) The kinesthesia type.In his work,thistypeof artist
creationsofchildrenbelongingto theleptosome-schizo- primarilywantstoshapehisconception ofspaceandmotion.
thymconstitutionaltype,and thoseof thepyknic-zyklo- An exampleis the "figuraserpentinata" of EuropeanMa-
nierismus.
thym type. Apart from such studies, the historyof artistsstartwitha
(3) The imaginative type.Imaginative
Westernart indicatesthe existenceof two contrasting visionof theirimagination,and oftenstylizethecontentof
streamsof artistictalentamong Europeans of different theirwork.
periodsand nations,whichare perhapsbased on differ- (4) The emotionaltype.The emotionalartistwishesto
ent constitutionaltypes.Examples of thesecontrasting eternalizesympathy and eroticlove in hiswork,and to en-
stylegroupsin European art are, in antiquity,Dorian hancethemintoa formwithgeneralvalidity.
and Ionian art; and in Renaissance times,the art of
Florenceand thatofVenice. Male and Female Types
The firstgroupis markedby greatertalentfordraw- Men and women,as artisticpersonalities,constitute
ing thanforpainting;a tendencyto see forms;an incli- types.Appropriateinvestigationsof
basicallydifferent

thiscontrasthave not yet been made. They would be may sometimesbe artisticallyreproducedin a direct
useful,not only because the productionof art among way (Jaensch1922, 1930).
primitivepeople is largelyin thehands of women (e.g., Such personshave the ability,not throughmemory,
mural paintingsand ceramicsin Africa),but also be- but simplyby re-readingthe mental image of a briefly
cause womenhave an importantindirectinfluenceon seen object, to describethe object exactly,and even to
art.Deeply rooted differences in male and femaleart draw it. Eidetic talentof thissortpartiallyexplains the
stylescan be recognizedin many ethnological areas. naturalisticcharacterof Paleolithic cave-paintings,of
Such stylisticdifferences in North American Indians certainstylesin Bushman painting,and of Cretan art
have been reported by Boas (1955: 184), Inverarity (Snyder1936). It has been stated that Bushmen,when
(1950: 45), and Linton (in Elisofonand Fagg 1958: 13); paintingon rock,firstdrewpointswhichtheythencon-
Bastide(1958) foundthemamongtheIndians of Brazil; nected by a line, creating the outline of a figure.
and Wingert(Linton et al. 1946),among the Maori of Perhaps this method of execution resultedfrom the
NewZealand. imitation of an eidetic mental image. Eidetic talent
While studyingAfricanmurals,I was able to distin- would also explain picturesshowingfiguresfloatingin
guish a men's and a women's style.Women restrict space, unconnectedwith a horizon,as well as the use
themselvesto secularabstractdecorations,whichsome- of unnaturalisticcolors. Perhaps the occasional place-
timesinclude highlystylizedhuman figures,musical ment of animal images perpendicularto theirnormal
instruments, tools, etc. They use only the threetradi- position can be explained as a disarrangement of the
tional colors of Negro Africa,black, red, and white. mentalimage.
Secularmuralspaintedbymenarerealistic,and all pos- Eidetic talentcan be artificiallyevokedor enhanced
sibleEuropean colorsare used; theirreligiousand mag- by thevision-producing agentsused in certaincults;by
ical murals are painted in black, white,and red, and stimulatingtheeideticability,thecultdirectlyinteracts
stylized,like thosepaintedbywomen;but differgreatly with art. The visions produced by peyote (mescalin),
in style.The secularmuralspainted by women,which Natema, Gauyusa, Maikoa (Datura arborea), and the
include veryancient,perhapsNeolithic,ornament,are Pitcherieof the Australiansare well known.Represen-
considered old-fashioned,and this art is now often tationson Cretanseals suggesta deliriumof the senses
abandoned. The more realistic, vari-coloredsecular evokedby henbane (Hyoscyamusniger)or thornapple
murals painted by men are verypopular, and can be (Datura stramonium).Henbane can produce images
foundin a largearea ofAfrica.In recentyears,however, and visions;and the thornapple is connectedwithreli-
European influenceseems to have blurredthe stylistic gious conceptions. The Tungus use the poisonous
differences betweenpaintingsby men and by women. fungi,flyagaric (Amanita muscaria) to stimulatethe
In 1956,in theGuinea coasthinterland,I founda num- optical sense.As faras can now be determined,shamans
ber of men who had studied the women's style and and medicine men were especially trained in eidetic
become professionalpainters.Their stylewas marked ability. Macropsia can produce over-life-size images;
by theinterpolationofrealisticfiguresinto theancient, and such composite beings as centaurs can appear
stylized,abstractdecorativepatternlearned fromthe throughthejuxtapositionofeideticimages.
women. Eidetic abilityhas also been observedin the acoustic
But sexual-psychologicaldifferencescannot always sense area. Charles Darwin, for instance,reportsthat
explain differences among artisticexpressionin men when he visitedthembetween 1831 and 1836 the Fue-
and women, which sometimesresult from historical gans could repeat, without error,whole English sen-
developments.Such a developmentwas involvedin the tencesof whichtheydid not understanda singleword;
differences betweenthemuralstylesof men and women thiswas probablydue to acoustical imitation.The fre-
among the Kissi and Toma in West Africa.Here I was quent night-long recitationof ritual textsby ethnologi-
able to showthatthemuralspaintedby Kissi and Toma cal peoples, which, as experimentshave shown, are
menduringinitiationceremonieswereformerly known ordinarilyrecited without error,must be related to
only to the Toma, and in the past decades were taken these talents,which,withoutdoubt, also partiallyex-
over by the Kissi tribe,togetherwith the "toma sassa- plain theverbalrichnessofthelanguagesofnon-literate
ceremony."But, the splendid wall decorations,in a peoples.
totally differentstyle,with which Kissi and Toma The numberof eideticsvaries greatlyfromplace to
womencovertheirhouses,are an old Kissiheritageimi- place, perhaps influencedby such factorsas constitu-
tatedonlyin thepast severalyearsby the Toma. Thus, tional type,racial type,ultravioletrays,and the chalk-
what a superficialinvestigationmight interpretas a contentofdrinkingwater.
male and a femalestyleof mural paintingamong the
THE ARTIST'S WORKING PROCESS
Kissi and Toma could, by morethoroughexamination,
be shown to be the traditionalstylesof two different Furtherclarificationof the nature of artistictalent
tribes. may be gained throughanalysisof the artist'sworking
process.Does he add detail upon detail,forinstance,or
The Eidetic Type does he workfromthe largeformto small forms?Does
This typeis of paramountimportancein prehistoric thefinalshape of theobject crystallizein his mind only
and ethnological art. Certain persons-particularly in the course of execution,or does he startwith the
juveniles, and women more oftenthan men-are able finishedconceptin his mind? Most descriptionsof the
to re-createin theirimaginationsubjectivepicturesof workingprocessof the ethnologicalartistindicatethat
objects they once perceived, even after considerable he oftenimitatesa masterpiecehe once saw and men-
and
timehas passed. These imageshave greatintensity, tallyremembers;or thathe copies an actual piece of art

placed beforehim while he works.Veryoftenhe seems Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
to have a fullyconceivedpicturein his mind beforehe

startsto carveor paint, and he seldom altersa design (Dahomey),make the productionor tradingof art the
or corrects a brushstroke.Free and new creationsoccur, economic basis of theirexistence,theyforma special
but infrequently. kind of economy,even if it maynot be particularlyim-
The biographyshould concludewithremarkson the portantwithinthetotalculture.
life expectancyof the artist'swork,and his effecton Repeated attemptshave been made to prove that
disciplesor otherimitators. certain formsof economyare always associated with
A few investigators,such as Cordwell (1952), Him- certainformsofart(Graebner1924; Grosse1894; Kuhn
melheber(1935, 1953, 1959), and Vandenhoute (1945) 1952). Thus, sculptureis alleged to have originatedin
have triedto see the actual person in the anonymous agrariancultures;and it has been claimed thatpastoral
non-literateartist. They collected biographical data peoples could not develop art beyondgood handicraft.
about the lives and professionalcareersof Eskimo and Undoubtedly,sedentarypeoples have betteropportu-
AfricanNegro artists,and also tried to do justice to nities to produce sculpture and elaborate buildings
theirindividual stylisticqualities. On the whole, the than do nomads who must move about continuously,
time for collectingbiographiesof ethnologicalartists carryingtheir possessionswith them. Yet prehistoric
has passed. Perhaps the next fewyearswill offera few rock-paintings, which were made by roaming hunters
last opportunitiesfor this kind of art investigation (e.g. Altamira,Spain, and Fezzan, Libya) or nomadic
amongnon-literatetribes,but soon it will be impossible herders(e.g., Libya), show that nomads create perma-
to findsculptors,painters,or architectsworkingwithin nent worksof art at sites that are sacred in theirreli-
theirtribal traditions.Already the most skilled artists gion, or rendered particularlyimportant by other
have been absorbedin theranksof thoseproducingart causes. An explanation for the lack of buildings at
workforthetouristtrade. such sitesor of more sculpturedimages than thoseac-
tuallyfound,musttherefore be soughtin factorsother
STUDY OF ART than nomadicexistence.
IN THE WHOLE STRUCTURE
OF THE CULTURE SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND ART
Since each civilization constitutesan indivisible The greatimportanceof social structurefor art has
entity,the investigatorstudyingany part of culture, been pointedout byPaul Honigsheim(1928) and K. M.
such as the finearts,should alwayskeep the total cul- Swoboda (1952), who suggestthatmatriarchalcultures
ture in mind. A structuralstudy of art, therefore, have playeda specialrole in theformationand develop-
of a civiliza-
should be designedto analyzethe structure mentof art.This hypothesis, however,stilllacks actual
tion,and the relationshipsand intertwiningof its vari- evidence.
ous fields;and to showthepositionofartin theculture, The developmentof varioussocial ranksis a precon-
as well as theorderin whichindividualartsare ranked. dition for the specializationof artists.If such officials
as chiefs,priests,or princeswish to maintain theirspe-
EXAMPLES OF INTERRELATION cial positionwithina social order,theymustsymbolize
The close relationsbetweenmanyculturaland artis- thesepositions;thus,theycommissionartists,and stim-
ticfieldsmaybe illustratedbya fewexamples: ulate thecreationof art.This situationmaylead to the
formationof a courtor patricianstyleof art thatdiffers
ECONOMY AND ART. fromthe tribalor plebian style,as occursin a number
The influenceof economicconditionson art is often ofAfricankingdoms.Dominationof thecultureby any
overrated.For instance,the assumptionthatart should particularclass will always be reflectedby art, as late
be considereda luxurybased on wealthis contradicted medieval European art reflectsthe specificimportance
by many facts. Outstandingmasterpieceshave often of the middle class duringthisperiod of European his-
been created in periods of economic depression,and tory.Among many ethnologicalpeoples, the produc-
time and again an artisthas produced major works tion of art objects is restrictedto membersof a certain
while living in the utmostmisery.It is true that the social group,such as blacksmiths.
productionof artobjectsgenerallyincreasesin prosper- Certain ethnological peoples are divided into free
ous times,but this affectsthe numberand richnessof citizensand slaves-intorulersand ruled. Oftenthetwo
such objects,not theirartisticquality. segmentscorrespondto entirelydifferent nationalities.
An importantfactorforethnologicalart is the "divi- Most social structuresof this type developed when a
sion of labor" in some ethnologicalsocietiesthat ena- sedentaryagriculturalpeople became subject to a no-
bles an artistto live entirelyon the proceeds of his madic pastoralgroup.When studyingthe art of such a
works.Once the societyachievesthislevel of economic society,which constitutesa cultural unit only in out-
development,the artisthas two alternatives:he findsa ward form,it is veryimportantto establishto which
patronwho provideshis subsistence(e.g.,the applique- class the artistsbelong. In Africa,for instance,artists
embroiderersat the court of Abomey,Dahomey, are are forthe mostpart drawn fromthe peasant popula-
supportedby the king); or he gains a living by selling tion, because the ruling classes despise handicraft,
his products(e.g., the carversliving in the village of which includes the making of art. Among the
Baname near Abomey).Art,in turn,may be a moreor Mangbetu-Bangbaof theCongo,forexample,thebeau-
less importantfactorin the economy.Increasingaes- tiful house-paintingsare made exclusivelyby Bangba
theticdemand may stimulatethe entireeconomy,and women.
when individuals or whole villages, such as Baname Art thus depends in manyways on the social struc-
Vol. 2 -No. 4* October 1961 351

ture.On the otherhand, the effectof art on social or- Hereafter,statements of theKulturkreislehre about the
ganizationis slightamong "ethnological"peoples, be- origin of certainstylisticforms,and their attribution
cause theformationof closelyorganizedartistgroups- of these to certainculture-circles,are also superseded.
such as the medieval societies of builders or the Yet, to have perceivedthe associationof certainmeta-
applique-workerscorporation at the royal court, physical,economic,social, and artisticformsremains
Abomey-has until now had only a negligibleeffectin to thecreditof advocatesof theKulturkreislehre.
thesocialstructure. A structuralinvestigationof art will furtherhave to
tracethe differences among architecture, painting,and
IDEOLOGY AND ART
sculpturein regardto the interactionsof economy,so-
Intellectualculture includes,among other constitu- ciety,intellectualculture, and art. Research on this
ents, custom,morality,religion,metaphysics,poetry, problemis verymuchneeded.
painting,dancing,and music,all of which have some What position is held by art in the total cultureof
relationwith art. a people: does it have a predominantrole, as with the
If the world-conception of a society,forinstance,is Greeks,or a subordinateone, as among the Romans?
hostileto art,it maygreatlyinhibitartisticproduction. Which branchof art-architecture, sculpture,or paint-
Thus, beliefin a supremedeity,especiallypronounced ing-takes precedence;in which field are the artistic
in Islam, prohibitsthe makingof images of the god. talentsof a people pre-eminent? Which branchof art
Christianmissionshave playedan importantrole in de- takes the lead and createsworksof historicalimpor-
stroyingtraditionaltribalarts.But heathencultshave tance? In the 19th,and early 20th centuries,for in-
exercisedan equally fatal influence.Thus Maesen, in stance,paintingsetnew artisticstandardsforEuropean
the Enciclopedia UniversaleDell'Arte, mentions art, which later became obligatoryfor sculptureand
thefactthatmanyBantu peopleshave,withinthe frame- architectureas well. Recentlythis situation has been
work of their own culturalprocess,accomplishedthis changing,and in Europe sculptureis now supplanting
same destruction of traditionalcult-emblems. Wissmann painting as the leading art. Which branch of art pro-
calledattentionto theexampleof theLuba (BashiLange) duces worksof greatestaestheticvalue? Until now, in-
of Kalamba Mukenge,who zealouslysearchedout and vestigatorsof ethnologicalart have never dealt thor-
burnedtheirstatuettes in orderto makewayfortheintro- oughly with such questions. While wood-carvingis
ductionof the "riamba"hempcult.VariousCongo tribes describedin all handbooks,architectureand painting
have timeand againundergone similarexperiences.
CentralAfrica,grippedby the crisesthataccompany its are often ignored,and thus no comparisonscan be
growingself-awareness, has seen the appearancein many drawn.
places,but especiallyin theMiddleFrenchCongo,of syn- In answeringtheseand similarquestions,it will be-
cretisticcults,ofteninvolving propheticphenomena. These come clear that the total picture of a culture is not
movements have broughtabout the decayand the obliga- static,and thatrelationsamong separatefieldsare sub-
torydestruction ofartobjects.In thedozenor so yearssince ject to continuouschange.Everythingthat can be said
itsfirstappearance,thisinjunction,theeffectiveness
ofwhich of the positionof art withina culturewill hold good
cannotbe doubted,hasspreadthroughout theLowerCongo, onlyfora givenhistoricalmoment.To providehistori-
affecting eventhepeoplesof thelargeregionlyingbetween cal perspectiveforthestructuralstudyof a'rt,therefore,
theKwiluand theKwango. it is necessaryto investigatethe questionsraised above
The mostrecentof thesemassiveauto-da-f6s tookplace
in 1954and resultedin thelossof numerous worksof art, at differentperiods of time. Such an approach will
of whichonlya smallpartcouldbe recovered by museums demonstratetheshifting zonesofinfluenceofeconomic,
or privatecollectors.Although Bantusocietiesseemto have social, and intellectual culture on art through the
practiced suchself-induceddestructionoftheirartistic
patri- courseof time,and will show thatat different timesart
monyin everyperiodof time,it is clearthattodaythese owes its principalstimulationto different fieldsof cul-
societiescan no longerbringforththoseresurgences of ture-e.g. to politics,religion,or literature.Further,it
culturalvitalitythatare induciveof a productiverenais- will be foundthattheregardin whichart is held varies
sance. even withinbriefperiods,and that art cannot always
Other ideologies stimulateart. Animism,for exam- influencecivilizationto the same extent.These studies
ple,requiresspirit-seats and masks;magicalconceptions will also show that the styleof one period may be best
of the world need images of persons and objects for representedbyarchitecture, and thatofothers,bypaint-
magical rites. ing or sculpture.In Africanart, for instance,wood-
And what significancehas art for religious concep- carvingheld thispositionuntil 1950; but today,paint-
tions? It can supplementthe abstractionsof religion ing-an art introduced only 30 years ago-best
with concrete symbolism,rendering them pictorial. representsthe artisticabilities of the AfricanNegro.
Thus artmaycontributeto thespreadofa religion,and When studiedwithinthe total structureof a civiliza-
produce an educationaleffect. tion,art will be understoodas an expressionof collec-
tiveinnerlife.Since art alwaysappertainsto a commu-
OTHER ASPECTS OF ART AND CULTURE nity,thestructuralinvestigationof culturewill render
The theoryof the Vienna School of Ethnologythat good serviceas an heuristicmethodprovidinga closer
theoriginofartlies in the"totemic"Kulturkreis, which approach to the essenceof a workof art,and to art it-
is at the same timethemain location of art,is now ob- self.If one acceptedthe psychoanalysts' beliefthatit is
solete. W. Koppers (1959) recently showed that the possibleto read fromworksof art thespecificmentality
Kulturkreisconcept as a principle of historical research of the period and regionof origin,one would have in
has been replaced by newer concepts in the develop- the structural-analyticalmethodof art studya keyfor
ment of procedures for ethnological-historical research. reopeningthe total cultureof a past epoch. Such in-

until now have not been entirelyconvinc-
vestigations Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
ing. Yet structuralanalysis of differentethnological
culturescan be expectedto yieldimportantresultscon- Lhote's observations concerning the "Negro" and
cerningthefinearts. "Egyptian" characterof certain paintings.These ob-
servationswereconfirmed bythefindsof F. Mori (1960)
HISTORY OF ART AMONG in the Tadrarf Acacus, Lybian Fezzan, between 1955
ETHNOLOGICAL PEOPLES and 1959. Through Mori's work,we have a new C-14
The fourthconcernof the studyof ethnologicalart date, 3500 B.C., for one of the rock-shelterswith "Ne-
is a chronologicalpresentationof the developmentof gro" and "Egyptian"pictures.This date enables us to
art styles.First,the scatteredmaterialneeded for his- evaluate Lhote's dating of the rock-pictureregion,
toricalresearchmustbe selectedout of the greatmass which extends across North Africa fromthe Hoggar
of artobjectslackingartisticor historicalvalue. Then, massifto El Awenat; it also enables us to demonstrate
througharrangement, comparison,and theelimination a continuityof Negro art stylesfor over 5,000 years.
of extraneousobjects, significantworksof art are or- Further,the date seemsto establishthe priorityof the
ganizedinto relatedgroupsthat,so faras artisticquali- "Egyptian" rock picturesover the dynasticart of the
tiesare concerned,formunits.Stylesmay be definedin Nile valley;and Mori suggeststhatthepuzzlingchange
termsof space and time: resemblancesamong a group in styleseparatingpredynasticfromdynasticEgyptian
ofart objectsfromadjacent regionsconstitutethe local art mayhave been due to immigrationof Negroidpeo-
style;the similarityamong groups of art objects from ples fromtheSahara.
the same timeperiod is theperiod style.The next step Reciprocal influence between Negroid and non-
is to definethe characterpeculiar to each style,and to NegroidAfricanculturesseemsto have been fargreater
trace its evolution and decline. Then, throughcom- than was formerlysupposed. It may be noted that
parison of motifsand styles,the investigatorcan es- Heine-Geldern (1935, 1937) showed a similar artistic
tablishthehistoricalconnections,interactions, and dif- interplaybetween the ethnological and the sophisti-
fusion of differentstyles, ultimately establishing cated culturesof Indo-China,Indonesia, and Oceania.
broader homogeneousart complexes and lines of de- It seemsprobable that as our knowledgeadvances,we
velopment.7 shall also discover,in the artistic activityof other
Studies of local stylecomplexes and substyleshave ethnologicalcultureareas, similarstylisticaffinities to
been frequentlyundertaken.Tribal stylesin Negro the arts of neighboringcivilizations-affinities which
Africahave been successfully characterizedby Burssens will liftthe formerout of theirfictitious historicaliso-
(1958), Fagg (1951), Griaule (1938), Kjersmeier lation.
(1935-38), Lem (1948), Madaus (1929), Maesen (1958), The evidence forreciprocalinfluencesbetween "so-
Olbrechts(1946),Segy(1933),Sousberghe(1960),Sydow phisticated"and "ethnological"art stylesin Africahas
(1930), and Vandenhoute (1948). Haddon (1894) and been compiled and criticallyexamined by Davidson
Preuss(1897) have establishedstylisticareas foreastern (1959). He showsthat duringthe last centuriesbefore
New Guinea, and a similarstudywas recentlymade of Christ-corresponding to thetimeof transitionfromthe
the westernsection of the island (Gerbrands 1950). Stone Age to the Metal Age over much of Africa-
Wingert(1949) and Boas (1955) used stylisticcriteria Carthage, the South Arab states,and the Empire of
with considerable success to distinguish local style Kush in Nubia were particularlyimportantcentersof
groupson the NorthwestCoast of NorthAmerica.8 cultureand the finearts,influencingthe development
Meaningful histories of art can already be written for of artin NegroAfrica.Kush,wheremorethan 200 sites
theethnologicalpeoples of Africa,NorthAmerica,and await excavation, expanded over East Africa from
Indonesia; as an example of these,I shall outlinebelow Egyptto Uganda and Ethiopia, and her influencecan
the historyof ethnologicalart in Africa. be tracedeven fartherto thesouthand southwest.Kush
provided the medium throughwhich, togetherwith
HISTORY OF AFRICAN ART otherculturaltraits,was disseminatedthelost-waxtech-
The oldestknownart of Africacomprisesthe North nique of casting,which was flourishingin Egypt by
Africanrock-paintings, notably revealed by the strik- 3000 B.C. and laterwas highlydevelopedin WestAfrica.
ing discoveriesof H. Lhote (1958) in the Algerian This cultural flowto the west and south continued
Tassili'n'Ajjer. In 1955,Lhote attempteda preliminary forcenturies,so thatthe influenceof the Christiancul-
chronologyof NorthAfricanrock art,based upon the turesthatflourishedalong the Middle Nile Valley be-
superimposedlayersof color at certainsites.He postu- tweenA.D. 600 and 1500 is particularlyevidentin the
lated an early Neolithic "Hunting Period" between eastern Sudan, and can be traced even in the West
8000 and 6000 B.C., followed by a "Period of Cattle- Africanforestarea. In 1958,Arkelldiscovereda Chris-
Breeding" that lasted from6000 to 1200 B.C. A "Pas- tian churchand monasteryin Darfur,600 miles west
toral Period with Chariotsand Cavalry,"or "Period of of the Nile (Davidson 1959: 108). Here, on the route
the Horse," began about 1200 B.C. Rock picturesbe- by whichtheNile Valley cultureexpanded to the west,
longingto the "Period of theCamel" werepainted dur- lies one of the most importantAfricanarchaeological
ing the firstcenturiesA.D. Of special interestwere sites, a large city that still awaits excavation. At the
westernend of therouteof diffusionfromtheNile Val-
7 Bolz's* remarkthat "la formevoyageseule" is valuable indeed, ley cultures,on thesouthernand easternshoresof Lake
and the sectionof her comment (p. 361) that deals with this ques- Chad, lie the citiesof the Sao, built betweenthe 10th
tion is veryinformative. and 16th centuriesA.D. From an aestheticstandpoint,
8 This is not intended to be a complete list, but only to offera
few examples. Sao architectureis worth thoroughinvestigation.A

greatnumberofpotteryheads and tombfiguresprovide Africa,and fortheirart,remainuncertain.Dwellingsof
furthertestimonyfor the artisticability of the Sao, an early Neolithic culture found in Kenya in 1937
whose culturewas derived fromthat of Kush, as that (Davidson 1959: 140) have been dated to about 3000
in turndepended on Egypt. B.C. Paintings of the "woodland Nachikufu" people,
Apartfromtheartstylesdevelopedthroughinfluence whose culture was transitionalbetween hunting-and-
fromtheNile Valley cultures,an autochthonousNegro gatheringand agriculture,have been dated by the
culture evolved in the wide transversevalley of the radiocarbon method to about 4,000 B.C. Other Neo-
Niger-Benuein West Africa.This so-called Nok Cul- lithiccultures,whose art has not yetbeen arrangedin
tureis representedin European museumsbya consider- chronologicalorder,flourishedafter1000 B.C. During
able amount of pottery(Elisofon and Fagg 1958: 58) the firstsevencenturiesA.D. the Horn of Africa(David-
made between900 B.C. and A.D. 200, duringthe period son 1959: 192) was occupied by a culturethat had ac-
of transitionfromstoneto metal.9Nok potteryincludes cepteda numberof traitsand techniquesfromSabeans
severalalmostlife-sizeportraitsthat,togetherwith the and Axumites, from Meroe, and from the circum-
rock picturesin the Tassili and Acacus, demonstrate Mediterraneanareas. Eventuallyforcedsouthwardby
the appearance of a realisticrepresentativeart among Islamic expansion,thisculturesurvivedin Kenya until
Negroes long beforethe well-knownrealisticIfe style thefifteenth century.In East Africa,theIron Age begins
-the climax of AfricanNegro art-whichflourishedin about A.D. 500, the same period as in the West African
Nigeria betweenthe 12thand 15thcenturiesA.D. The woodlands.10A decisiveperiod forthe furtherdevelop-
relationof therealisticNok art to thebronzeand terra- ment of East and South Africawere the centuriesbe-
cotta heads or figurinesfromIfe is unknown.During tweenA.D. 500 and 1000,which saw the origin of the
the 14thcenturytheBenin style,whosebronzesare well "East Coast Culture," formerlyconsidered purely
known,developedin southernNigeriaunder strongIfe Arabic, but now shown by recent discoveriesto be
influence.The chronologythat Luschan (1919) and African.Arab settlementswere firstfounded in the
Struck (1923: 13-66) establishedfor the art of Benin seventhcentury;about 1300, some of these had de-
has been rejectedbyFagg (Elisofonand Fagg 1958: 66). veloped into elegantlybuilt cities with a distinctive
A new basis forits dating will be available when the architecturalstyle that has probably influencedthe
ceramicfindsnoted by Davidson (1959: 127) have been architectureof the inland peoples. Extensivetrade be-
placed in chronologicalsequence. tweenthe East Coast of Africaand Iran, India, Indo-
While the Ife and Benin art stylesflourished,there nesia, and China explains some of the strikingparal-
developed in the Sudan powerfulstates with "Iron- lels betweenAfricanartand thatofpeopleslivingabout
Age" culturesand distinctiveartstyles,whoseeffect can the Indian Ocean. Considerationsof internal policy
stillbe tracedin theethnologicalartof thearea. Ghana, caused the Chinese to withdrawfrom this trade by
whichwas an importantpower as late as the 13thcen- 1500; about thesame time,thegreedof the Portuguese,
turyand whose capital at Kumbi Saleh was excavated who had reached the East Coast in 1488 and 1489,de-
in 1951,seemsto have been the place of originforthe stroyedthecoastal tradeand broughtabout the decline
technique of mud-carvedwall ornamentsstill used of East Coast cultureand art.
amongtheFulah of theFuta Mountains,the Sussu and The art of the interior,whose developmentwas inti-
Kissi of Guinea, the Nigerian Ibibio, and other West matelyconnectedwith the East Coast trade,is distin-
Africanpeoples. In the Central Sudan, the civilizing guished above all by its architecture.Mines, terraced
power was Kanem, whose expansion fromthe Middle fields,and fortresses characterizedthe interiorculture,
Nile to theNigermade it an importantdisseminatorof which expanded overRhodesia, southernCongo, west-
culturetraits.The Empire of Mali, whichbegan to ex- ern Mozambique, and northernTransvaal. Probably
pand in theearlyfourteenth century(L'Empire du Mali its origins can be attributed to the overlayingof
1959),eventuallyincluded an area as large as Western Azanian peasants by pastoral peoples fromthe north.
Europe, reaching fromthe Adrar des Iforas to Cape The drystonebuilding technique,one of its mostchar-
Verde, and fromKankan to the Adrar Tagant. It in- acteristicfeatures,perhapsspread southwhen the Em-
troducedinto the Sudan and the West Africanforest- pire ofAxum declined; the layoutof hill-fortresses and
area artisticideas fromthe Maughreb. Abu Ishaq es hill-dwellingsin SouthernRhodesia, Basutoland, and
Saheli, a poet fromGranada, apparentlybuilt a palace Angola also shows Ethiopian influence.The culmina-
and the Mosque at Timbuctu, therebyfoundingthe tion of this dry-stonearchitecturecan be seen at
notable Sudanese style of architecture(Engestrbm Zimbabwe,Rhodesia, the erectionof which seems to
1957), which still determinesthe appearance of the have correspondedwith the flourishingEast Coast
cities along the Middle Niger between Bamako and trade between the twelfthand the fifteenth centuries.
Gao. But the power of the Sudanic empires,and their Zimbabwe shows relationswith the elegant dry-stone
role as disseminatorsof civilization,werebroughtto an constructionof Nalatali, which originated in the
end in the sixteenthcenturyby Moroccan invasions, "Mambo" period, from 1450 onward; and with the
thedecline of Moorishculture,and the replacementof stone-enclosed streets,canals, terraces,and dwellingsof
the African gold trade by richer sources of gold in different constructiontypesin Kenya and Tanganyika.
America. The huge earthworks discoveredat Bigo, Uganda, show
Dates forthepre-IronAge culturesof South and East importantparallelswiththeruinsof Zimbabwe.In the
"I accept with pleasure the amendmentsofferedby B. and W.
hills of the Kenya-Tanganyikaborderland were dis-
Fagg* and by Willett*. The dates for the Nok culture should, covered the ruins of a cityof about 6,800 houses, ap-
followingB. Fagg* (p. 365), be correctedto 400 B.C.-A.D. 200. I
regrethaving erroneouslytransplantedsome of the Nok sculptures "'According to W. Fagg* (p. 367), the beginning of the Iron
to Eurovean museums. Age in West Africa was much earlier.

parentlybuilt about 300 yearsago; a greatnumberof Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
petroglyphs werealso found.Othersitesare Dhlo Dhlo,
Regina, and Khami in Southern Rhodesia, and fourthtime in the cathedralsof Chartres,Reims, and
Mapungubwe in the Transvaal. Golden plates and or- Amiens. The last "classic" styleappeared at Rome, at
namentswerediscoveredat thelattersitein 1952. the beginningof the sixteenthcentury.Each of these
The bulk of thepresentstylesof tribalcarving,paint- five"classic" epochs,afterwave-likephases of develop-
ing, and building in Africaseem to reflect,in a more mentspreadingthe "classic"styleover a wide area, was
or less degeneratemanner,the art of the old empires. followed by a "baroque" period. Each of the five
This decline can be attributednot only to European "baroque" periods began with a reformmovementac-
civilization,but also to iconoclasticheathen cults and centuatingthe "classical" qualities of the particular
sects,whose appearance was oftenfollowedby regular style,and closed with a vast loosening,almost a de-
auto-da-fes of older paraphernalia. composition,of the formsof thatstyle.The finalphase
In the coastal areas of WestAfrica,and at themouth of all fivestyleswas characterizedbystrongemphasison
of theCongo,a "touristart"withsomehighlyqualified the artisticqualities of the picturesque,of space-depth
styleshas developed since the sixteenthcentury(Fagg, and movement.
and Forman,1959); and todaya revivalof native artis- Adama van Scheltema (1950) worked out a similar
tic traditioncan be seen not onlyin urban centers,but periodicityfor the art of the Neolithic, Bronze, and
also in the traditionalcentersof art (Christensen1955: V6lkerwanderung Ages, distinguishingin each period
58-59). Princelypatrons,such as Njoya, sultan of the threestages characterizedparticularlyby the kind of
Bamum; Eweka II, Oba ofBenin; and Bope Mabinshe, ornament.On theotherhand, Kuhn (1952) divided the
Nyimiof the Bushongo,have contributedconsiderably Paleolithic into three phases, according to art styles.
to this development.Whole villages of carvers,like Such attemptedclassifications are not yetconclusive,
Baname in Dahomey,produce art todayfortrade; and because new data and insightsfrequentlynecessitate
amongtheirpopulationscan occasionallybe foundreal modifications of the hypotheses;and style-phases based
talents,able to createnew stylecenters. on ideal-typicalmethodscannotreachtheindividuality
This Africanexample demonstratesthatwe already of the historicalfacts.Yet one must grant them an
have a numberof footholdsforcompilinghistoriesof heuristicvalue forthescienceof art;and theyintroduce
ethnologicalart styles;but many detailed studies re- into the presentationof historical stages a dynamic
main to be made before such a summingup of art- impetusthatcorrespondsto realitybetterthandoes the
historicalfactswill be entirelysuccessful. uniformlining up of single facts.Dempf (1947) has
shown similar periods and parallels in the historyof
STYLE PHASES philosophythroughouttheworld; and political science
The art investigator must also discoverwhetherit is now recognizeshistoricalparallels in world events.It
possible to distinguishideally-typicalstyle-periodsin seems probable, therefore, that similar phases will be
the developmentof ethnologicalart similar to those found in the art of the non-Westerncivilizations,and
establishedforEuropean art. During the last decades, of ethnologicalcultures.Whethertheirstyle-stages suc-
European art historyhas expanded beyond the limits ceed each otheras dynamicallyas thosein the West is
of a strictlyhistorical science by using sociological verydifficult to determine;foreach culturehas its own
methodsto recognizestylephases. Through thesenew dynamism,and we are farfromrecognizingthepeculiar
methods,it could be shown that eras of art stylesin dynamicsof foreigncultures.Yet we mustnot disregard
Europe do not succeed each otherregularlyand uni- the rhythmicalpulsation in the art historyof non-
formly;but thatcertainperiodsmightbe distinguished literatepeoples.
in the chronologicaldevelopmentof European art.
Five great epochs in European art can be distin- FUTURE STUDIES
guished(Swoboda 1951-52),each withits own peculiar Out of thegreatnumberof importantquestionscon-
character,but all showingcertainparallels in theirde- cerningethnologicalart,onlya fewhave been answered
velopment.In each period, two significantantithetical satisfactorily. Many tasksawaitfutureresearch.The pri-
strainscan be clearlydistinguishedin the earlyforms, maryneed todayis detailed studiesmade withthe help
which are then followedby a briefsynthesisof these of exact methods.Explanation of the personalityof an
contrasts.With the achievementof such a "classic" individual artist,systematicdescriptionof a single ar-
synthesis,formand content,rest and movement,are tistic creation,and historicalor structural-analytical
balanced, and artisticcreationsshow a high degreeof studies restrictedto regional or even local problems
perfection.The first"classic European style"appeared should take precedence over vague generalizations
in Greece during the age of Pericles; the second in about the fineartsof ethnologicalpeoples, as general-
AugustanRome; the thirdin the Byzantiumof Justin- itiesare usefulonlyinsofaras theycan be corroborated
ian. European art achieved a "classic" style for the by thoroughly detailed studies.
that lack of time restrictsmy response of anthropologyand art history.The

Comments to a fewcommentsat random. question that arises is how to find a
Parts of the paper read almostlike a workablesynthesis.To what extentcan
By RALPH C. ALTMAN* compendiumof ideas about art derived conceptsand ideas of art historybe ap-
I welcome the publication of Hasel- fromarthistoryand anthropology.It is plied to artsof primitivecultureswith-
berger's stimulatingpaper and regret good thatit attemptsto bridgethefields out twistingfactsto fit?Art historyis a
855
Vol. 2 No. 4 *October 1961

productof the same cultureas its tradi- Amratian clay statuettesprimitiveor of inquiry and ought not to be used
tionaland still primaryobject-the arts not? One might argue pro and con; synonymously withprimitiveart. True,
of Westerncivilizations.The concepts might,forinstance,exclude formswhich stratification
of certainprimitivesocie-
thatone is workingwith must be con- could be consideredrelated to thoseof ties extended into the fieldof art,pro-
genial to the culture one investigates. later periods (e.g. Hassuna-Samarranor ducing formsone mightcall folk arts.
The object and objective of study Susa designs on ceramics)and include Still, commonusage reservedthis term
mustbe definedbeforea discussionof whatever has no known descendants for art forms which co-existed with
methodbecomesmeaningful.As Hasel- (e.g. Ubaid statuettes).A sharpdividing othersused by the ruling elementsof
bergerimplies,only a volitional defini- line mayneverbe established,no matter societyin Asiaticand European civiliza-
tioncan be givenforthe object in ques- how manyclassificatory cubbyholesone tions (see rural versusurban, or peas-
tion.There is doubt of the existenceof mightconstruct.Froma form-analytical ant versuscourt arts). Selected aspects
thisentitycommonlycalled "primitive viewpointit seemsto make no sense to of it might well be included in the
art."I, too,disliketheterm.However,it call a Mimbres pot primitiveand the subjectof our study(such as the persist-
has assumeda certainmeaning,admit- visuallycomparable Samarran pot not ence of pre-Hispanic traits in Latin
tedly and necessarilyshadowy,which primitive. Americanfolkarts or, for comparative
transcendsthe originalconnotationsto Upper Paleolithicartspresentsimilar purposes, the use of masks in rural
whichwe object. Deeply implanted in problems.Whereshould theybe placed? Europe).
the literatureand in our vocabulary,it As far as I am concerned,theybelong, The subject of study must also be
has resistedmanyefforts to supplant it. tentatively, in the complexrubric"Up- definedin otherterms:I cannot accept
I doubt thata satisfactory substitutecan per Paleolithic arts." Things may look Haselberger'sdefinitionof art. I reject
be found,i.e., a denominatorcommon differenttomorrow (if, for instance, "artistic-aesthetic intention" as a cri-
to everythingwhich is customarily presently unexpected links should terion; "artistic-aesthetic" is methodo-
called primitiveart (see e.g. The Mu- emergebetween Willendorfand Haci- logicallynot usable.
seum of PrimitiveArt 1957) and dis- lar, or between Magdalenian and Es- I understand"primitiveart" as the
tinctfromtheartsof all literateciviliza- kimo ivories). Of course the question sum total of visual arts and crafts,of
tions.For the present,I preferto think arises: Are the arts of the WesternSu- so-called fine and applied and decora-
of primitivearts on the one hand in dan within the Niger bend or those of tive arts. Overemphasisof any single
termsof artin general,and on theother the AmericanNorthwestCoast Indians categoryof art mightcause it to be mis-
hand in termsas specificas those art "less unique"? takenforthe totalrange of the artsof a
historiansuse, e.g. in the studyof Euro- Dilemmas of thiskind prove thatone giventribeor area. It preventsthestudy
pean arts (NorthernRenaissance,Aus- can "referto primitiveartonly through of one categoryin the contextof others.
trianBaroque). I endorse,therefore, the convenience and convention" (Gold- African Negro sculpture,for instance,
segregation of pre-Columbian from water1957). has almost come to be taken as synon-
primitivearts, although this too is a Greater insightinto the philosophy ymous with African Negro arts. One
collectiveterm,and some of its aspects of specificlivinggroups,into theircon- must agree with Haselbergerwhen she
have as littlein commonas classicMaya ceptsof reality,mightlead to new clas- calls attentionto the neglectof so many
and Dogon sculpture. sificationsin the future.Conceivably, art categories. We regret that our
Among the substitutessuggestedfor criteriamightbe furnishedbystyleanal- knowledgeof the artsof certainremote
"primitive," both "non-literate" and ysis,or the degree of homogeneityor periods is restrictedto objects which
"pre-industrial"are more meaningful unanimity of a culture, or a cross- archaeologyhappened to be able to un-
than "ethnological." The field of eth- cultural approach of the type Steward earth. Yet, little is done to save or re-
nologyseems to me wider than that in and Faron (1959) attemptedforSouth cord material still within our reach.
which primitivearts occur, and also America. One may find more exact The image of primitivearts createdby
narrower,inasmuch as archaeological methods of using our knowledge for collections and most art books is cer-
specimenscertainlylie withinthe realm interpretationof the worksof cultures tainlydifferentfromactuality.Among
of primitivearts.Besides,I cannot sup- of the past (Levine 1957). reasons for this inevitable inadequacy
pressa phobia againstcallingan art ob- Disregardfor"touristart" as a whole are transportationdifficulties, the na-
ject,whichis an ethnologicalspecimen, has always seemed to me short-sighted. ture of the material,the subjectiveap-
ethnological. I am glad Haselbergercalls attentionto proach of writersor collectors,the prej-
Primitivearts have been defined as this field,although it is peripheral to udices of our times, the purpose of
the artsof cultureswhichdeveloped es- the subject. Most of it is debased mass collecting.
sentiallybeyond the spheresof the ma- production, primarily expressive of One is dealing witha multiplicityof
jor civilizationsof the Orient and Oc- Westerncivilizationtoday.But some of diverse objects fromdifferentcultures
cident. Both "major" and "essentially" it is valid as art in its own right,al- and periods which we have come to
require emphatic quotation marks. It though it is art of acculturation (see label art.The meaningstheobjectshad
becomes increasinglyevident that the certain East Canadian Eskimo sculp- or have for their producers and con-
artsof "major" civilizationsin proxim- tures, Hopi Kachina "dolls," Navaho sumersare largelyunknown. It is in-
ity to primitive-art areas are not to be textiles,Huichol yarn mosaics,Pueblo conceivablethatmakerand user lacked
excluded from the objects of study. I Indian ceramics,to name just a few aestheticsensitivity.However, little is
am gratefulfor Haselberger'sstresson Americancategories).Some of thekinds known about theiraestheticjudgment,
thispoint. More researchis needed,and or details of commercially-made objects norms,or values; or about the nature
fewerspeculationsas to the possible in- may be expressiveof culturalvalues as of conceptsequivalent to our "art," (or
teractionbetween,for example, Meroe well as of thedemandsof the trade.The "artist," "patron," "customer"),which
and tribal Negro styles; continental studyof touristart in the widest sense may differfromculture to culture-if
Asian and Poly-Mela-Indonesianarts; of the termmightcontributeto the un- theyexist or existed at all.
Old World-New World relations. derstandingof the processof accultura- One may argue that all art is func-
In which categories should one fit tion, artisticinnovation,of the person- tional, or repeat the truism that all
prehistoricartsfromareas wheremajor alityof the artist,et al. primitive arts are inextricablyinter-
civilizationslaterevolved?Aremodelled "Folk art," as Haselbergerand I un- woven withall phasesof life.But these
Jerichoskulls,and Hacilar, Ubaid, or derstandit, refersto)a distinctivefield statementsremain meaningless unless

it is realized that the significance of art Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
cannot be comprehended except in its
unique cultural context. The manner in which it is to be seen- Correlation of subject matter expressed
The persistence of labels and classifi- if at all. visually with religious,mythical,legendary
The selection, availability, physical and imagery could be worthwhile. (What is,
cations which may have been useful symbolic properties of the material, in- and what is not represented?)
tools in the past but are now obsolete cludingpigments. Analysis might be guided by Panowsky
is an obstacle to research. I wish at times The method of manufacture; tools; the (1955:26-54) whom I paraphrase:
one could eradicate some of them from time necessaryto make it; to acquire the a) Primarysubject matter.
skill necessaryto make it; the way the skill Identificationof certainmotifsas represen-
our memory. Ideas of unilinear or cycli- was acquired. The presence or absence of tations of people or certain species of ani-
cal evolution belong to this category, concomitantritual. Values ascribed to the mals, of tribal marks, dress, hairdo,
since they kept us from evaluating, for act of making an object. ornaments,utensils,etc.
example, the effect on art of the indi- The significanceand fate of the finished b) Iconography.
product. Description of certain elementsas signs of
viduality of the artist and of a multi- 2. The styleor styles.Differentcategories status, sex, totems; of certain gestures or
plicity of external forces or pressures. or media ought to be considered,individ- posturesas conventionallysignificant;attri-
Comprehension is often hindered by ually and collectively,using criteriaas ob- butes, colors, configurations,compositions
our compulsion to categorize. The way jective as can be devised. The goals might as symbolsof specificpersonages or events.
include styledefinitions(individual, tribal, Iconography may be shiftingor constant.
in which the author uses the purpose regional,chronological),detectionof corre- Similar images may have dissimilaricono-
for which an object was made as a cri- lations with the ecology,function,medium, graphic meaning and vice versa. It might
terion for classification obscures the symboliccontent,language, and non-visual depend on the context or the presence or
manifold but inseparable functions and arts; investigationof the traditional char- absence of ritual during use or manufac-
acter of art, of process and causes of varia- ture of the object.
uses that a single object might have. tions and change, and their relations to c) Iconology.
Many classifications fail to recognize changes in symbolic content (Gombrich Art interpretedas a symptomof something
certain objects as facets of a greater 1960:144). Objective criteria must prevent else (i.e., as a manifestationof underlying
unit, such as a rite, from which they the creation of fictitious"styles"which do attitudes, values, philosophy, whicb are
not stand up in the face of actual diversity. also expressed in other symptoms).This
cannot be divorced. I believe, with Haselberger, that the sets area is most apt to lead to speculations and
One might pursue differentobjectives of polar termsset up by Riegel, W6lfflin, generalizations ("ancestor figure," "to-
within the study of primitive arts. It et al. served only a most limited,classifica- temic-" or "mortuarycarving," etc.). The
must be stated what one really wants tory purpose. Meyer Schapiro (1953:299) prerequisite for iconology is familiarity
said, "they provided no adequate bridge with the people and all aspectsof theircul-
to do, since one cannot start going in from the model to the unique historical ture; it necessitatescorrelationof art with
all directions at once, hoping for ulti- style and its varied developments,"and I all other "symptoms,"such as non-visual
mate synthesis.One might, for example, cannot see the value of looking for other arts, religious concepts and practices,my-
class the objectives of the study of art sets. thology, social institutions,etc. New in-
Questions as to the alleged relations be- sights in primitive philosophy require
objects into 3 large groups (even if the tweenbiology(includingrace,howeverthat redefiningor abandonment of older terms
pursuit of one depends partly on the may be defined)and stylemightbe investi- such as animism (Fagg, 1955-56:54).
other): gated by physical anthropologistsand psy- 6. Data on artistic quality: qualitative
chologistsafter"style"and styleshave been uniformityor diversityof comparable ob-
1. Study of the art object for art history. studied more adequately. Present attempts jects. Not only "masterpieces" should be
(What is it like? Why is it the way it is? at correlation impress one as comparisons considered. Comparison between the in-
What is its function?What does or did it betweenunknownquantities. vestigator's judgment and that of the
mean to the societywhich produced it?) The dangersinherentin the construction natives. Basis for art criticismwhich tran-
2. Study of the art object as an avenue of style-evolutionarytheories are obvious, scends the prejudices of our own world.
toward the understandingof the society, and are not always avoided by Haselberger. 7. Data on "connoisseurship": criteria
culture,or period of which it is an expres- For example, her pronouncementthat "the for attributions.Physical condition of the
sion. bulk of presentstylesof tribalartsin Africa object in relation to climate, use, storage,
3. Studyof the art object in the frameof reflectsin more or less degenerate manner exposure, propertiesof the material, sub-
the studies of the psychologyand philos- the art of the old empires" is astonishing, jection to sacrifices,anointing,repainting,
ophy of art. (One might subsume here the indeed. (Moreover,I do not believe that a etc.
investigationof the new significancethat "meaningful"historyof AfricanNegro arts
the formsof primitive art have acquired can be writtenat thepresent.)Her question Data about the informants and inter-
forour own culture; the reasons for the in- whethera given object belongs "to the be- preter, about the relationship between
clusion of a Micronesianchartor a decayed ginning,the climax, or the end of the de-
fragmentof a Dogon-Tellem statuette in velopment of a particular style" seems to investigator and informant and the
our art exhibitions.) imply the assumption of periodicity and time spent with them ought to be part
Haselberger lists many ideal goals may lead to the constructionof evolutionist of the record. One might inquire what
sequences. I do not understandwhat artis- "secret" objects mean to the non-
and important tasks for the field worker tic merithas to do with that.
who studies arts which are still alive. 3. The need fordata about the maker or initiate.
One might elaborate on some and re- artist is emphasized by Haselberger. They One might expand a list of ideal goals
state that research should aim at estab- mightexplain his or her motivation,social of field work ad infinitum while one
position, degree of specialization, training, wonders how and where they could still
lishing the following data: and attitude toward his work and that of
others; his psychologyin relation to quan- be realized. The problem that remains
1. An inventory of all collectible and
titativelyvalid psychologicalstudiesamong is how to correlate and interpret the
noncollectibleformsof the visual arts, in-
cluding those which may be physicallyor the restof the community;the problem of material from times and places beyond
intentionallyephemeral within the human individual creativitywithintraditionalcul- the reach of field work.
group under investigation.An analysis of tures.
4. The most dismaying challenge is to Comprehension of artistic expressions
theirrelativeimportancein termsof quan-
find a method of penetratingthe terra in- of any alien culture remains an ideal
tity and of the values (material and im-
material) attributedto themby the society. cognita of problems dealing with the aes- beyond our reach. A prolonged stay
Presence or absence of correspondencesbe- theticattitude of the people in relation to with the people, the removal of lan-
tween the artisticand the sacred. the polyvalence of artistic objects; form
and intrinsic meaning; sources of value guage barriers, the wish to identify one-
Relations which conceivably exist be- self with the people, and acceptance by
tween the artisticform and the nature of norms,locus of beauty. (See the pioneering
the land, or the specificplace for which an effortof George Mills 1959.) them are among the prerequisites few
object is intended; visual or ideological re- 5. Extrinsic symbolicmeaning and sub- researchers are able to fulfill. Nobody
lations between the object and its place or ject matter. can argue with Haselberger: field work
other objects (mask and costume,painting (Difficultiesarise in the case of forms
and house front,carved prow and the boat without overt, representational connota- is the best,if not the only,way to come
as a whole). tion.) close to the goal, no matterhow sensi-
Vol. 2 No. 4L October 1961 357

tivelyand scholarlyone might inter- tails of the mythologyand the super- the Old Stone Age, and some of them
pretcollectionsand the literature.The stitionsof the people who made them. might turn out to be surprisinglyan-
need forfieldwork and trainingfor it Frequently,however,the original pur- cient. Whatevermay be the case, most
is obvious,for special trainingin an- pose of thesearts is unknown today to of the pictures belonging to the style
thropology, arthistory,and thepsychol- theirmakers,and the anthropologistis of the "ArchaicHunters" of the Tassili
ogyof art,as well as in the methodsof obliged to look back at the evolution showratherevolvedcharacteristics, and
psychological(analytical and experi- and developmentof an object or a pat- are not likelyto be older than the early
mental)research. tern in order to understandits mean- realisticphase of rock engravingsfrom
I am not competent to judge the ing. Fezzan (Libya).
value for the studyof art of the "type Furthermore, prehistoricarts,in their Archaeological deposits at the base
psychology"in which Haselberger be- various formsand regions of distribu- of rockpicturesare not necessarilycon-
lieves. Still, I should like to voice my tion,do not seem to be included within nected with the wall art,and mightbe
scepticismabout the reality of these "ethnologicalart." These again create eitheranterioror posteriorto it. In the
types,and about the validityof efforts another set of problems with which case of Mori's C-14 date, a subsequent
directedtowardthe establishingof cor- Haselbergerdoes not deal. Since these question arises: if the material is con-
respondences between constitutional artswere made by people who-though temporarywith the rock pictures, to
typesand art as long as the relations in most cases extinct-are "objects of which one of theirphases and periods
between constitutionand personality anthropologicalstudy,"theyshould fall does it belong? Hence, one should not
remain so problematical. Her state- withinthescope ofwhattheauthorcalls rely upon this dating to the extent of
mentsrelative to eidetic types are in- "etl nological art." When dealing with stating that "it enables us to demon-
compatiblewithmyideas about image- livinig populations, or with human stratea continuityof Negro art styles
making. [Los Angeles, 1.4.61] groups that have left behind historical forover 5,000years."
records,art can usually be fittedinto We do not yet know the precisedat-
By EMMANUEL ANATI* an economic, social, and ideological ing of the earliest"Palaeo-Negro" rock
I was verymuch interestedby Hasel- context.In the case of prehistoricart, picturesfromthe Tassili, Fezzan, Hog-
berger'sarticle,and think that it is a the situation is exactly opposite, be- gar, Ennedi, Tanganyika, and South
necessarystart towards a systematiza- cause figurativeart is frequentlythe Africa.Some of thesegroups mightgo
tion of studyin a fieldin which there main relicat the disposal of theanthro- back several thousand years,but, with
have been almost as many schools as pologist for reconstructingthe econ- the doubtfulexceptionof South Africa,
scholars.Otherswill probablycomment omy,the social structure,and the ideo- in no place can a continuitywith the
on the advantagesand inadequacies of logical backgroundof the artist.Thus, Negro art of historictimes be demon-
Haselberger's method for their own analysis tries to understand the artist strated. [Oxford,9.3.61]
specificfields.I shall limit myselfto a from his art and not the other way
few remarkson details in which I am around. By GILBERT ARCHEY*
particularlyconcerned. In the case of prehistoricarts,with Haselberger'sremarkthat the optical
Since terminologyis mainlya means the exceptionof a fewgeneral rules of conceptof form,thatis, formseen at a
for mutual understanding,the term classificationand analysiswhichhave a distance,is not found among ethnolog-
"ethnologicalart" is as good as any, so universal value in the study of art, a ical peoples immediatelybringsto mind
far as one knowswhat is meant by it. rigid theoreticalworkingschememight the stone statuesof Easter Island; also,
If I correctlyinterpretHaselberger's frequentlyturn out to be inadequate. fromMaori art, the greatpalisade and
intentions,by "ethnological art" she For each separate area or subject of gate-waystatues,and compositionsad-
means: the arts of human groups in study,workersmust tryto finda work- mirablygraded in strengthand depth
Africa,America, Asia, Australia, and ing schemein accordancewith the data forfurther, nearer,and close view.
Oceania, thathave not reached the cul- at theirdisposal and with the scope of I maynot correctlyconstrueher com-
tural stage definedas "civilization"by the project they are undertaking. menton frontality and space-depth,but
the historico-archaeological school. If I I am accustomedto calling whatever it appears to indicate that frontality,
am correctin this interpretation,the has a director indirectdecorativeor aes- while dominant in ethnologicalart, is
objection one could findto the termis theticpurpose, art. Thus I do not re- the outcome of, for example, death-
that the arts of similar groups from gard utilitarianobjects or thingsas art mask or ghost-mask representation
Europe should be included under the in themselves. However,I considertheir rather than of definite intention to
same label. In myopinion, all the terms decorative or non-utilitarianparts to create a frontalaspect. In otherwords,
which are rejected by Haselberger, be art. If this approach is followed, we have here a question of aesthetic
namely, primitive,tribal, traditional, architectureshould not be considered intentionversussocial purpose.
native, indigenous,folk,and popular, art, just as tools and weapons are not The point is raised more directlyby
are good termsfor describingspecific regardedas such.A hut or a tool might, Haselberger'sexpressedview that "the
kindsof art,on conditionthattheyare however, possess decorations or non- ethnologicalartistis lessconcernedwith
properlyused. But each one of these utilitarianparts which are to be con- the aesthetic-formal principles of the
terms means somethingdifferent. sideredart.These different viewson the object he shapes than withits practical
Scholars interestedin the tribal arts definitionof art mightwell be due to or religious purpose." She continues,
of Near Eastern Bedouins, the sha- the substantialdifferencein the kinds "thissubjectneeds furtherstudywhich
manicartsof certainSiberiantribes,the of arts studied by Haselberger and by may produceunexpectedresults."With
folkartsof rural European or of Arctic myself. thislast remarkI agree,because I have
regions,or the popular artsof countries African prehistoricart is still in a observed,again in Maori art,the direct
like Sweden or Spain, will find that veryincipientphase of research,and it opposite to thatwhichshe suggests,and
Haselberger's method is not always is not yetclear whichof the knownart- have myselfbeen constrainedto com-
suited to their own needs. Some of groups is the oldest. Althoughnothing ment on a piece (Archey1955:8)
these examples of "ethnological art" is known todayabout the absolute dat-
fromAsia and Europe constituteone and does it not appear that the carverof
ing of theearlyphases of South African figure 6 was moreconcerned withcreating
of themostimportanttoolsin thehands rock pictures,variousgroupsin thisre- a designappropriate tohislongplankthan
of the anthropologistfor detectingde- gion illustratea way of life typicalof withcommemorating his ancestor.

Haselberger is probably more con- Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
cerned, however,to suggest that the
ethnologicalartist is not consciously It is difficultto associate tribal and into stone or lava rock, in the Pacific
and academically aware of aesthetic- touristartin theSouth Seas, as thelatter at least,leftus someaestheticallypower-
formalprinciples;and withthisI would has reached such a point of decadence ful images.In Pacificarts,art for art's
agree.Neverthelesswe have to account that there is no real relationshipwith sake does not appear, but this by no
forthe factthat aesthetic-formal quali- the past. Surelyit is generallytruethat means excludes an intensiveapprecia-
tiesare part of his achievement.Could touristarts have littlein commonwith tion of the quality of work or work of
it be that his art has emerged more the great traditionsof the past. Today, unusual skill.Generallyspeaking,there
freely,and was indeed the better for Frenchmen in Papeete make "tradi- was faircompetitionforthe servicesof
thisverylack of academic conception? tional art" by copyingtraditionalMar- the best craftsmen,who received re-
Von Kleisthas somewherewarned con- quesan methods and designs from wards accordingto theirability.
temporaryartiststhat "to be aware of books, and in New Zealand immigrant With referenceto male and female
our motivesis to sufferloss of original- Europeans compete with a few Maori types in artisticexpression,I do not
ity, clarity and vitality"; sensitivity, craftsmenand disabled servicemenin doubt that differencesexist; but al-
therefore,may manifest itself more providingvisitorsto New Zealand with thoughNew Zealand is cited as an area
readilyas a natural talent than as an so-called "Maori art." Perhaps legiti- where male and female artisticstyles
attitudesubject to doctrineor canon; mate studiesof touristart maybe made are to be observed,this is certainlynot
thoughI would not wishto suggestthat on Easter Island or Samoa, but in both the case. All sculptural arts were the
itsachievementis mereartlessness. cases it would be a studyin decadence. prerogativeof the male, to such an ex-
The aspects of form which Hasel- Generallyspeaking,such studieswould tent that the female was not allowed
bergerdirectlysuggestsshould be fol- not in anywaycontributeto theknowl- near craftsmenat work as she was a
lowed tend more towardsdetermining edge of ancient artsof the past. destroyer of taboo.
the time and place of originof a work, If such termsas primitive,tribal,tra- It appears to me that although a
or the classificatory position of one art ditional, native, indigenous, etc., are sound trainingin the methodof study-
among others, than towards aesthetic correctlyused, they are quite satisfac- ing ethnologicalart is highlydesirable,
comprehension.Such implied criticism tory,regardlessof their incorrectuse it is not in itselfadequate fortheactual
is in a measure answered by the fact by uninformedpeople. I believe Hasel- studyof the art of a particulargroup.
that, as we have seen, aesthetic ques- berger is inclined to depart fromsim- A long associationwitha singleculture
tionsdo arise fromher essay.Yet, while plicity in language and to introduce and a wide knowledgeof its ethnology
the scope and procedure she suggests new termsand wordswhichin factcon- and archaeologyis essentialbeforeone
are thoroughlyscientificand will un- tributeto the specialistjargon that we can seriouslywriteon the particularly
doubtedly produce important results, wish to avoid. difficult aspect of art. In New Zealand
we should still keep it in mind thatart The question of aestheticintention I have met, over a number of years,
is not an ordinary natural phenom- is a very difficult one, and the dogma visitorsfromoverseas who descend on
enon; herewe are not,as some physicist that "art is involvedonly when the ac- the country"to studyMaori art." The
has said, "determiningthe recurrences tion producesresultsdesigned to affect resultsare usuallynegative.Area styles,
of nature,"but consideringexamplesof someone,and is not, like play, an end rangeof media,successionand relation-
individualhuman creativeachievement in itself,"is hardlyfollowedin thelight ship of styles,etc.,call fora verybroad
and of individual human responsesto of our knowledgeof Pacificarts.In fact, background.In Pacific art the subject
it. the magical significanceof Pacificart is matteris found in a vast armyof gods,
These responsesare part of the sub- predominant,and the craftsmanwas ancestral spirits,supernatural beings,
ject matterof aesthetics,itselfa scien- one of the mostimportantmembersof animisticspirits,and numeroustotemic
tificstudyfor,as W. B. Smith(1945:87) the community,enjoying the status of creatures.Thereforethestudyof theart
has said, when analysingart we are not priest.The unerringaestheticsense we of theseislandsis largelya matterof the
enjoyingit. Aestheticsas a disciplineis observein the primitiveart of the Pa- study of religious belief. The Polyne-
more commonly seen traversingthe cificis the resultof exact trainingin an sian craftsman-priest was in the first
fieldof the artsof the civilizations,and ancient tradition which believes that place engaged in the manufactureof
the thought arises that it would find errorwill call down the vengeance of human images to serveas a convenient
equally valuable material in the some- spirits.To the South Sea islander,the abidingplace foreithergod or ancestor.
times more primitive expressions of simplestmotivemightcontain magical Birds, fishes,lizards, turtles,and dogs
ethnologicalart. As a corollary,ethno- power, and the application of this de- also found a place in the art of the re-
logical art study might itself enquire sign to an object of every-day use, such gion. The austereand unclutteredele-
into the significancefor aesthetics,as as a paddle or fishhook,was able to in- gance of Micronesianartspringslargely
well as for social anthropology,of the crease the mana or effectiveness of the from the limitations placed on the
fieldof art it claims forreview. object. craftsmanby the restrictedenviron-
[Auckland,17.3.61] Haselberger in some respectsis in- ment. In termsof Oceanic art itself,
clined to interpret ethnological arts Micronesianstylerepresentsa blending
By T. BARROw* in termsof her own culture. Modern of Polynesian, Melanesian, and Ma-
Haselberger's contributionis a val- man is inclined to think designs are layan elements,and thereforeone must
uable one in so faras it drawsattention merelyapplied to make a thingmore bringa verywide range of data to bear
to the great need for method in the beautiful,but to a primitiveman this on the interpretationof a single arti-
studyof ethnologicalarts,provides us was not always the case. Primitivesare fact.
withan interestingsummaryof knowl- usuallyconcernedwithevokingmagical I agreeentirelywithHaselbergerthat
edge on the subject,and also provides aid, beautybeing a by-product of which the primaryneed today is for detailed
an excellent list of references.I shall the traditionalcraftsmanwas more or studies in ethnological art made with
restrictmyselfto a few critical com- less unconscious. Great art was also the help of exact methods,and I be-
mentswithspecialreferenceto Oceania, achieved in the Pacificwithoutany se- lieve that her article is a definitecon-
and particularlyto Polynesia as the rious intention.In somecases,the mere tributionto this end.
area withwhichI am mostfamiliar. idle markingof a cave wall or pecking [Wellington,9.3.61]
Vol. 2 No. 4 - October 1961 359

nodes of cane arrow-shafts by the Kuku- suggestedfor investigationunder this
By BEATRICE BLACKWOOD* kuku of the mountainsof southeastern head.
This is an interesting and stimulating New Guinea, a people in whoseculture I am not qualifiedto commenton the
paper whichshould be welcomedby all art of any kind findsverylittle place psychologicalportion of Haselberger's
fieldanthropologists, thoughsome may (Blackwood 1950:44). paper, but I thinkthatsome of the sug-
see, in parts at least of it, a counsel of The interpretation of contentmaybe gestionsmade in thissection would be
perfectionwhich the circumstancesof complicated by the fact that different verydifficult to put into practice,to any
theirown work would preclude them individuals may give entirelydifferent usefulpurpose,in manysocieties,such
fromfollowing. or contradictory explanationsof theob- as, forexample,the Melanesian groups
The initialdiscussionon terminology ject or designbeinginvestigated.Again, of whichI have personalknowledge.
tacklesa problem which has troubled changesintroducedunintentionally, by Haselberger'sstatementthatthe pro-
anthropologists fora long time.I agree successivecopyingor by workingfrom duction of art among primitivepeople
entirelywith what Haselberger says memory,each probablyminutebut add- is largelyin the hands of women is too
about the unsuitabilityof termssuch ing up to somethingveryconsiderable, wide a generalization;and would not
as "tribal," "traditional,"and particu- may modifythe interpretationof con- apply,forexample,to Melanesia,where
larly"primitive,"whichhave been used, tentto a surprisingdegree.This is very the productionof objects intended for
forwant of better,to describethe kind well brought out in a valuable little religiousor ceremonialpurposes-a con-
of art in question and the people who book by H. Balfour (1893:23-31). siderable proportion of the art-is
produce it. Her suggestion"ethnolog- In her statementthat entirelydiffer- largelyif not entirelyin the hands of
ical art" seems a veryreasonable one; ent startingpoints can lead to very men. Apart fromsuch special objects,
it is consistentwith the currentuse of similarformsHaselbergerhas made an the craftof workingin wood, in Mela-
theword "ethnology,"thoughnot with importantpoint that is too often for- nesia one of the mostimportantmedia,
itswidermeaning. gotten, with the result that "conver- is confinedto men.Even pottery-making
I can add a clear example of the gence" is confusedwithor mistakenfor is men's work in some groups. This is
existenceof "art for art's sake" among "evolution." More stress might well not to deny the importanceof differ-
ethnologicalpeoples. The women pot- have been laid on this aspect of the ences in male and female art; but it
tersof theBosmun,Lower Ramu River, subject. should be borne in mind that such dif-
New Guinea, frequentlyuse any pieces While consideringtherelationof the ferences may spring from differences
of clay left over frommaking a batch artisticformto its material (Harmony in purpose and/ormediumratherthan
of pots, to fashionlittle figuresrepre- withthe Material,Independence of the fromthosewhichhave a sexual-psycho-
sentingmen and women.They told me Material),one mightadd a thirdpossi- logical basis.
thattheseare made purelyforpleasure, bility:"Modificationof theartisticform It seems to me thatone of the great-
and are kept in the house to look at imposed by the material." This is dis- est difficultiesinherentin studies such
(Blackwood 1951:270). cussed by Balfour (1893:116-26) and as that dealt with in this paper is that
More stressmightperhaps be laid on illustratedby referenceto the animal, theyare veryapt to takeon a subjective
the factthat a large proportionof eth- reptile, and bird formsportrayedin character.
nological art is "decorative art." In basketry by the Indians of British Interpretations and classifications
manyinstancesthistoo could be looked Guiana. varywith the period,and with the per-
upon as art forart's sake, since the ob- I agree that the "purpose-bound" sonalityand trainingof the individual
ject decorated would functionequally characteroftenascribedto ethnological investigator,but facts, accurately re-
well if leftwithoutdecoration.To give art is an exaggeration,and that there corded and carefully authenticated,
one instanceknown to me: the Arawe are frequentindicationsin ethnological will alwaysretain theirvalue. I would
of southwestNew Britain paint quite societies of the existence of a well- lay the strongestpossible emphasis on
elaborate designs, some more or less developed sense of beauty.I would add one sentencein Haselberger'sconclud-
realistic,some conventionalized,some that this sense of beauty may be alto- ing paragraph: "The primaryneed to-
geometrical, on theblades oftheircanoe getherdifferent fromthatof the investi- day is detailed studies made with the
paddles. The makers or owners were gator, or fromanythingrecognized as help of exact methods,"with an added
able to give me the names of thesepat- such in his own culture. caution not to allow methodto become
terns,and in many cases their origin; The paragraphson the artist'sbiog- master. [Oxford,1.3.61]
but in responseto carefulenquiries as raphyseemto presupposea class of pro-
to whytheywere used, I could discover fessionalartists.In many ethnological By INGEBORG BOLZ*
no reason except that they improved societiesno such class existsor is pos- The titleof Haselberger'sarticledoes
the appearance of the paddles (unpub- sible, but the creatorsof objects which not correspondwith much of its con-
lished material). I am not forgetting, anyone carryingout such an investiga- tent. Although she deals extensively
however, that "decorative art" often tion as is here envisaged would have with the historyof the studyof ethno-
servespurposes other than purely aes- to take into account are ordinarymem- logical art, many of her details would
thetic ones. It is often hard to deter- bers of the community,sharingin its more concern the work of the sociol-
mine whethera given design, besides general activities,and making in the ogist,forit is his task to findout, with
being decorative,has also an esoteric course of their every-daywork articles his methods, the conditions under
meaning,perhapssymbolic-witnessthe for their own use or amusementand which the unknown artistis working.
much discussed,and, so far as I know, thatof theirimmediatefamily.In some To studyart whereverit is produced is
yet unresolved, question as to how societies,however,an individual may a fieldwhereone can workwithsuccess
much, if any, significanceis to be at- become known in his communityfor only when using the methods and
tached to the frequentuse of designs excellentworkof some particularkind, termsof art history.These are so little
connectedwithclouds,rain, etc. on the and may be asked to produce articles known in the field of ethnographical
potteryof the Pueblo Indians. In other for a wider circle,which could be the art that it is symptomaticto find a
cases,designs,in themselvesdecorative, firststage towardsbecoming a profes- superabundance of books dealing, for
may be intended primarilyto serve as sional. An enquiry into whether-and example, with the art of all Negro
owners' marks.This appears to be the if so, how far-the artistis such by pro- Africa.Besides themoreor less unscien-
purposeof thelinear patternscut at the fessionlmightbe added to the subjects tificideas of the various authors,one

will findin thesebooks repeated refer- Haselber,aer : METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
ence to the same tribes;even the same
specimensare illustrated,and of course Western minds, the "monotony" of
the same errorsare repeated. By EDMUND CARPENTER*
snow, ice, and darknesscan often be
Of coursewe must not neglect field 1. Let me discusstwo aspects of this depressing,even frightening.Nothing
work,or rather,the collectingof art, fieldwhichHaselberger'spaper does not in particular stands out; there is no
with exact data about where the item touch upon, or at least does not em- sceneryin the sense in which we use
was obtained,for what purpose it was phasize.Certainstatements in herpaper the term.But the Eskimo do not see it
made,and by whom.But whatwe need I foundexciting;others,especiallythose this way. They are not interestedin
firstis an extensivecatalogue, and de- dealing with"constitutionaltypes"and scenery,but in action, existence.This
tailed studies of all tribes. And this "eidetic type,"I thoughtquestionable; is true to some extentof many people,
work can be initiated only from the but I limit my remarksto a considera- but is almost of necessitytrue for the
museumsand private collections. We tion of the artisticact and the acoustic Eskimo, for nothing in their world
need publications,frompublic as well structuringof space, with illustrations easily defines itself and is separable
as privatecollections,that will help us of both fromthe Arctic. from the general background. What
tomakeclearerdistinctionsbetweenthe 2. Nowhereis lifemoredifficult than exists, the Eskimo themselves must
variousstyles. in the Arctic,yet when life thereis re- struggleto bringinto existence.Theirs
Art"history"can be done, too,in the duced to its barest essentials,art and is a world which has to be conquered
fieldof ethnologicalart,thoughwe will poetryturn out to be among those es- with each act and statement,each carv-
not be able to reconstructthe exact sentials.Art to the Eskimo is far more ing and song-but which,with each act
changesof the styleof a tribeliving in thanjust an object: it is an act of seeing accomplished,is as quickly lost. The
the tropical forestsand mostlyusing and expressinglife'svalues; it is a ritual secret of conquering a world greater
wood in its works.One factorthat can of discoveryby which patternsof na- than himselfis not known to the Es-
be of some assistancehere in discerning ture,and of humannature,are revealed kimo. But his role is not passive. Man
some changes of the formsis the fact by man. is the forcethatrevealsform.He is the
that in ethnologicalart, more than in As the carver holds the unworked forcewhichultimatelycancels nothing-
other arts, older and newer types are ivorylightlyin his hand, turningit this ness.
made at the same time. way and that, he whispers,"Who are Language is the principal tool with
Art history also means that the you? Who hides there?" And then: which Eskimo make the natural world
scholar has enough materialsto make "Ah, Seal!" He rarelysets out, at least a humanworld.They use many"words"
satisfactorycomparative studies. This consciously,to carve, say, a seal, but forsnowwhichpermitfinedistinctions,
will make clearhow fartypesand forms picks up the ivory,examines it to find not simplybecause theyare much con-
can diffusewithoutthe tribe itselfmi- its hidden formand, if that is not im- cerned with snow, but because snow
grating. One should always take into mediately apparent, carves aimlessly takesits formfromthe actionsin which
considerationa phrase of Denise Paul- untilhe seesit,hummingor chantingas it participates:sledding,falling,igloo-
me's: "La forme voyage seule." This he works.Then he bringsit out: Seal, building, blowing. These distinctions
means that masks and statues can be hidden, emerges.It was always there: are possible only when experiencedin
taken over by a distant tribe without he didn't create it; he released it; he a meaningfulcontext.Differentkinds
its takingover the ritual in which the helped it step forth. of snow are broughtinto existenceby
masks were used. Many examples can What emerges from the ivory, or the Eskimo as they experience their
be given.On theotherhand, a religious more accuratelyfrom the artisticact, environmentand speak; the words do
ceremonycan be performedwithmasks is not simplya carvingof a seal, but an not label something already there.
and costumesalready used in another act which explicates,with beauty and Words, for the Eskimo, are like the
cult,even of the same tribe. simplicity,the meaning of life to the knifeof the carver: theyfree the idea,
These facts, besides many others, Eskimo.Let me illustratefrompersonal the thing, from the general formless-
giveus therightto lay greateststresson fieldworkand from an exceptionally ness of the outside. As a man speaks,
the studyof the various form-elements. brilliant manuscript,Freedom, Being, not only is his language in statu nas-
Style criticismshould be the very first and NecessitybyPaul Riesman: cendi, but also the very thing about
step for everyscholar workingin the In the Eskimo language little dis- whichhe is talking.The carver,like the
fieldof ethnologicalart. I should like tinctionis made between "nouns" and poet, releases formfromthe bonds of
to add the voice of an African artist "verbs,"but ratherall wordsare forms formlessness:he brings it forth into
which shows how much nonsense has of the verb "to be" which itselfis lack- consciousness.He must reveal formin
been included in interpretation,espe- ing in Eskimo. That is, all words pro- order to protestagainsta universethat
ciallyof Negro art. Mr. Enwowu writes claim in themselvestheirown existence. is formless,and the form he reveals
(criticizinga book by Underwood): Eskimo is not a nominal language; it should be beautiful.
doesn't simply name thingswhich al- Since thatformparticipatesin a real
one comesacrosscertainanthropological ready exist, but rather brings both situation,the carvingis generallyutili-
errorssuch as thatthefiguresexpressthe thingsand actions (nouns and verbs) tarian. One verycharacteristicEskimo
idealsand theideasof thespiritworld.On
the contrary,the group-religious concepts into being as it goes along. This idea is expressionmeans "What is thatfor?"It
wereimpregnated in the figures. reflectedin the practice of naming a is most frequentlyused by an Eskimo
child at birth: when the motheris in when he findssome object and stands
And he later states: labor,an old womanstandsaround and looking down at it. It does not mean
saysas manydifferent eligible names as "What can I use that for?"but rather
The art-schools of West Africa,if any,
were not the secret societies,but the she can thinkof. The child comes out something closer to "What is it in-
carvers'shedsor workshops. Myfatherwas of the womb when its own name is tended to be used for?" That portion
a sculptor,and althoughI certainlydid called. Thus the namingand thegiving of the antler,whose shape so perfectly
not learn the art beforeI becamean ini- birthto the new thingare inextricably fits the hand and gives a natural
tiate in the Mmvosociety,it was in his
shopthatI learnedtheartofwoodcarving. bound together. strengthas well, becomes, with slight
The environment encourages the modification, a chiselhandle. Form and
[Cologne,27.3.61] Eskimo to think in this fashion. To function,revealed together,are insep-
Vol. 2 No. 4 - October 1961 361

arable. Add a few lines of dots or tiny art is now a thing,an object, no longer an art formwhen we see what happens
ringsor just incisions,rhythmically ar- an act, a ritual; that most pieces are to it in translation,when, say, in the
rangedto bring out the form,and it's now characterizedby a base, a favored interplayof cultures,an old art is ex-
finished. point of view, three-dimensionalper- pressedin a new medium.Thus photo-
Here, then,is a world of chaos and spective,etc., all of whichreflectgrow- graphsof minuteDorsetcarvingsreveal
chance, a meaningless whirl of cold ing individualism,an aggressiveself- that all share a quality of sizelessness:
and white;man alone can give meaning concept that seeks to possess and each can be blown up to monumental
to this-its formdoes not come ready- controlthe externalworld,in contrast sizewithno qualitativechangeof effect,
made. to thetraditional,aboriginaltechniques for the artistsreduced each formto its
When springcomes and igloos melt, of multiple perspective,visual puns, basic essentials.
theold habitationsitesare litteredwith three-dimensionalx-ray or openwork The tensionand beautywhicha rain-
waste, including beautifully-designed sculpture,etc., which reflecta less as- drop possessesjust beforeit falls, and
tools and tiny ivory carvings,not de- sertive,less individualisticself-concept. loses when it does fall,was capturedby
liberatelythrownaway,but, with even A seriousstudywould also include de- the artistsof the steppes who drew,
greaterindifference, just lost. Eskimo tails of the Department of Northern separatelyor closelylocked in combat,
are interestedin the artisticact, not in Affairsand National Resources' strong "armored" animals: poised, each with
the productof that activity.A carving, opposition to any studyof, and publi- suggestionsof power about to burst
likea song,is not a thing;it is an action. cityon, aboriginal Eskimo art-an op- forth,but not yet in operation. Re-
When you feel a song withinyou, you position that does not stem fromany cently, Soviet film-makersemployed
singit; whenyou sensea formemerging fear that such studies would diminish this art in an animated fairytale. Still
fromivory,you release it. It's senseless souvenirsales, but lies in the fact that scenes were superb, but when the fig-
to assume that when we collect these the stonecarvingsare takenby manyas ures moved, the art was destroyed.
silent,staticcarvings,we have collected evidenceofgovernment respectfor,and Sketches made by Eskimo on two-
Eskimo art,even if we recorddate and encouragementof, aboriginal Eskimo dimensional surfaces,however,can be
provenience.Measurementsof size,dia- culture. This might lead to the ques- animated without violation. This dif-
gramsof diffusion, and seriationstudies tion: How closelydoes thispropaganda ferencein adaptation offersa clue to a
of chronologydo nothingto correctthe coincide withreality?This in turnwill major differencebetween Okvik-Ipiu-
initial error here. However, the ap- immediately open unexpected aper- tak art and thatof the Eskimo.
proach I have recommendedis gener- tures,vistas,break-throughs-especially 5. I do not thinkit accidental thatit
ally called "mystical"or "subjective"or in the fieldof finance,or the fact that is in Paul Klee's work that we see the
"insight without method," while this Canadian anthropologists-apologists in- closest parallels with Eskimo art, for
latter method is called "objective" or volvedin thissituationare as contented in both thereis a structuringof space
"scientific."That competentfieldwork as Coolidge in the Harding cabinet- by sound. Klee was the son of a music
should be called "mystical"and incom- but you'relaughing,aren't you?You're teacherand himselfso good a musician
petent fieldworkcalled "scientific"is laughing at the notion of art as some- he had difficulty deciding whether to
one of the more remarkablefeaturesof thingmore than a kewpie nude with a devotehis life to musicor painting.He
our profession. clock in her belly on the televisionset. said his worksowed more to Bach and
3. "It's the power of belief," writes The beststoryI knowabout souvenir Mozart than to any of the mastersof
Rainey (1959:13), "whichmakesall the art (I offerit free to any television art.He wantedart"to sound like a fairy
differencebetween original native art script-writer)concernsa friendof mine tale," to be a world in which "things
and contemporarynative souvenirs." who accepted a position as a junior fall upward." He was bewitchedby the
This difference becomesmostapparent curator-collector with an African mu- dreamlike universe underwater, the
when we study the artisticact, rather seum. He liked the town, but not his aquarium in whichfishand floramoved
thanjust theartisticobject. Haselberger English school-tiesuperior; and so at like phantomsthroughlyricallight.
refers to Schaeffer-Simmern's Eskimo the end of his three-yeartour, he de- We often have difficulty in under-
plastik aus Kanada but fails to note cided to remain there but to go into standing a purely verbal notion. In
that the souvenirart whichthisvolume the mask business.Now the aboriginal Alice in Wonderland". . . the patriotic
describesis strictlypost-1948,Western- masks from that area are rare, costly, archbishopof Canterburyfound it ad-
designed,Western-valued,and some of heavy,and too grotesqueto be accept- visable-."
it Hong Kong-made.There's a differ- able as decor in Levittown.So he de- "Found what?" said the Duck.
ence between the carver who would signedhis own mask.It bore no resem- "Found it," the Mouse replied rather
stop carving tomorrowif the market blance to any known mask, but was crossly:"of course you know what 'it'
failed,and the carverforwhom art is a eminentlysuitable for the market;and means."
necessarypart of being human. moreoverwas of light wood and shal- "I know what 'it' means well enough
I thinkit's importantthatwe system- low, so one could be packed inside an- when I find a thing,"said the Duck:
atically collect and document sou- other,like Chinese boxes, and shipped "it's generallya frog,or a worm.The
venir art, but I have no time for the at a minimum cost. He employed a question is, what did the archbishop
Winnie the Pooh nonsense which is large crew, power equipment, and find?"
writtenabout most of it. A Canadian assembly-line methods: masks were We feel happier when it is visible;
officialrecentlystated that "contempo- dipped, branded, etc. Tens of thou- then we feel we can understand it,
rary Eskimo prints are related to the sands were sold to interiordecorators judge it, perhaps control it. In our
Paleolithic art of Altamira and Las- and museumsales desks.While touring workadayworld, space is conceived in
caux" and fromanother authoritywe Americagatheringorders,he also gath- terms of that which separates visible
are advised thatcontemporary Alaskan ered, from the Salvation Army and objects. "Emptyspace" suggestsa field
carvers"stilluse thebasic principles. . . fromtie manufacturers, 22,000 used or in whichthereis nothingto see. We call
of the ancient master engraverswho remainderedties,all resemblingEnglish a fume-filled gasoline drum or a gale-
produced the 'Okvik Madonna'." school-ties,whichhe shipped as giftsto) swept tundra "empty"because nothing
A seriousstudyof Canadian Eskimo the more impoverishedmembersof this is visiblein eithercase.
souvenirart would tell us much about Africantown. The Eskimo do not think this way.
the modernEskimo.It would note that 4. Often we can! better unde:rstande One hunterI knew,when assuredby a

White man that a gasoline drum was Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
"empty,"strucka match and peered
inside:he bore the scarsforlife. stracts,locatingeach object in physical in the case outlined above. The inter-
Withthemthe bindingpower of the space, against a background; the ear, play of culturesdoes not produce per-
oral traditionis so strongas to make however,favorssound fromany direc- sistent archetypes. The electronic
theeyesubservientto the ear. They de- tion. media, regarded as extensionsof our
finespace more by sound than sight. I know of no example of an Eskimo senses, can, in their interplay,have
Wherewe mightsay,"Let's see whatwe describing space primarily in visual archetypal results. As cultural forms
can hear," theywould say, "Let's hear terms. They do not regard space as they can provide interplaywith other
whatwe can see." static,and thereforemeasurable: hence whole-cultures.Most studies of arche-
In the beginning was the Word, a they have no formal units of spatial typesare limitedto the archetypesaris-
spokenword,not thevisual one of liter- measurement, just as theyhave no uni- ing fromthe interplayof the private
ate man, but a word which, when form divisions of time. The carver is senses,and thusbreakdown completely
spoken,revealed form:"And God said, indifferent to the demands of the opti- when confrontedwith the interplayof
Let therebe light:and therewas light." cal eye: he lets each piece fill its own cultures.
The Eskimo speaker imposes his will space, create its own world, without [Northridge,California,21.3.61]
diffidentlyupon unbounded reality. referenceto background or anything
Formis temporary,transient;it exists, externalto it. Each carvinglives in spa- By ADR. G. CLAERHOUT*
as the Eskimo poet says, ". . . on the tial independence.Size and shape, pro- Not yet being familiar with the
thresholdof my tongue." Nothing has portionsand selection,theseare set by purely theoreticalaspects of methods
a definite,invariableshape. the object itself,not forcedfromwith- of studying"ethnologicalart," I wish
In our society,however,to be real a out. Like sound,each carvingcreatesits to abstain from over-all commenton
thing must be visible, and preferably own space, its own identity;it imposes Haselberger'spraiseworthyattemptin
constant.We trustthe eye,not the ear. its own assumptions. this matter.I also abstain from com-
Not since Aristotleassured his readers Superb examplesof thisare the great ment on the author'sviews about field
that the sense of sight was "above all Alaskan Eskimo mobile-likemasks in investigations,in which I lack experi-
others"the one to be trusted,have we the Heye Research Center.Such masks ence-although we should not forget
accordedto sound therole of dominant were not the result of lack of large that museum work on "ethnological
sense. "Seeing is believing." "Believe pieces of wood, but a deliberate effort art" is a kind of fieldwork,too! Thus,
half of what you see, nothingof what to let the mask assert its own dimen- the followingcommentscontain only
you hear." "The eyes of the Lord pre- sions. This is in contrastto Northwest a few criticismsand marginalremarks.
serveknowledge,and he over-throweth Coast Indian carverswhoworkedwithin 1. My firstcomment concerns the
the words of the transgressor"(Prov- enclosed space. term"ethnologicalart."
erbs 22:12). Truth, we think,must be Other featuresof Eskimo art, alien a) Is therea real need hic et nunc to
observed by the eye, then judged by and puzzlingto us, become comprehen- look fora new working-term-the more
the "I". Mysticism,intuition,are bad sible if we recognize that the ear to so as fHaselberger herselfexpects that
words among scientists.Most of our them is the primarysense; it imposes "ethnological art" may be abandoned
thinking is done in terms of visual its bias over all other senses. Take an once thereis a more appropriatestylis-
models, even when an auditory one obvious example: lack of verticality. tic classification.I propose to keep the
mightprove more efficient. We employ The value we place on verticality(it termgenerallyused now, and wait for
spatial metaphor even for such inner even influencesour perception) stems a more appropriate and definiteone
psychologicalstates as tendency,dura- from the strengthof literacy in our withouthuntingfor a temporaryterm
tion,intensity.We say "thereafter," not lives. Children must be taught it. Na- in between.
the more logical "thenafter";"always" tives do not know it. And when the b) Nevertheless, I would make use of
means "at all times"; "before" means mentally ill in our society withdraw this opportunityto say that I disagree
etymologically"in frontof"; we even fromthe burdensof literatevalues,and formallywith"ethnological."Of course,
speak of a "space" or an "interval" of returnto non-vertical,non-linealcodi- once the conventionsare unanimously
time. fications,we call them child-like,and agreed upon, the term fits the area
To theEskimo,truthis giventhrough even note parallels with primitives.To under discussion; but it neither de-
oral tradition,mysticism, intuition,all lack ofverticalitycan be added multiple scribes, defines, nor characterizesit.
cognition; not simply by observation perspective,visual puns, X-ray sculp- Furthermore, althoughunfamiliarwith
and measurementof physicalphenom- ture, absence of background,and cor- theEnglishlanguage,I have theimpres-
ena. To them,the ocularlyvisible ap- respondencebetween symboland size: sion that something in this term is
parition is not nearly as importantas all examples of non-visualstructuring wrong, linguisticallyspeaking; at any
the purelyauditoryone. of space. rate, I believe that none of our Dutch-
The essentialfeatureof sound is not Models in the social sciences come, speakingcolleaguesis disposedto accept
its location, but that it be, that it fill without exception,from the world of the termethnologischekunst,let alone
space. We say "the nightshall be filled literacy.That Joyce,Pound, and Klee volkenkundigekunst,forsimplereasons
withmusic,"just as the air is filledwith offeredmodels,based on the electronic of linguisticfeeling; and I can hardly
fragrance; locality is irrelevant. The media and sharingmuch withoral cul- imagine that our colleagues in France
concert-goer closes his eyes. ture,that are applicable to pre-literate would agree with art ethnologique (all
Auditoryspace has no favoredfocus. data and relevant to a contemporary of this is with the suppositionthat the
It is a spherewithoutfixedboundaries, audience, has escaped anthropologists. term"ethnology"is not replacedby the
space made by thethingitself,not space The natural sciences, however, and term"cultural anthropology").
containingthe thing.It is not pictorial even certainof the humanities,decades c) I would also take this occasion to
space, boxed-in, but dynamic, always ago turned to post-literatemodels and disagreewithHaselbergerand withGer-
in flux, creating its own dimensions found themfruitful. brands about the associationtheythink
moment by moment. It has no fixed 6. The only persistent archetypes is made between the term"tribal" and
boundaries; it is indifferentto back- may prove to be those formedby the the conceptof backwardness.This is in
ground.The eye focuses,pinpoints,ab- interplayof the senses themselves,as completecontradictionto the feelingof

most of the "ethnological peoples" technique and structurepossibilities, ployed on its staffan architect,Mr. Z.
themselves, as has been illustratedfor and formis thatwhichit was possibleto R. Dmochowski,who has a wide prac-
yearsin Maori life,forexample,and is create within the limitsof those struc- tical knowledgeof folk architecturein
also illustratedin our time by the re- tural possibilities.All of thiscan be de- Eastern Europe. Mr. Dmochowski is
vival of tribal consciousness.We have finedby a single term:morphology. studyingarchitecturein all its aspects-
to respectthe feelingsof thosepeoples! 6. I agreewithHaselbergerthatstyle sociological, ethnographic,technolog-
d) Whyshouldwe prefera termwith- comparisonsmustdrawupon similarob- ical, and artistic-throughoutNigeria.
out any symbolicmeaning?Should we jects.Indeed, maskstyleand figurestyle His interestsare by no means confined
have to change the term"classical an- in African art are really two distinct to ethnological,economic,or sociolog-
tiquity"? things.But Yoruba wooden figures,for ical studies,and he is constantlynotic-
e) I am afraidthatit will be impossi- instance,need to be comparedwith the ing unexpected subtletyof design and
ble to formulatean accurate term by bronzeIta Yemoo figures fromIfe (Man, basic artisticconception of form and
means of a more appropriate stylistic November1953: 189) and also with the space in building. The study of im-
classification,this norm being insuffi- stone heads from Esie (Man, March movable mud sculpture, necessarily
cient for this purpose. 1959: 41). "Similar" should referto the neglected by most art historians,also
f) If a new temporaryworking-term kind of object, ratherthan to the kind receives detailed attention from Mr.
should be necessary,I then suggest of material. Dmochowski.
"Non-Europeantribalart." 7. That comparativestudyof "ethno- Innumerable traditional architect-
2. Indeed, "touristart" shouldnot be logical art" will have to use ideal types builders still execute buildingsand ar-
neglectedin thisfieldof study,at least of opposite pairs of formalcharacteris- range compound and village plans in
within certain limits. But then we ticsseemsto be a fundamentalpoint in the traditionalidiom,thoughchangeis,
should not forgetthat the art products the author's demonstration.Is this not of course,takingplace veryrapidly.In
whichhave been called "academic" also puttingthe cart before the horse?We many places where 10 yearsago whole
have to be studiedby arthistorians;the have to gatherthe art objects; to study compounds were built in the tradi-
more so as trade is certainlynot the themwith the appropriatestylisticcri- tional style,mud-blockconstruction has
main object in contemporaryBalinese teria; then to determinethe stylechar- completelysupplantedthe old methods
sculpture,modern paintingsof Congo- acteristicsof each group-whichmay be of hand-buildingforeverythingexcept
lese artists,or the textileart in thestate chronological,geographical,tribal, so- the beautifuland functionalgranaries.
of Bombay revivedunder the auspices cial, functional,or material;and finally For the biggestof these,the strengthof
of the public authorities. to determine evolutions and interac- hand-buildingis realised to be incom-
3. Haselbergerpoints out that com- tions.One cannot predictwhetherthis parably more suitable forresistingthe
parativestudyof "ethnologicalarchitec- will or will not lead to the discoveryof burstingload of severaltonsof grain.
ture"can onlybe successfulwhen based oppositepairsof formalstyleprinciples. By theuse of traditionalarchitectural
on architectural(meaningtechnical?on And in the meantime,in the state of formsand materialsin new buildings,
scale?) drawings.I wishto completethis affairshic et nunc,thiskind of discovery and by the carefulmaintenanceof old
opinion throughmyown museumexpe- is a loss of timeand of no practicalhelp mud buildings (of whichat least one is
rience,adding that studentsin the his- whatsoever. These are rather hard known to have had nothingbut super-
toryof artshould be trainedin drawing words,but it is myconvictionthat they ficial maintenance during the last
tout court,both artisticand technical. correspond to the present and real hundred years), the Federal Depart-
The same for ethnographers,who needs of thestudyof "ethnologicalart." ment of Antiquities is attemptingto
should also be trainedin the techniques [Antwerp,24.3.61] show that some of the despised ma-
of photography,music-recording, and terials and methods are in certain re-
dance-notation. By BERNARD FAGG* spectsbetterand stillinfinitely cheaper
4. As Haselberger undoubtedly The very full and useful discussion than the ubiquitous sandcrete block
knows,thereare otherelementsbesides on the most appropriate term to de- construction.
thedate of acquisitionand photograph- scribe "ethnological" art hardly re- 2. The possibilityof obtainingbiog-
ing thatofferpossibilitiesof establishing solves the dilemma, and it is to be raphies of artistsis not so rare in West
a terminusante quem: The changingof hoped that the time is not too far dis- Africa as Haselberger suggests.There
the shape of a head dressas a resultof tantwhen the mostaccurate term("tri- are still verymany practisingsculptors
an acculturationprocess for instance; bal" seemsto me to be the mostappro- in Nigeria (where it is not yet true to
or theself-disbanding or interdictionof priate) can again be used in popular or say that painting now best represents
a secret society,which may provide a semi-popularliteraturewithoutgiving the artistic abilities of the African
stylisticterminusante quem forcertain offence.For at the present time even Negro).
sculpture. Another instance is the Nigerian intellectuals who are com- 3. There are encouraging signs in
Ryamba-cult,among the Bena-Lulua, pletely objective in theiroutlook, and Nigeria thata limitedofficialpatronage
which ordered the destructionof the would agree that the term "tribal" is of sculpture is growing up for the
ancestorcult, and consequentlyof all the mostappropriateword,would pre- decoration of public buildings which,
the existing ancestor figurines,while fer not to see it used outside purely contrastingwith the uncriticalpatron-
prohibiting the manufactureof new academic literaturebecause of the emo- age of tourists,may perhaps bring a
ones; if its instructionshad been ob- tional reactions,howeverillogical they new possibilityof livelihood for tradi-
servedrigourously, thedate ofspreadof may be, which the use of the word is tional craftsmen.
thecult shouldhave been a magnificent likely to arouse. 4. The Nok Culture (so-calledafter
terminusante quem in thematter. 1. One of the present inadequacies the village where the firstterra-cotta
5. I do not understandwhya distinc- in the studyof tribalart,the neglectof figurineof this culturewas discover-d)
tion is to be made between formand the detailed studyof traditionalarchi- is not, contraryto the author's state-
structurein the studyof an art object, tecture,which is so poorlyrepresented ment, represented in European mu-
nor whyformas a sub-elementof struc- in the literature,is well on the way to seumsby a considerableamountof pot-
ture is differentfrom the first-men- rectification in respect of Nigeria, tery,thoughit will,it is hoped, soon be
tionedoutwardform.The materialand where the Department of Antiquities possible to supply replicas in terra
thetools,to a certaindegree,determine has since the beginning of 1958 em- cotta foroverseasmuseums.The entire

corpus of Nok sculpture,with one tri- Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
flingexception,is confinedto the mu-
seums at Jos, Lagos, and Ife, having beforethoseforthemorecomplex.Any of a Work of Art" is that the wooden
been excavatedby the Departmentof restrictionof the acknowledgedscope statues of Bushongo or Bakuba kings
Antiquities,or presented to the Jos of ethnologyforthesake of a minorad- are hardly more readily datable than
Museum over the past 17 years by vantage (even if it were a real one) otherAfricanwoodcarvings,except for
public-spiritedmining engineers.Nat- would be a grave disserviceto our sci- the statues made in the last 70 years;
uralismin the human form,which is ence. The political argumentofferedin the traditionaldates and attributions
thesubjectof the bulk of the specimens supportof "ethnologicalart," viz. that of the older ones are not necessarilyre-
so far discovered, is extremelyrare it is not associated with "backward- liable.
(though significantly not absent), ness," is of course entireli illusory: it Under "Criteria for Classification:
thougha quasi-naturalismis more com- will not take the "backward peoples" Purpose," I think that "(7) Art for
mon in the animal figures.The Nok long to discoverthat it has exactlythe art's sake" exemplifies(followingHim-
Cultureis now thoughtto be a product same meaning as the other words; in- melheber)a long-standing fallacyabout
of the revolutionbroughtabout by the deed they need not look beyond the tribal art-that it can be divided into
introduction of iron and probably end of thisarticle,where theywill find works of purely ritual or other utili-
flourished between about 400 B.C. thatthe correlativeof "ethnological"is tarian purpose and those-a small and
(probablynot as early as 900 B.C.) and "sophisticated."But in truth,while it anomalous group-of purely aesthetic
A.D. 200. That Nok sculpture was in may be rightin journalism to pander purpose. In fact all tribal art (like all
some way ancestral to the art of Ife to the inferiority complexesof the im- true art anywhere)has an artisticpur-
and Benin becomes more and more matureindividualsamong the formerly pose in that the artistintendsto make
probable as furtherevidence comes to "backward" peoples by accepting and it beautiful,but at the same time it is
light. [Jos,Nigeria, 13.3.61] afterwardsdutifullyrejecting an infi- alwaysan expressionof belief,art and
nite regression of shibboleths, it is belief being for any true artist in-
By WILLIAM FAGG*
surelynot rightin science; nor is it a separable and coterminous;only when
I am gratefulfor the invitation to complimentto the intelligenceof our their unity is underminedby intellec-
comment on this interestingarticle. Africanand otherfriends.Even "primi- tualizationor aestheticismdoes the con-
Haselbergeris to be congratulatedon tive" is not to be rejectedprimarilyfor ceptof "art forart'ssake" begin to have
her valiant attemptto codifythe pres- this reason, but rather because of its anymeaning,and thisneverhappens in
ent practice,and aspirations,of anthro- vaguenessand ambiguity. tribalart-indeed, it maymarkthe end
pologistswho study art. If some such What we need is a termconforming of it. In the case reportedby Himmel-
studentsshould feel that much space as closelyas possible to the ethnologi- heber,severalotherexplanationsare in
has been used in the elaborationof ob- cal reality.I have for at least the past factpossible (e.g. thatthe carvingshave
vious considerationsof common sense, 14 years sought diligentlyfor a better the same purpose as the bronzeplaques
let them rememberthat this valuable and more accurate word than "tribal," of Benin-conspicuous consumption),
facultystill deserts many of us from but have found none. Equally have I but it is improbable that any one of
timeto timein the field,and thatmany soughtand not found any valid objec- them is by itself correct.Since tribal
for whose work art studies are only tion to thisword,and certainlyneither art is essentiallyan art of synthesis,not
marginal may be glad of the formula- Gerbrands nor Haselberger has proof analysis,it is usuallymisleadingand
tion. I have reservations,
however,on a duced any. (I think,though,thatI have unprofitableto try to compartmental-
fewpoints and will deal with them in hit upon thereal, if unexpressed,cause ize the artist'smotives.
theirorder of occurrence. of their unease with it: it seems that A few paragraphs later, under
The firstand no doubt the mostseri- "tribal art" cannot be translatedinto "Form," Haselbergersuggeststhat "the
ous is a strongobjection to the term the Germanic languages. But this is style of an art work is best grasped
"ethnological art" in the title. I am no reason why English should deny through description." However, all
sorryto cross swordswith my friends itself.) "Traditional" is doubtless the visual art,and pre-eminently tribalart,
Gerbrands and Haselberger over this, next best word, and "Nigerian tradi- is concerned with the communication
but it cannot possibly be accepted, tional art" is recognizableenough; but of the ineffable(when it is not, it is
whether from the logical, linguistic, it is greatlyinferiorto "tribal" in that open to the criticismof being "liter-
scientific,or even political point of it loses mostof its meaningwhen used ary"); and it follows that its essential
view. First, if the term "ethnological as a generic term,and is then nearly naturecannotbe conveyedthroughver-
peoples" has any meaning at all, it as illogical as "native" or "indigenous." bal description,althoughits superficial
means peoples who study ethnology I would add in passingthatany term formalcharactersmaybe. The ethnolo-
ratherthan the subjects of it. (As well wide enough to comnprehend "tourist gist who proposes to study tribal art
apply the term "psychoanalyticalart" art" as well as tribal art is too wide to must recognize the obligation to ac-
to the works of the mentally unbal- be of any practicaluse. The two things quire the same skills as the European
anced.) But in fact it has no meaning, are absolutely differentin kind, the art historian,the ability to recognize
for all peoples without exception are formerphrasebeing almosta contradic- the style of a painter or a school in-
proper subjects of ethnological study tion in terms because, being "other- stantaneously,coupled of course with
(Haselberger herself draws examples directed,"thisis not reallyart at all. (I the ability to support his opinion by
impartiallyfromEurope and the tribal have, perhaps a little whimsically,re- stylisticanalysis and argument. Such
world); it has been recognizedfromthe ferred to the Afro-Portugueseivories skills he can acquire only by seeing
very beginningsof ethnologyand an- of the 16thcenturyas "touristart,"but and handling large numbersof works
thropologythat a concentrationof ef- the patronageinvolvedin thiswas of a of art (and reproductionsthereof).He
fort on the "primitive" peoples is a very differentorder from that of the must train his mind to be a kind of
temporaryphenomenon due to the bazaar goods of thiscentury,and I com- touchstoneof style,and mustrecognize
factsthat theirtraditionalculturesare pared them only in order to contrast that his judgmentswill often have to
doomed by theonsetof civilization,and the measure of artisticsuccess which be sustained,not by scientificproofs,
thattechniquesto deal withthesimpler theyachieved.) but by the approval of his fellows.The
culturescan convenientlybe developed A minorpoint under "Detailed Study analytical method is indeed valuable,
Vol. 2 *No. 4 *October 1961 365

but it must not be regarded as para- As for "Use of PsychologicalMeth- an insignificant and sporadicphenome-
mount or self-sufficient. ods," I preferto regard thiswhole sec- non, exceptwhen used in enhancement
I should be guiltyof le trahisondes tion as an awful warning rather than of sculpturesand especially of masks.
clercsif I did not here object, distaste- as a real promise of help from that But it is school art that Haselberger
ful thoughit is, to the inclusionof Segy quarter. Psychologyhas so far thrown seems to have in mind, and it mustbe
among serious authoritieson style in little significantlight upon the art of said at once thatarteducationhas been
tribalart,especiallyin view of the ex- the Western world, even though so (withrare exceptions)among the most
cessivevariability(to speak as kindlyas much of modern art is now Freud-di- signal failuresof the European mission
possible)of his illustrativematerial. rected; but even if it had done much in Africa,preciselybecause no attempt
As to the concepts Frontalityand more in this field,it would still be a was made to build on Africanaptitudes,
Space-Depth, I think that these are verydifferent matterto apply it in the European methods of teaching being
chieflyuseful in tribal art in assessing tribalworld,requiringa priordevelop- introducedwith little if any modifica-
the meritsof sculpturesand their art- ment of some neglected branches of tion.As in Europe, theteacherssentout
ists,those round sculptureswhose in- anthropology, and especially that were nearlyall painters,and those few
terestresides only in the front view almostnon-existent branchwhichI may who became enthusiasts for African
beinggenerallytheworkof poor artists perhaps call ethno-philosophy. I think sculpturewere often frownedupon if
(including the ungiftedsons of great that it will be verymany years before they tried to make use of it in their
masters).I would remark in passing psychologistsdevelop adequate tech- courses. African schoolchildrenshow
that artists do not observe laws, of niques to make valid contributionsto no less aptitude for painting than
frontality or anythingelse; the "laws," the studyof tribalart.In the meantime others,and indeed their work is in-
like the rules of prosody,are derived we should look with the greatestcau- distinguishablefrom that of children
fromworksof art by the "schoolmen." tion on writingswhich purport,how- everywhere;but it cannot be said that
Under "Cultural Context" Hasel- ever plausibly, to explain works of paintinghas caughton in Africaas an
berger suggests that we should ask tribal art in psychological terms,re- adult occupationor recreation,and the
whethera work belongs to the begin- memberingthatpsychologyis still (like handfulof "contemporary"artistshave
ning,the climax,or the end of develop- the tribal religions) to some extent a almost exclusivelyEuropean clienteles
ment of a style.With the exception of self-supporting logical system. and derive their art directlyor indi-
theBenin courtstyle,however,we must Under "Types of AestheticVision," rectlyfromthe School of Paris and not
not expect tribal art to run in cycles I should be inclined to add a fifthcate- fromAfrican sources. It is significant
similar to those which we can discern gory,"the integrated(or tribal) type." that thoseof themwho practisepaint-
in European art. Owing partly to the I mustdisagreeabsolutelywith Has- ing as well as sculptureare by common
lack of a unifiedartistictraditionlike elberger'sview that the time for col- consentbetterat the latter.Altogether
that of Europe; partly to the appren- lecting biographies of "ethnological a great opportunitywas lost by the
ticeshipsystem,operatinglargelyon a artists"has passed. On the contrary,it European educationalists,but it is to
hereditarybasis; and partlyto the ex- has onlyjust begun,forit is only in the be hoped thatwithindependencetheir
treme perishabilityof the materials, last few years that the importanceof Africansuccessorswill restorethe em-
thereis a constantebb and flowof style individual artists,as opposed to "the phasis to sculpture,thusgivingfreerein
and quality; and it is improbable that tradition",has begun to be recognized. once more to genuinelyAfricanartistic
any cyclical development that might Some of the best African traditional abilities.
be inferredfroma givengroup of works artistsare stillpractising,and innumer- Haselberger's useful summary of
of art could ever be shown to be appli- able finecarvershave died in the past Africanarthistorysuffers, I think,from
cable to more than the singlevillage or 20 yearsor so. Since it is still possible a tendencyto treatas establishedfacts
small districtin whichtheywere made. to collect eyewitnessaccountsof events propositionswhich are at best reason-
We must,moreover,rememberthe pit- which took place 70 years ago, it is able hypotheses;in fact,the scope for
falls of the "evolutionaryseries," the clearlypossible to collect life histories new research and interpretation is
arrangementby the ethnologistof a of most of the carverswho have flour- greater than is obvious from this ac-
number of variants of a given design ished in this century.The next 20 count.
traitin an order which seems to pre- yearsshould be especiallyfruitful,but I am much mystifiedby Mori's re-
serve the successive stages in its de- thereis no reason whysuch biographi- ported suggestionthat immigrationof
velopment from, say, a naturalistic cal research should stop then. More- Negroid peoples may have produced
representationof a lizard to a geo- over, it is certainlynot true that "the the stylisticrevolutionby which dynas-
metricallydecoratedlozenge. This can mostskilled artistshave been absorbed tic succeeded predynasticart in Egypt.
be a most instructivemethodof study, in the ranks of those producing art In fact,the artisticaffinitiesof Negro
providedthatwe do not suppose it pos- work for the touristtrade." These lat- art seem to be entirelywithpredynastic
sible by this means to determinethe ter are almost always of a very differ- Egypt, while the philosophical and
actual chronologicalorderin whichthe ent turn of mind fromthe true artist, mathematicalbasis of dynasticart and
objects were made, or even that in their motivation being wholly com- culture never seems to have had any
whichthe design variantswere firstin- mercial; their art does not come from influence in Negro Africa-although
troduced. In the case of sculptural inside them.Translation is rare. individual traits did of course travel
forms,we shall be more usefullyem- I must say that I am amazed to read greatdistances.In general,I thinkthat
ployed in collectingexternal evidence that 1950 was a great climacteric,be- the implicationsof the North African
about the dates and authorship of fore which wood-carving and after paintings require much furthercon-
worksby diligent enquiry in the field which painting best represented the sideration by Africanists;and in par.
than in trying,on a basis of stylealone, artistic abilities of the African Ne- ticularI do not feel that the represen-
to arrange them in a developmental gro; when I was visitingNigeria and tationof Negro masksin some of them
cycle. I make an exception for cases the Congo in early 1950, nowhere did can yetbe regardedas fullyestablished,
where, in the course of this century, I receivean inklingof such an impend- attractivethoughthe theorycertainlyis
a progressivedegenerationof a tradi- ing revolution.In the traditionalcul- to me. (I have discerneda Baluba mask
tional styleunder European influence turesof West Africa,I should say that in a Roman wall painting from St.
is discernible. paintingis hardlyanywheremore than Albans!)

The importanceof Kush as a cul- Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
tural mediator between Egypt and

Negro Africa,especially in the matter studyof any art must by its nature be studyof a workof artwithoutdetermin-
of cireperdue,is also verymuch a mat- farmore a humanitythan a science. ing its place in the total structureof
ter of speculation at present.The dif- [London, 1.4.61] the cultureas well as in historicalstyle-
fusion could equally have occurred sequences" than myown experiencein
across the Sahara fromRoman North By WILLIAM N. FENTON* documentinga mnemoniccane depict-
Africa.And it is perhaps an exaggera- The firstquestion raised by Hasel- ing the roll call of the Iroquois chiefs;
tion to speak of lost wax "flourishing" berger'sprovocativearticleis a proprie- which led from a museum specimen
in Egypt,since the Egyptiansused it taryone. Do we need a new termforthe to an analysisof the political structure
onlyforminusculeworks,and neverfor art of preliteratepeoples? The term of a confederacy(Fenton 1950). Hasel-
life-sizebronze heads, let alone the "primitiveart" was perfectlysatisfac- berger'sarticle is a salutoryexposition
near-life-size figuresof Jebba and Tada. toryin 1927, when Boas' classic treat- of thispoint of view.
I shall leave it to mybrother,B. Fagg, mentof thesubjectappeared,whichde- Methods of fieldresearchare inevi-
to commenton the Nok Culture. fined its nature in aesthetic appeal, tably adapted to the problem, the so-
The view, expressedwithoutqualifi- analyzed its formalelements,discussed ciety,and the terrain.Verbal accounts
cation, that the Ife styleis "the climax the relationshipof representativeart to of how to do it are alwaysunsatisfactory
of AfricanNegro art,"coupled withthe symbolismin all itsfacets,and explored but are helpful as check listsof things
later estimateof the present stylesas the problem of style,with particular to do. On the criteriafor classification
degenerationsfrom"the art of the old referenceto the elaboratedart formsof I have even less to say,lacking the op-
empires,"evincesan artisticpreconcep- the NorthwestCoast peoples of North portunityto checkthemin the context
tion of the European traditionwhich America. That he had probed to the of a researchproblem. But since I did
is shared with many writers(including foundationsof some universal human approach thisproblemseveralyearsago
the late Leonhard Adam). The refer- behaviortraitwas quite clear to Boas as and asked "Some questionsof classifica-
ence is not,of course,to the undoubted he concludedhis book; and it is notable tion, typology,and styleraised by Iro-
degeneration which has occurred in thatRuth Bunzel,in handlingthesame quois masks,"I mentionit now, if only
most, but not all, places in the past subject a decade laterforBoas' General to add a referenceto the literaturethat
half-century withthe decline of the old Anthropology(1938), had dropped the has escaped theauthor(Fenton 1956).It
religions under the revolutionaryim- qualifier and calls her chapter simply appears that styles, like ceremonies,
pact of industrial civilization. It is "Art."Admittedly, theterm"primitive" evolve locally, and exert strong feed-
clearly not a mattercapable of scien- is loaded withundesirablemeaningsfor back effects upon the formationof ster-
tific proof, but many others besides peoples of the world who are now eotypes,and this processmay be even
myselfconsiderthat the best worksof emergingto nationhood,and if carried more importantthan mythologyin de-
the period around 1900 (and some of to its logical extremityno people will termininghow the nativesconceivethe
later years)are superiorin artisticvig- want to be studied. And the termhas supernaturalsand classifymasks.
our and profound poetic expression acquired a tertiarymeaning as applied I find the possible correlation be-
of the fundamentalsof Africanbelief to a collection or museum of ethno- tween constitutionaltypesand artistic
to the admirablebut less movingcourt graphic objects of aestheticappeal to stylesan interestingidea which ought
art of Ife. Which of the old empires, collectors,a movementthat is now en- to be investigatedin the field,although
we mayin any case ask,has yieldedany joyingtheheightof fashion;and theob- it mayprove impracticableto bringoff.
representationalart at all? Such indi- jects are displayedout of cultural con- The depth and breadthof trainingre-
cations as we have suggestthat where text, scarcely hinting at the cultural quired is not the equipmentof the field
visual art was concernedthese empires whole that the anthropologist has ethnologistembarkingon a dissertation
were of a somewhatphilistine charac- strivenfor50 yearsto see and delineate problem. Masks offer,nevertheless,an
ter. (Fenton 1960: 342-43). For these rea- excitingpossibilityfor such a studyin
What evidence is therethat the Iron sons a new termmay be desirable,but areas where physical type, personality
Age began in the West Africanwood- is "ethnologicalart" any better? structure, and art stylesare well known
lands about A.D. 500? Since iron-work- My main objection to the new term and affordabundantdata. I have always
ing seems to have been known in the is the implicationthatit tends to limit been impressedby the contrastsoffered
area of the Nok Culture,on both sides ethnologicalinquiry to the culturesof betweenthefloralbeadworkof Iroquois
of the Benue, nearly a millennium peoples outside of the Western tradi- women and the grotesquecarvingand
earlier,it would be surprisingif it had tion-"to objects that do not belong to roughand readycraftsmanship of their
taken more than a few yearsto spread culturesusually included in studies of menfolk.One wonderswhetherthemen
to the Ibo or theirpredecessors. arthistorians.. ."-a tendencythatmay made the effigy potterypipes in prehis-
I do not knowof anythingin African be noted in theworkof our CentralEu- torictimes?
art (almost all found in West Africa) ropean colleagues. I should also like to see made some
whichis explained by tradebetweenthe I would agree that it is difficultto studiesof eideticimagery.AmericanIn-
East Coast and the Asiaticcountries. draw a line between art and non-art, dian art forms,includingmusic,stillof-
I findthe discussionof StylePhases a but I am also of the opinion that some ferattractiveopportunities.
littleobscure.But it is most important art arisesout of sheervirtuosityin the [Albany,New York,25.3.61]
not to attemptto establishthemon too manipulationof set forms,and thatthe
global a scale; we shall be luckyto suc- "aestheticintention"maybe secondary. By DOUGLAS F. FRASER*
ceed withinthe tribe,and untilwe have With muchof thearticleI am in sub- Haselberger'sattempt to impose or-
done so with many tribes it will be stantial agreement,and the suggested der on the studyof "ethnologicalart"
worse than useless to attempt to con- program of field studies is laudable. deservesfull discussion.She has rightly
structlargertheories. Each of us can documentfromhis own stressedthe importanceof painting,ar-
If I maymake one moregeneralcom- fieldexperiencesome point that bears chitecture,and "tourist art," subjects
ment,I would say that,while our great on thisprogram.I can thinkof no more neglected by anthropologistsand art
need in tribal art studies is for more convincingdemonstrationof the thesis historiansalike. And hersuggestionsfor
facts,we should never forgetthat the that "one can never make a detailed field research,if carried out, will add
Vol. 2 -No. 4 *October 1961 367

extensivedata to therathermeagerfirst- as the traditionalneed for the artist's cal sense, than the art of Egypt or the
hand sourceson the non-Westernarts. workcontinues(Firth 1951: 171). That AncientNear East; thiscan only mean
Much as I applaud these achieve- the Western usage is indeed recent is of Neolithic originor earlier.
ments,I musttake exception to Hasel- shownby the etymology of theword art Several independentsourcesconfirm
bergeron a numberof keypointswhich itself.This term was not used in the the Neolithic basis of the heart-shaped
might otherwise stand unchallenged. modern sense of somethingvalued in- face.It occursin figuresfromsouthwest-
Most of thesehave to do withher con- dependentlyfor its aesthetic qualities ernEthiopia (Leuzinger1960: Plate 62).
ceptionof art and of art historyas ex- until the second half of the 19th cen- This culture area, as Murdock (1959)
pressedin her reconstruction of the Af- tury. and Crawford(1956) have emphasized,
ricandevelopment. While Haselberger's conception of is distinctlyMegalithic in character.
Firstofall thereis a real dangerin the art is enriched by a strong personal Similarmortuaryfigureswiththe heart-
rigid application of method or system viewpoint,herreconstruction ofAfrican shaped faces are found among the
to so elusive a subject as art. In dis- art containslittlein the way of new in- Pende (Sousberghe1960) in association
cussingclassificationprocedures,Hasel- sightor information. Relyingheavilyon with horn spiralsand double axe sym-
bergerinsistson separation according Davidson (1959), a far fromadequate bols. All of these devices suggestpre-
to media. Applied with moderation, source,she concludes: Egyptianlevels of society.
this technique will often clarifyprob- Looking furtherafield,we observein-
lems; but it should never become a The bulkofpresentstylesof tribalcarv-
ing,painting,and buildingin Africaseem stances of heart-shapedfaced wooden
dogma. Objects converted from one toreflect,
in a moreor lessdegenerate
man- figuresin Neolithic contexts in the
medium to another withoutchange of ner,theartof theold empires. Mediterranean,NorthernEurope, and
form(called skeuomorphsby Haddon Asia, forexample a 3rd Millenium B.C.
1895) are among our most important But it is a strikingfact that almost all figurefromthe Ural Mountains (Mon-
historicalphenomena. of these old empires-Kush, Meroe, gait 1959: 101). Poor preservationcon-
I also question the general utilityof Zimbabwe, etc.-lie outside the heart- ditionsand theriseof morenaturalistic
cyclical or polar art theories. Hasel- land of Africanart, the area embraced interpretations of the face have elimi-
berger,whilesharingsomeofmyskepti- by the Niger and Congo drainages. natedmanyof theearlydata.
cism,at thesame timepayslip serviceto Only the relativelyrecentSudanic em- I cannot at thistimeexpand fullyon
"ideal" pairs of formalextremes.Scha- pires and the Nok-Ife-Benincomplex the implicationsof this discovery;ob-
piro (1953) has shown how dubious and perhapsSao are close enough to the viouslycertaintraditionalpositionswill
thesetheoriesare, even forWesternart. Niger-Congoareas to have participated have to be abandoned beforenew ones
In practice they tend to rigidifyinto in anysuch developmentof art. can be investigated.But it should be
personal systemsthat disregardquali- In truththe finestAfrican arts-the noted that Haselberger also observed
tative differencesin style. Similarly, sculptureof theNiger-Congoarea-have thisconnection:". . . theabstractmurals
cyclical theoriesignore the social, his- theirsource in the Neolithic era. The painted by the women,based on tradi-
torical,and economic forcesthat mold key evidence is a complex formal ar- tions that can be traced back to the
and modifyartisticforms. rangement-calledfor the sake of brev- neolithicMediterraneancultures."Un-
On theotherhand Haselbergerseems ity, the heart-shapedface-which per- fortunately she did not pursue thisline
to discardone of our fundamentaltools meates the entire Niger-Congo area of reasoningfurtherin her reconstruc-
when she rejects the so-called "law of from the Mendi and Baga in Sierra tion of the historyof Africanart.
frontality."In Lange's view, certain Leone and Guinea to the Makonde of [New York,1.3.61]
aesthetictraitssuch as rotationof the Tanganyika (Fraser1961).
axis of the body, avoidance of main- Basically,theterm"heart-shaped"de- By ROBERT BRUCE INVERARITY*
prospect,etc., can arise only afterthe scribes a method of carving the face When asked to commenton such a
earlierphases of frontal,rigidconform- which is as follows: the area fromthe paper as this,embracinga wide field,
ityto theblock,etc.,have been attained. eyebrowsto the mouthis hollowed out one's tendencyis eitherto generalizein
Greek,Romanesque,and Chinesesculp- fromthe cylindricalshape of the block. a fewremarksand say the paper is well
turefollowssuch a processof compara- The eyes and nose are left behind as done although thereare certainpoints
tivedevelopment.In a less evolutionary highreliefforms.The heart-shapedarea of disagreement,or to attempta really
way this approach helps to classifythe then extendsfromthe eyebrows-often criticalevaluation,whichin manycases
arts of Africa,Oceania, and America. shown as twin arcs-down across the would mean writinga book. I am not
The example of Eskimosculpturecited cheeks,convergingin thevicinityof the going to venture the latter approach,
by Haselbergeris obviouslydue to re- mouth or chin. The clearestinstances but shall offera fewgeneralremarks.
cent acculturation. of the heart-shapedface are in Pangwe, Haselberger's Introduction is liable
Haselberger also lays considerable Kwele, and Lega masks,but it predomi- to arouse disagreementas the author
emphasis on "art for art's sake." Of natesalso throughouttheCongo-Gabon triesto establisha basis fromwhich to
course aestheticfeelingprobablyexists region and in Ibo, Ibibio, Ijaw and begin. Regardless of whetherthe sub-
in all artistsof whateverculture.But it Senufo, Dogon, and Bambara carving. ject under discussionis just plain art or
is no serviceto primitiveman to attrib- The Niger-Congoarea, as Greenberg primitive,tribal,traditional,native,ab-
ute to him certainattitudesthatcrystal- has recentlyshown,is one of linguistic original, indigenous, folk, popular,
lized in Europe as a resultof special cir- homogeneity.Since the heart-shaped high,low, applied, plebeian, ethnologi-
cumstances. Until the 19th century, face extends throughoutthis area, its cal, anthropological,exotic,ancient,or
Westernartalwayshad an ulteriorfunc- comparative rarity in Nigeria and ethnicart, the problemof terminology
tion-glorificationof a ruler,desire for neighboringareas suggestsan intrusion has long been under discussionand no
salvation,organizationof the external of some sortin theLower Nigerregion. doubt will be forsome time.However,
world,etc. But with the breakdownof The presence of Nok, Ife, and Benin I am in agreementwith her position
traditional values and the disappear- furtherindicates that this intrusionis thattimewill clarifythisissue although
ance of sources of patronage, artists one associatedwithhigh culturesstem- not necessarilywithone term.
turned to "art's sake" for self-justifica- mingultimatelyfromtheAncientNear It is diffcult,if not impossible,to de-
tion. Such a situationnever existed in East. The heart-shapedface, on the fine a work of art-witnessed by the
primitivesociety,and neverwill as long otherhand, mustbe older, in a histori- number of volumes in any art library
368 CURRENT ANTHROP O LOGY

devoted to thissubject. I am not sure Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
thata long-lastingworkingformulafor
all timesand places has been or can be The remainderof thearticleincludes even say that the studyof Westerncul-
developed.Also,I am not surethatsuch pointswithwhichone could argue,but ture(art,literature, music,dance) might
a formulais necessary.What createsan this would vitiate a most worthwhile profitfrom the viewpoint of cultural
art experiencefor one person may not attemptto clarifya complexityof issues relativism,which is more consistentin
createa similarexperiencefor another and approaches. The author has con- anthropologythan in any otherbranch
person.In certain instancesthe stimu- sidereda mostdifficultsubjectin a very of the humanities.
lus forsuch an art experience may or direct manner. Haselberger's reitera- Haselberger stresses,as mentioned
may not be a work of art. I do not be- tion of the need for more intelligent earlier, the importance of obtaining
lieve that the motive involved in the and organizedresearchis sharedby any- "new conceptual tools"; but in spite of
productionof a work of art is a valid one remotelyaware of the art-anthro- useful dichotomiesand some clarifying
standard-manypieces of non-arthave pology field; and in turn she has pre- definitions,I still have the feelingthat
been createdwithgood aestheticinten- sented a carefullyconsideredapproach fundamentaltermsare used in an im-
tions. to develop such a method of study. precise way. The terms motif, style,
Haselbergermakes no efforthere to [Blue Mountain Lake, New York, form,naturalistic,realistic,stylized-to
considerthe frameof referenceof the 15.3.61] mentiononly a few-are used in a very
observer.What maybe a workof art to ambiguous way in the literature on
one personin one culturemaycertainly By ARNE MARTIN KLAUSEN* European art,and I do not feel thatthe
not be acceptable as a work of art to Haselberger'sarticle is a veryuseful authorclarifiestheseterms.
anotherpersonwitha different cultural summaryof our presentknowledgeof Under the firstheading, "Form," I
backgroundor at a different time.If we "primitiveart." (I do not like the term find expressionsthat I should like to
are dealing withethnologicalart,as de- "ethnologicalart," but use the strictly have more clearly explained. Hasel-
finedby the author,the possibilityof a technicalterm"primitive"in themean- berger writes: "Another basis for the
varietyof cultural framesof reference ing of "non-literate.")The articleis also classificationof art objectsis analysisof
then presentsa "towerof Babel" as to of greatvalue as a kind of micro-edition theiroutwardform,or stylecriticism."
what is a work of art. To say that "a of "Notes and queries in anthropol- Are "form analysis" and "style criti-
Melanesian carvesa paddle and strives ogy," specially made for the scholars cism" synonymous? And what is really
to give it a beautiful form" and from who deal with artisticactivityin a so- meant by "stylecriticism"in this con-
thispredicateit as a workof art due to ciety. text: Is it criticismin the sense of
this aestheticintentionleaves me con- The author stressesthe importance "good-bad," or does it just mean "an-
fused. Beautiful by whose standardsof "proper methods,"and states that, alysis"?The next sentencereads: "The
the Melanesian's, the author's,thoseof for the anthropologiststudyingart in styleof an art object is best grasped
the Westernworld,or whose? primitive societies, "new conceptual throughdescription."I really wonder
To saythat"artis involvedonlywhen tools must be forged." I completely what is meant by "style,"if there are
the action producesresultsdesigned to agree withthisstatement.But I am not any methodsfor discoveringthe "style
affectsomeone,and is not,like play,an surethatwe have so muchto learn from of an art object" other than "describ-
end in itself"is equally confusing.Is it the "conceptsof European art history." ing" it. I would also commenton the
notpossiblethatan object thathas been The studyof art in Westernsocietyhas following sentence: "The individual
created in play, even scratcheson a alwaysaccentuatedthe aspect of evalu- styleof any workof art is broughtout
rock,by a person of one culturecould atingworksof artaccordingto aesthetic mostclearlyby comparisonwithsimilar
be classifiedas a workof art bysomeone criteriapeculiar to our society.The art objects." Here I wonderwhat is meant
else of the same cultureor of another historianand art criticcollaboratevery by "individual style."PersonallyI find
cultureand time? This typeof premise intimatelyin our society,which results it impossibleto use an expressionlike
would also presuppose that we know in a tendencynot to separate pure de- this,since to me the word "style"pre-
the motivationsof all the creatorsof scription from value judgments. At- supposescomparisonwithotherobjects,
worksof art or non-worksof art. temptsto establishanalytical termsin similaror not. Styleis to me an abstrac-
In all of the above, we have great thescienceofWesternart traditionsare tion dealing with the similaritiesbe-
problemsofsemantics.We also have the more characteristic of the criticthan of tween objects. Suppose that we found
problemwhetherthe particularsociety the analyticalscientist.In seriousworks in Antarctica a unique specimen. I
or culturewhoseworksmightbe under one can even see the word "style"used would not talk about "the style"of this
discussionhas any conceptof a workof as a qualitativeterm,e.g. withthemean- specimen,but the form.But if a second
art. ing "good style,"accordingto accepted specimen were found ten miles away
Under the subheading Present In- criteria. fromthe first,it mightbe useful to in-
adequacies, as well as in otherparts of In thestudyof social and politicalor- troduce the term "Antarcticstyle," if
this article,many anthropologistsand ganization,which has played a domi- the specimenshad traitsin common.
museumpersonnelwill findstatements nant part in anthropologyduring the These commentsmay seem trifling,
withwhich theywill disagree.My feel- last decades, a set of descriptiveterms but I cannot get away fromthe feeling
ing is that some research and publi- has emerged;everyoneknowsthemean- that what we need is to work on the
cations, perhaps not widely enough ing of clan, moiety,polygyny,polyan- primary terms,such as form, motif,
known,have escaped the attentionof dry,and so on. There are few anthro- style,and a few others,ratherthan to
the author. The plea for a systematic pologistswho, in the descriptionof a startworkingwithpreciselydefinedpsy-
collection of material and its study is social structure,use thesetermswithan chological dichotomies.For a limited
one with which I am in full accord. A ethicalvalue bias. Thus, in myopinion, analysisof basket-workornamentation
number of years ago I did a great the mostimportanttaskforthe student among someDayak groups,I have tried
amount of research and tried desper- of artmustbe thatof adoptingthe same to establisha set of analyticaltermsfor
ately to establish an organized file of precision that the student of kinship this special material; and those inter-
such materialin micro-reproduction for and marriagehas evolvedsince the time ested in detailswill findthe titleof the
such study,but was unable to findsym- of Radcliffe-Brown, and to getridof the book cited in the references.
patheticor active response. tendencyto be value-oriented.I would Haselberger seems to be very much
Vol. 2 *No. 4 - October 1961 369

interestedin stylisticdifferences, and simplifiesas representation,meaning, deityworkinghis wondersto perform,
especiallythose "in the formalartistic and significance.Panofsky, however, art is mere illustration,and the art ob-
character."For this reason she stresses made it clear that to know the exact ject, as Haselberger insists, is deter-
theimportanceof comparingobjects of meaningof an old object,we musthave minedbyitsculturalcontext.It remains
identical material, made by the same a text.But textsare lackingforall non- the view of many art historians,how-
technique,and with the same purpose literate or preliteratecultures. These ever,thatno theoryof historicalchange
and content,"so thatdifferences caused short-circuitsin the second layer throw can be valid if it fails to account for
by thesefactorsare minimal."Of course us back upon "significance"or intrinsic those indeterminateor mutational as-
thisis veryimportant;but one mustnot meaning, where the precision of ade- pectsof happening,of whichimportant
forgetthepossiblevalue of theopposite quate proof is unattainable.In respect worksof arthave alwaysbeen our clear-
procedure.In studyingan area, a tribe, to "form,"finally,Haselbergerreviews est evidence. In other words, to her
or a group of any kind,with the inten- forus some selected"ideal typesof op- 7 varietiesof artistic"purpose" ("moti-
tion of analysing the interrelationof posite pairs of formalcharacteristics," vation" would have been preferable),
art and society,I feel that the common like "tectonic-atectonic," "haptic- an eighth should be added to suggest
traitsin theartobjectswould be ofmost optic," etc. We need to work more on the absolute primacyof artisticactivity
interest.For thatreason I would choose the theoreticalassumptionsof thesedi- as an exploratorymode of sensing the
not to followHaselberger'sadvice, but mensions,whose completion,or at least universe.This mode may be shaped by
ratherto do the opposite. I would first enrichment, is a mosturgentimmediate culture,to be sure, but it exists inde-
and foremostcompare objects of differ- tasknow confronting studentsof art. pendently and outside many of the
ent material,differenttechnique, and It may also have been precipitateof stock responses of cultural condition-
with differentcontents and purposes. Haselbergerto have said so categorically ing. In contrastto the anthropologist,
By introducingall these variables,one that "the art of ethnological peoples who shelvesart under culture,the art
has an opportunityto see the so-called differsfromotherartonlyin degree."A historianalwayswantsto invertthisor-
real artisticor formalunityin the area, case can still be made for certain dif- der,by lookingto artistsforthe clearest
thegroup,or in theworkof a particular ferencesin kind, as when we consider manifestations of thosenon-rationalim-
artistif his productioncomprehendsall the groupingof peoples havingliterary pulses toward change without which
the variables just mentioned. By this traditionsabout art, including artistic therecan be no history.Haselbergeris
procedureone mightget more insight biographyand art theory.The artistic far more inclined to believe in the ra-
intotheart-creating processesand might behavior of these groups differsradi- tional characterof artisticactivitythan
also discoverthe degreeof interdepend- cally fromthe affectivehabits and tra- I am: she sees it as culture-bound,pur-
ence betweentechnologicalfactorsand ditions of non-literatepeoples. This poseful,and determinate, whileI regard
the ideas of "beauty" in the particular distinction,betweenFar Easternor Eu- the work of art as more indeterminate
society. [Oslo, 1.3.61] ropean peoples and "ethnographical" and non-rational,transcendingits cul-
peoples,as to the large constellationsof turalframework wheneverit is a prime
By GEORGE KUBLER* artisticpractice,is not only objectively object ratherthan a replica of another
Haselberger'sarticle achieves a com- verifiable,but it even givesHaselberger object.
munication of some utility to those her central idea of separating "ethno- [New Haven, Connecticut,27.3.61]
anthropologistsand art historianswho logical art" fromall otherart.
usually seem to navigate upon parallel I am not sure,in any case, thatHasel- By HENRI LAVACHERY*
and separatecourseswithoutcommuni- berger'stopographyof artisticactivity The criticismspassed on the term
cation.She definesartas affective action is completeenough. She is rightto in- "primitiveart" afterthe publicationof
governed by aesthetic intention. The clude "tourist" art as a presentrday Gerbrands' paper (1957) are a matter
idea not only satisfiesthe art historian, emergentwithglobal diffusion, but she of common knowledge and are per-
but it also enlargesthe anthropologist's makes no mention of the provincial fectlyjustified.In my opinion, though,
standard of art as a manifestationof stylesand the rusticarts that preceded the expression "ethnological art" is
play impulse, a preconception which modern touristproductionsand indus- even less satisfactory. Stating the par-
Haselbergerfirmly ignores. trial expressions.Furthermore,her re- ticulartypeof investigationwhich one
Her idea of the "structure"of the strictionto "finearts" (includingarchi- applies to a given object hardly con-
workof art as a manifoldof dimensions tecture,painting,and sculpture,as well tributesto the definitionwe are after:
in material, technique, purpose, con- as "arts and crafts")makes many diffi- no one is, afterall, likelyto call modern
tent,and formis also convenient,and cultiesin respectto the culturallyvari- art "aestheticart" because most of the
it gets us past the usual anthropologi- able thresholdbetweenartisticand non- people writing about it are aestheti-
cal restrictionto materialand technical artisticspheresof human activity.Her cians.
classing.It is worthrecalling,however, remarksimplythatalthougheveryman- As I see it, the rightapproach is once
thatmaterialsand techniquesare easier made thingmay be art,we stillhave to and for all to avoid lumping together
to describe than purpose, content,or draw a line betweenart and non-art,a under a single general termthe arts of
form,so that her enumerationmay be boundaryvaryingaccordingto culture Africans,Oceanians, Amer-Indians,etc.
takento correspondto an increasingor- upon some undivulged principle.As a Any one term singling them out and
der of difficulty,easiest with materials, result,two identicalobjectsof different settingthem apart from the universal
and hardestwith form. culturaloriginsmighthave to be classed trendofhistoryof artmakesforneither
Our perplexities begin with "pur- one as art and the otheras non-art,de- morenor less than a colour-bar.Alleged
pose," since aestheticintentionis usu- pending upon the shiftinglocus of the basic differences betweentheirartsand
allydetectedthroughtheabsenceof any imaginedboundaryin the two cultures. oursappear to me as so manymisunder-
rational or rationalized purpose. To If we returnto the vexed question of standingsrooted in a certainfailureto
these difficultiesI shall return below. artistic"purpose," thereaderwill recall understandthe phenomenon of art it-
"Content" in turnoffersan even more that Haselberger proposes 7 varieties. self.
perplexinglogical dificulty.Following These are all endocultural,i.e., subor- To all appearances,we have by now
E. Panofsky(Studiesin Iconology,1938) dinate to a conceptionof cultureas the done awaywiththeobsoleteoversimpli-
Haselberger speaks of "three layersof supreme and all-embracingentity of ficationsof 19th-century evolutionism.
meaning for an art object," which she existence.By this view of cultureas a But did we actuallygetrid of a nostalgia

for "progressin art"? Are we immune Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
to sentimentallongingfor a "transcen-
dental beauty"whichonce servedas the urges us to observe and describe the However,when one looks for a con-
criterionforthe "real workof art"?All physicalstructureof the art object, the ceptual framework withrespectto types
this,of course,does not mean that we processbywhichit is made, thelocation of societies included in Haselberger's
are not perfectlyentitled to like the of its place of originand use, the point fieldof interest,one is confused.I have
Venus de Medici betterthanan African or points in time throughwhichit per- attemptedto deal withthisproblemin
sculpture.The real point is that our sists,and the position of the art object my paper, "Toward a Definition of
personal preferencefor the Venus de in its culture.Also we are urged to col- PrimitiveArt," in which the problem
Medici should not induce us to look lect thebiographiesof artistsand inves- of comparisonof art formis put aside
upon Africansculptureas a clumsy,un- tigatethevariousrelationshipsof art to by not assumingit to be a criterionof
skilfulperformance. economy,social organization,and intel- developmentof society.Since art is the
Does Haselberger manage to avert lectual life. Finally,Haselbergerpoints phenomenonbeing studied,assessment
this type of mistakewhen statingthat towardthe possibilitythat the strange, of the degree of its formal variation
"the art of ethnologicalpeoples differs exotic,and largelyunknownsystemsof mustbe a resultof study,and mustnot
from other art only in degree"? She primitiveart may be found to have his- be partof the data whichare to be ana-
goes on to insiston the fact that "the toriesof art, completewith historically lyzed. Thus in my view, the total pos-
fine arts of all ethnological peoples significant of art,and other
artists,works sible field of studyis divided, in what
share enough common features. . . " favoriteproblemsof art historians. I hope is a significant way,into the arts
and by so doing attempts to justify Haselberger addresses her paper to of primitive and civilized societies.
(withoutproving her case) that a ge- art historians,asking them to extend Haselbergersees thatsame totalfieldas
neric term,which I personallycannot theirintereststo include primitiveart non-divisible,sayingthat there"are no
accept,is applicable. so that a world-widehistoryof art can stylisticcharacteristicslimited exclu-
Many laymen or immaturestudents be approached,and to ethnologists, ask- sively to [this field of art]"; and also
will,as a matterof fact,make "common ing them to studythe art traditionsof that (1) the art of ethnologicalpeoples
features" out of superficial material the peoples theydeal with by means of differsfromother art only in degree,
analogies. The specialist,however,can- "aestheticas well as ethnologicalinves- and (2) thedifference is notsufficient
for
not be fooled. No doubt, in-say-Afri- tigation." Her article "is designed to designatingit by a single distinctterm
can art,the functionof the workof art broaden the range of vision of ethnol- that is both accurate and definitive,
is the fundamentalraison d'etre. But ogists and art historians,so that they suitable for application to the art of
did thingswork out differently among understand each other's methods and "all ethnologicalpeoples." Haselberger
the Greeks(even forPhidias) or during thusarriveat a new method." statesthat the termethnologicalart is
the European Middle Ages? Beauty- On the whole Haselberger succeeds negative,and is "no more than a work-
or better,perfection-isto be regarded in presentingto art historianssome of ing term."
as an attributeof supernaturalpower. the methods necessaryfor work with It is clear then,thatHaselbergercon-
Decline or transitionin religiousfeeling non-literatepeoples, and in suggesting sidersthefieldof interestcoveredbythe
bringsabout a certaindisregardof the to ethnologiststhat art can be studied term "ethnological art" to be an all-
transcendentalfunction.There enters as the centerof a web of functionally inclusiveterm,one whichis verysimilar
"art for art's sake" (in which our own related aspects of culture and society. to Gerbrands' "non-European art"
historicalperiod has a share). However, one is tempted to quibble (Gerbrands 1957: 24). Both termsare
If a division between the arts turns here in sayingthat art historians,used relatively free of invidious connota-
out to be indispensable,it should of to workingin libraries and museums, tions, but present difficulties, even as
course avoid taking into account his- will not have much zeal for pursuing provisionalor workingterms.The cate-
torical periods, countries,and above ethnologicalfieldresearch;and on the gorynon-Europeanwould exclude the
all "races,"and should turnto a classi- otherside,ethnologists who are not now art of paleolithic Europeans, about
ficationwhich would group together, interestedin art as a focusof theirstud- whomGerbrandssays(1957: 11):
on the one hand, "functional arts" ies will not suddenlydrop their other
(function taking precedence over investigationsin favorof art research. Primitivecan certainly be used to indi-
cate the initialstageof humancultureas
beauty), and on the other, "sensorial Thereforethe question arises: who, ac- such,but thenit mustbe understoodas
arts" (with beauty as the one raison tually,will benefitfromthe paper? referring to thecultureofpaleolithicman,
d'etre). Adopting such a classification It will obviouslybe persons already whichdoes indeed,as far as we knowat
forwhat it would be worth,the ethno- orientedtowardthe studyof primitive present,represent theearliestphasein cul-
turaldevelopment.
graphical methods outlined by Hasel- art,includingthose in historyof art as
bergerwill no doubt prove useful,pro- well as thosein anthropology.In either The term"ethnological,"except for
vided that they are supplemented by case,it seemsto me thatwould-beinves- the bias of ethnologistsfor working
aestheticmethods. [Brussels,6.3.61]tigatorsof art would be most pleased with primitivepeople, cannot be re-
withthe advice on fieldmethod,which strictedto suchpeople. Ethnologistscan
By PHILLIP LEWIS* is practical and thorough,but would and do work with urban and peasant
As a studentof the phenomenon of be confusedby and unhappy with the Europeans and with peoples of similar
primitiveart, I admire and congratu- lack of a conceptual frameworkwhich social organizationfromother parts of
late Haselbergeron her brave attempt definesand limitsthe fieldof study. the world,and thusthe termethnologi-
to deal withthissprawlingand peculiar The advice in the sectionson Collec- cal art could include the art of all peo-
field.In addition,as a museumanthro- tion, Description, Inquiry, Observa- ples observedas livingpeople.
pologist,I am pleased to state my ap- tion,and Detailed Studyof a Work of A more serious objection to the use
preciationforher awareness(1) thatart Art could help verymuch in collecting of the term "ethnological art" is the
objects actually exist as material arti- and investigatingart in the field,but implication that the art of archaeo-
facts,and (2) that,in addition to merely could also furnishnecessaryorientation logically known peoples is excluded.
collectingthem,thereis (or should be) for investigationof undocumentedart Again, we can referto paleolithic art,
a fairlycomplexprocedureof documen- objects in museumsand private collec- which would not be included. There
tationbased upon fieldobservation.She tions. are differencesbetween archaeologi-
Yol. 2 *No. 4 - October 1961 371

cally-recovered art and that collected ent knowledge these can be anythin compare "ethnological art" from
from and studied in living societies. but intriguingpossibilities.The discus Africawith that of Greece and Rome.
Archaeologically-recovered art consists sion of typesof aestheticvision and o But we can work on the diffusionof
mostlyof objects made of durable ma- an "eidetic" typeof person seem to b, motivesof art fromthe Mediterranean
terials,whichhave survived.Knowledge similarlypremature.For instance,if i into North Africa and, for instance,
about their socio-culturalcontext is were found thatpersonshad natural o Benin.
based more upon inferencethan upon artificiallyinduced eidetic capabilities Furtherstudywill reveal to us that
direct observation. The study of the theirart expressionswould stillbe prc relations between the art of different
art of ethnologically-known peoples is duced within a socio-culturalframe regions of the world are so intricate
methodologicallydifferentfrom study work, and would be subject to man that the mere differentiation of "eth-
of archaeologically-recoveredart; but it non-personaldeterminingforces.How nological" fromother art-such as the
does not followthat the art is different ever,it would certainlybe pertinentt( art of "civilisationson a higher level"
in any significantaspect. Arbitrarily describe such talents,if observable,i -will become more and more obsolete
cuttingoff an archaeologically-known a contextof biographiesof artists,or o and impracticable. [Munich,16.3.61]
historicaldimension from the culture recruitmentand trainingof artists.
historyof a studied group is not what In conclusion, despite the severa By C. NOOTEBOOM*
Haselbergerintended by the termeth- negative points raised, I must empha Comparingthemethodsof art history
nologicalart.Indeed, in thesectionHis- size that I found Haselberger's pape: with the methods of the ethnological
toryof AfricanArt,archaeologicalevi- informativeand stimulating.Especiall, disciplinecan surelybe veryuseful;and
dence is used freely. good is the clear aim throughoutth( in my opinion the methodologicalin-
A minorobjection to the termis that paper that it is art which is beinc troductionof Haselbergercan be very
"ethnological"gives a falselyscientific studied by using anthropologicalanc stimulatingfor the ethnologicalstudy
aura to the objects whichare preserved art-historicalmethods and concepts of so-called primitiveart. I reject the
in museumand privatecollections.Mu- Anthropological approaches to ar term"ethnologicalart," as I reject the
seum anthropologistswould be de- often attempt to use art to discove: term "ethnological peoples." In Ger-
lightedto have the carefuldocumenta- somethingabout culturehistoryor th( man, "EthnologischeKunst" and "Eth-
tion, the functionalexplorationof the nature of society,procedureswhicharn nologischeVblker" may be acceptable;
art object in its contextthat the term perfectly valid, but whichdo not tell u but in English,as in Dutch (mymother-
implies.In actual factmanyart objects much about art. [Chicago, 24.3.61 tongue), we cannot go furtherthan
are collectedbyamateursand oftenlack perhaps "ethnographical art," as we
documentation. By ANDREAS LOMMEL* already speak of "ethnographicalob-
Under the subheading Form, in the I am, of course,gratefulfor the de jects" or "ethnography."
section entitled Detailed Study of a tailed list concerningthe methods ol While fully appreciating Hasel-
Workof Art,Haselbergergrappleswith studyingethnologicalart; but I am nol berger's attempt to cross-fertilize art
one of the crucial problems of the in favourof the termitself.Haselbergei history and ethnology (cultural and
study of art, in attemptingto tell us herselfpoints out the uselessnessof all social anthropology),neverthelessI see
how to describe and analyze art form. attemptsto formulatean accurate and serious objections. An object of prim-
Since most of us avoid this area in a generallyaccepted term.The new term, itive art can be appreciated as such
cowardlyway, it is hardly fair to say it seems to me, is not adequate either, when it evokes emotions of aesthetic
thatI do not regard the systemof con- and is only a furtherprovisorium.Defi value. But when we investigatethe ob-
trastingopposingpairs of typesof form nitionsof art are a special problem. ject we look for its qualities which
as ideal for use with primitiveart. I So far, there exists no generallyac- cause these emotions; in other words,
would prefera moredirectand descrip- cepted definitionas to what art really fortherelationsbetweentheobject and
tivesystem, perhapsone whichrefersto is. In spite of all the scholarlyefforts itsviewer.And continuingour inquiry,
elementsof formin geometrictermsas of Greek,Chinese,and Japanesephilos- we searchforthe originof the qualities
suggestedin Gardner (1936: vii-xv) as ophers,as well as Westernscientists, we capable of evokingemotions.Certainly
thevisual elementsof art expression. still cannot say when and why the we see that these qualities are man-
The sectionon Use of Psychological dabblings of prehistoricmen become made. The art-objectas such is nothing.
Methods seems to me the least promis- art; and when and why-if at all, for It has value throughthe qualities it re-
ing or usefulpart of the paper. In con- that matter-the works of modern ceived at the hands of a man. This
sidering the section Constitutional artistscease to be art and become some- man, who is part of a societyand who
Types, for argument'ssake, let us as- thingentirelydifferent. has a part in a culture,is the real ob-
sume that the statementis true that"it The Staatliche Museum fur Volker- ject of the inquiry, and throughthis
is quite certain that connections be- kunde (National Museum of Ethnol- man we tryto investigatethe culture
tween constitutionaltypesand artistic ogy) in Munich has collectionsof ob- and the societybehind him as human
stylesexist." Until we have accounted jects of art from every part of the phenomena. This culture and this so-
for the determiningeffectsof cultural world. This fact is pointed out to the cietyare the real objects of our study,
and social contextson art styles,how public by calling it a museumfor"aus- and not our piece of art.
can we tell what psychologicalfactors sereuropaische Kunst." The rather In arthistory,theobject maypossibly
have helped to differentiate Dorian and negative term "aussereuropaisch," have the appearance of independence,
Ionian art,or the art of Florence from which means non-European,has been more than in anthropology.But this is
thatof Venice? One implicationof this chosen in order to point out that nothingbut an illusion. In art history,
is: as anthropologists,we must master European art is not to be found in this too, it is not the object in itself,but its
and analyze the data and problemsof museum,but ratherart fromanywhere relation to people, and its qualities as
our discipline (art in its social and else. human work, which ask for investiga-
culturalcontexts)beforeit is possibleto In studyingthe art of various parts tion.
deal with psychologicalaspects of art. of the world, I think that mere geo- Haselberger, however, looks at the
It is possible that thereare correlations graphictermswill be sufficient in many object and wants to studythe man be-
between art styles and psychological cases, while other termswill be inade- hind it only forthe object's sake. This
factors,but I cannot see thatwithpres- quate for various reasons. We cannot is, I think,the reason that she is not

diggingdeep enough in societyand in Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
culture to come to a satisfyingunder-
standingof the art-object. Sumba (Indonesia). An attempt to be studied by cultural anthropologists
Art for art's sake is veryrare in so- studysuch objects of art leads us to an primarilyas socially,economically,re-
called primitivesocieties.The fewcases inquiryinto the totalityof the culture. ligiously, etc. functional objects, the
we findin theliteratureare perhapsthe The methods of art historyand psy- functionof whichis reinforcedby their
exceptionswhich prove the rule. Or chologymaypossiblybe of use, but will aestheticimpact.Art forart'ssake does
theyare not whollyauthentic:Is influ- in mostcases not be relevant. occur,but even in our own societiesthis
ence fromWestern culture out of the The pieces of primitiveart of finest is limited to a few really gifted and
questionin the fewknown cases? quality are those which reflectin the sensitiveintellectuals.
The qualities of an art-objectwhich highestdegree the total conception of 3. The definition"ethnologicalart"
qualify it as such are never meant as culture and universe. They certainly is to the cultural anthropologistnot
only aesthetical.They always have a are the best made, forthe strainof the only a purelynegativeone, but it also
practical purpose: they make the ob- artistin expressingthe highestvalues engendersa vicious circle; the more so
ject better fit for its function in the will be strongest;and only the best- as the authormakesmentionof "ethno-
culture.The aesthetical"get-up" of an qualified artistwill dare to undertake logical peoples," i.e., peoples studied
object, its ornamentation, the well- such a holy labour. by ethnologists.There is anothercom-
balanced tensionin formand in colour, An object of art is, in a sense,a con- plicatingfactor.To an economistthere
are means to a betterresultin its func- densed piece of writing.We can com- is an essential differencebetween the
tioning,and not means to make some- pose an ideal evolutionary series economyof the Aranda and the econ-
thingbeautiful. (whichdoes not necessarilycorrespond omyof the U.S.A. To the studentof art
I value Haselberger's observations to reality)beginningwithart symboliz- (as well as to theartist!),thereis no such
on "methodsof fieldresearch"as very ing mythologicalconcepts via ancient differencebetween, e.g. a Dan and a
usefulfor an anthropologistinterested Egyptian picture-writing and Chinese Japanese mask,a Benin and a Tibetan
in art, when the research-worker keeps idiographicwritingto other alphabets bronze. Although this is not true of
in mind (as an anthropologistcertainly of more generaluse. music and architecture,arts which are
will do) thatnot theobject,but the peo- The artistcomposesin his art the ex- moredependentupon technologicalde-
ple, the society,and the culturebehind pressionof his image of culturalvalues velopment,the problemmentionedre-
it remain the real topic of his investi- in conformity with the societyof which mains to be solved. As it remainsto be
gation. he is a memberand the culturehe lives seen, moreover, whether "hochkul-
The detailed desiderataof the author in. turen" and "intermediate" cultures
regardingthe examination of an art- These ideas I missed in the contem- should not also be studied by cultural
object are, I fear,a little too idealistic. plations of Haselberger.It is clear that anthropologists, n'en deplaise the
Only in veryrare cases will the investi- her interestin "touristart" in thisline sociologists,it mightbe suggestedthat,
gator be able to pursue the ways indi- of thinkingis of only little amplitude. for the present, art should not be
cated by the author.Especially,psycho- In thiskind of artisticcreationthe ten- studied as ethnological and high art,
logical researchon the artistand on the sion of intercoursewith the highest but always inductively,as the art of a
public in his environmentwill confront values is lacking,and the resultwill be particularculture.
most anthropologistswith a task for weak and of little importance. 4. For similarreasons,it may be sug-
whichtheyare not equipped. When we [Rotterdam,9.3.61] gested that the question of the scope
consider the urgent need for general of primitiveart should be reduced to
anthropologicalresearch,and the rapid By FOKKE SIERKSMA* the question of the scope of art in gen-
disappearanceof peoples untouchedby 1. The authoris to be complimented eral. This is either a matterof provi-
Western culture (New Guinea is the upon her articledealing with a subject sional and inductive common sense
only large region where we can find which is as difficultas it has been (e.g. Herskovits1948: 380), or a matter
extensivepossibilitiesfor this kind of neglected. Her confrontingcultural of philosophical analysis based on the
research),we cannot devote much time anthropologyand art historyis a valu- findingsof comparativepsychology(cf.
and attentionto art. The people, their able undertaking,since many points Gehlen 1960). If both approaches are
society,and their culture are the real have to be cleared up with respect to kept separate, they may be useful;
object of our study,and inquiriesabout this much needed co-operation.More- though sometimes,of course, we may
art problemsare of interestto us only over,her articledemonstratesthe value gain a new insightby creatinga short-
when relevantto them. of CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY, e.g. broach- circuit;but see under Point 2. And at
I said that Haselberger,by concen- ing pointsofview thatare not generally any rate, a conscious aesthetic-artistic
tratingher attentionon the art-object, known, and pointing out the signifi- intentionon the part of the artistdoes
is not digging deep enough. Her re- cance of the workof Vandenhoute.On not seem sufficient to delimitthe scope
markson content,form,and structure one point at least all the studentscon- of art in general.Mutatis mutandisthe
seem to be superficial.The culturesin cerned will not differ:i.e., practically words of Lao Tse will be true many
questionare in realitytotalcultures.An everytopic in this field awaits further times: "The trulyvirtuousis not con-
art-objectof some importancein such a study.With respectto the scienceof art scious of his virtue." Especially where
culturemustbe expectedto representa thiscertainlyis not a truism. sacred art is concerned, people in
part or an aspect of the totality.Con- 2. The fact that the studyof art has homogeneouscultureswill more often
tent, form,and structure,as well as been much neglected is in itself sig- ask "Is it correct,accordingto the pre-
eventualornamentation, will reflectthe nificant.Art-objectsare either articles scribed rules?" than "Is it beautiful?"
thoughtson the universewhich are ex- of luxury, not connected with man's (sandpaintings, Egyptianstatues, Ti-
pressed in mythology.The representa- primaryor secondaryneeds,or theyare betan thang-kasand bronzes; comp.
tion of an importantgod, or of a fore- utensils (be it domestic or religious) Sierksma1960: 35 and passim).
father,can be a structureof symbols that also have an aestheticaspect. This 5. Sometimes Haselberger slightly
depicting part of the mythology.The may implythat to the culturalanthro- underratesthe workalreadydone. Con-
same can be the case with cult-objects, pologistthe functionof art is a second- sidering the painstaking studies of
or with the beautiful ikat-clothsof ary onLe,and that objects of art should Gladys Reichard (1939, 1950), it is
Vol. 2 No. 4 - October 1961 373

ratherdifficult to maintainthatNavaho abstract.A religiousimage consistsof or the studyof art,which is moreoverin-
sandpaintings"await systematic investi- is one or more key stimuli.In thisway sufficiently studiedand difficultto grasp.
gation." With respect to individual man knows what to expect in his Surely, therefore,we should take to
style,Bunzel's work might have been "second" ideological world, which, in heart the final sentences of Hasel-
mentioned,especiallyas it deals witha itselfevasive, is filteredand therefore berger's article: thoroughly detailed
highlyintegratedand socializedculture stabilized.A carefuldecipheringof the studies should take precedence over
(Bunzel 1929). With respect to style,I key-stimuliis thereforenecessary. It generalizations. [Leiden, 20.2.61]
should like to mention Meyer Scha- goes without saying that this is only
piro's article in AnthropologyToday possible withinthe contextof the par- By P. JANVANDENHOUTE*
1953). ticularculture (Sierksma1960). In the absence of any discipline ac-
6. Of coursesystematic fieldstudyon 11. As an exemplaryanalysisof form creditedwith the ethnologicalstudyof
a large scale is a top priority.But is not and content,the studiesof Levi-Strauss the plasticarts,it is necessaryto empha-
the author a bit too optimistic?To my should have been mentioned (Levi- size, prior to any discussion,the merits
knowledge,reportsfromthe areas she Strauss1958: 269-94). of Haselberger's endeavor. If, in our
mentions are not very encouragingif 12. "Ethnologicalart is far too alive, opinion, her "Method of Studying
one wants to studya cultureas a func- too real and corporeal,to be subject to EthnologicalArt" does not compensate
tioning whole. According to Levi- mere aesthetic laws." One should forthislack of a well-foundedmethod,
Strauss(1953: 550): "Unfortunatelythe heartilyagree with this statement,es- this firstattemptdoes raise a host of
native cultureswherewe used to gather peciallywhen primitiveart is compared heterogeneousproblemsof varyingim-
our data are disappearingat a fastrate, with much of modern cubist etc. art. portance,whichdemand above all a rea-
and whattheyare beingreplacedby can Nevertheless,primitiveart may also be soned systematization, a selectioneven
only furnishdata of a very different veryabstractand yet full of meaning: more rigorous than that proposed by
type."This is valid as well forNavaho Pueblo pottery,the Great Man and the theauthor.This has an undeniable heu-
sandpaintings as for Tibetan butter- Caribou God of the Naskapi, the v6v6 risticvalue.
reliefs,leaving aside more permanent of the Voodoo cult, the Australian sa- We have no intentionhere of listing
art-objects,whichare gone too. cred patterns, etc. (Speck 1935: 83; or discussing this range of problems,
7. It seems to me highlyimportant Sierksma1960: 19f.). whichwould take the greaterpart of a
that Haselberger also includes the 13. AlthoughI myselfam verymuch large volume.We-shall attemptonly to
"tourist art," as this is almost always in favourof a psychologicalapproach, rediscoversome outline of essentialele-
passed by in silence. To the cultural wheresuch an approach is possible and ments which, in our opinion, should
anthropologist, however,thisart in the the cultural context is sufficiently govern a method for the ethnological
firstplace should be an opportunityto known, I cannot but doubt whether studyof theplasticarts.
studyacculturativeprocessesas reflected "individual psychologyand psychologi- It is clear that,to avoid the dangers
by art. In thisconnectionI should like cal typologypromisegood results."In of founderingamong ineffectualtheo-
to stressthe utter necessityof a con- the firstplace, "individual psychology" ries, a rigorousclearing of the encum-
tinued penetrating study of modern up till now in this fieldhas produced beredgroundshould be undertakenfor
American Indian painting in its ac- verymeagreresults.In thesecondplace, the sole aim of again findingthe ele-
culturativecontext,and of similarart- psychologystillhas not solved theprob- mentaryfoundationsof a formerly ana-
formsin Africaand elsewhere.In this lem of the classificationof constitu- lyticalstudyof theworkof art-and one
case all the necessaryconditions and tional types (thereare almost as many bordering,throughcomparativemeth-
requirements, rightly stipulated by classificationsas psychologists).In the ods, upon an ethnologicalor anthropo-
Haselberger,are still there.Againstthe thirdplace, verylittle is known about logical theoryof the plastic arts. This
backgroundof theworkalreadydone, it the relation between constitutional, would be as profitableforart historyas
is to be expected that the study of psychological,and cultural differences. for ethnology.
modern Pueblo and Navaho painting Why, for instance,are all Tchambuli
will also produceinteresting psychologi- men artists(Mead 1950: 164-89)? Also Clearing the Ground
cal results. in this fieldthe old question is still ir- A criticalreviewof ethno-artistic lit-
8. In the above-mentionedconnec- ritating:Where does natureend, where eratureand researchfromthe 19thcen-
tion,the"art" of childrenshould not be does culturebegin? turyto the presentday, startingwith a
neglected. 14. The examples of the wilful de- systematicanalysis of the opinions ex-
9. With respectto the different pur- structionof art,given under "Ideology pressed by art historiansand ethnolo-
poses (functions)of art,as faras art for and Art,"should ratherbe regardedas gistsas well as by the art critic,would
art's sake is concerned,attentionmay the results of acculturativeself-agres- undoubtedlygive us the opportunityto
be drawn to the possibilityof loss of sion than as the effectsof a world- reject a quantityof theorieswhich are
function,which may result in an art conception of a societyhostile to art. attractivebut can no longer withstand
for art's sake with almost purelyrecre- "Throw 'em away, those bloody New criticism.
ational aspects. The admirable, sober Guinea things"-a slogan of the Vailala Such an historicalcritique,whichhas
but penetratingworkof F. E. Williams Madness, recordedby Williams-is not not been written,would also point out
deservesto be mentioned in this con- an ideological protest against art as that the ratherseverejudgmentpassed
nection (Williams 1940: 414ff. and such, but agressiveliquidation of the on ethnologistsby L. Adam is fullyjus-
passim). art whichremindspeople of a particu- tifiedand has lostno value when turned
10. As to the contentof art,mention lar societyof their own inferiorityas against the art historians.Adam says
mightbe made of the hypothesisthat comparedwithwhat theyexperienceas (1958:115):
one of the main functionsof sacral and the superiorityof the White man and Even today,most ethnologists, unless
religious art is the "filtering"of the his culture. theyhave also studiedthe historyof art,
worldof theunseen,withtheresultthat 15. Differencesof opinion-some of havean attitudeofremarkable indifference
religious images etc. are communica- which have been formulatedin this and lack of understanding towardthe ar-
tion-signsor shorthandsymbols.There- comment-areveryoftendue to thefact tisticqualitiesof primitive works.
fore it does not matter whether re- thatwe don't know enough. As already Aside fromthediscoveryofgaps,such
ligious images are realistic or highly mentioned,this is especially valid for a systematic history will apprise us of a

mass of otherelementswhose value is Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
debatable and whose nature may ad-
vance or confinethe efficacyand clarity Althougha greatpart of artisticpro- the elementaryprinciplesof any meth-
necessaryforany method.Let us mark duction is thus excluded from ethno- odology.
out, among these elements, terminol- artisticstudy,this assimilationof the The workof art,conceivedas a par-
ogy,thewell-knownsourceof a host of conceptsof art and beautyis not at all ticularentityof formand content,calls
misunderstandings, and thereforea cru- unusual in cultural anthropology:Ac- foran initial distinctionbetweenthese
cial startingpoint for a reciprocal recording to Herskovits(1948:380, 413): two aspects,of which one-the form-is
adjustmentbetween art history and Artis tobe thoughtofas anyembellish- by naturerathermaterialand tangible,
ethnology-twosciencesin the midstof mentof ordinarylivingthat is achieved whereasthe other-the content-is of a
ritesde passage. Aside fromthe modus with competenceand has describable spiritual order. The interactions of
operandi et procedendi adopted, it is form. . . . It is the expression of the de- thesetwo aspectsare multipleand com-
sireforbeauty.
clear that these two sciences are in ur- plex, and are neither constant nor
gentneed of a commonlanguage. This The experienceof the beautifulis no permanent.
furtherimplies that they will have to more than a particular aspect of the A more incisiveanalysisof the work
rid themselvesof ideas about art which aestheticexperience,properlyspeaking. of art, such as that made by Gotshalk
arebased too much-not to sayentirely- The latterincludes a quantityof other (1947), allows us to distinguishas uni-
on Westernart,an aspectof artisticcre- aspects,e.g. the experienceof ugliness, versal aspects classed in organic order
ationthatis veryimportant,but limited of horror,of the hateful,of surprise,of and makingallowance forverycomplex
in space and time. the comic, the tragic,the religious,of interaction, the aspects of material,
clannish sentiments,etc., no two of form,expression,and function.More-
An Example of Faulty Terminology: which are mutually exclusive. Surely over, one or another of these aspects
the Term "Aesthetic." Aestheticsis concerned with recogni- may take for itself a hypertrophied
We shall not discuss the term "eth- tion of some modificationsof the ex- value, to the detrimentof the otheras-
nologicalart,"since Haselbergerherself perience of the beautiful! pects.It should be noted thattheseuni-
is sufficientlyaware that this "working Let us retainthe aestheticexperience versalaspectsexistonlyas a functionof
term"sharesquite a few disadvantages in its proper sense, i.e., the perception the artistand the public.
with the dozen or so other termsre- of the workof art and the impressions,
quired by circumstances;rather, we emotions, associations of ideas, im- The Aspect of the Material
shall turn to other terms that Hasel- pulses,and reactionsthat issue fromit, The raw materialswhich the artist
berger believes herselfempowered to without neglecting the experience of uses to make the aestheticexperience
use withoutdefiningtheirsense.An ex- thebeautiful,or even excludinga priori possible are by nature very divergent:
ample is the word "aesthetic." the experience of disinterestedpleas- coloring materials, grains, fibers,
It may be noted that the author,ap- ure, however problematical. plumes, various types of wood, of
parentlyindebted to art historymore metals,or of stone,clay,sand, ivoryor
than to ethnology,gives this term a The StartingPoint foran Ethnological bone, tortoise-shell, and many others.
meaning that assimilatesthe aesthetic Studyof thePlastic Arts To thesewe mayadd raw materialsof a
concept to that of beauty,thus linking We hold the immediateobject of the quite differentnature, such as the
the existenceof art to the presence of ethnologyof art to be the study of sounds, words, and movementswhich
beauty-to the "beautiful form"-and works of art in space (all continents) governother formsof art and allow of
hence stipulatingthat an object "may and time (fromprehistoryto the pres- other aestheticexperiences-whichare
be treatedas an art object because of ent), and of the consequences of the not,however,as constantlyconspicuous
this aesthetic intention." "Non-aes- aestheticexperiencefor the individual as those resultingfromworksof art of
thetic factors-content and purpose" as well as the community(obviouslyin- a plastic nature.
are contrastedwith "the formal aes- cluding that of the artistor artists).In The choice of any raw material by
theticelement,"whichevokesa trouble- consequence of thisprecision,it is well the artist is conditioned as much by
some discussion concerning the aes- to emphasizethe importanceof the cen- physicalenvironmentas by the cultural
theticfunctionsof the workof art,and tralobject,whichis theworkof artitself (effectiveor non-effective appearance;
those functionsof a non-aestheticna- as the startingpoint for a method for purchase by distant markets;necessity
ture.It is, in short,a petitio principii! the ethnologicalstudyof plasticarts. of expeditions;conditionsof a magical
But Aestheticsmustrecognizetheam- The work of art is by nature an en- nature; etc.).
biguityof theconceptof beautyand the tityin its formand content.Like hu-
beautifulas one of its major difficulties. man culture, this particular entity The Aspect of Form
As long as the aestheticexperienceof specifiesitselfin those aspects of uni- The raw materials,which are form-
a workof art is conceivedas equivalent versalnatureofwhicha systematic anal- less (although occasionally allowing
to the perceptionand appreciation of ysis seems to permitus to outline the some einfiihlung),integratethemselves
or even frameworkof a method along several into a new entity,especiallya form,as
the beautiful,it will be difficult
impossibleforus to justifytheuse of the principal lines. a resultof the directingideas and tech-
word "aesthetic" in an ethnological It is necessaryto emphasize Hasel- nical capacitiesof thepersonor persons
study,as well as in a sociologyof art in berger'smeritin wishingto concentrate who make the art object.
general. Even if one attributesto this her methodon a "detailed studyof the Each raw material imposes its own
aestheticexperiencethe sense of a feel- work of art." Unfortunately,she has laws, which are different forwood and
ing of well-being,or the delightevoked not succeeded in detaching the conse- for clay, differentfor brass or bronze,
by the workof art,or if one assumesby quences which intrudebeforehurrying startingnormallyfroma materialthatis
definition"a qualitybywhichan object to a "mutual dependence and interac- softand capable of being molded. The
arouses disinterestedpleasure in the tion of material, technique, purpose, raw material is ultimatelyshaped ac-
person perceiving it" (Maquet 1954: content,and form,"thuslosingherway, cordingto theprinciplesinherentin the
64), one scarcelyconceals the nuances in our opinion, in an unco-ordinated nature of the work of art, i.e., by the
of this same equivalence of art and successionof ideas, concepts,and prob- principles of harmony, equilibrium,
beauty. lems. This is clearlyincompatible'with symmetryor asymmetry,and others.
Vol. 2 -No. 4 - October 1961 375

Thus the formexhibitsreadilypercep- artisticcreation with the object of ac- pect of an artistic creation. Note here
tiblecharacteristics whichenable one to complishingitspropertaskis called the that the function of the work of art is
definein a formalmanner,by meansof functionalaspect,whichis moreoverof not always constant or permanent.
morphological analysis (or stylistic primordialimportancein ethnological The function may, on the other hand,
analysis),the morphologicalcriteriape- study. determine the choice of raw material as
culiar to the plastic work of a single Studyof the use and functionimme- much as it may impel the artist to the
artist,or thosecharacterizing diatelyraises the question of the pres-
theartistic creation of a form adapted to some
creationsused by a communityof any ence of the work of art and, even practical use arising from the function.
order,or those of works occurringin more, that which we have called its Yet in realizing a creation, the artist is
somegeographicalarea,or thoseofsome functionalcontent(Vandenhoute1960). not always conscious of the eventual use
earlylevel of a culture. The ethnography of some peoples or the future functional content of his
Comparativestudyof the morpholo- showsus that the presenceof the work work.
gies which show themselvesin an ex- of art maybe real, and even of an effec- The presence of a monoxyl socle un-
tremelyrichvarietywill lead to classifi- tive permanence with respect to the der a large Senufo anthropomorphic
cationsinto stylisticregions(horizontal aestheticexperience;or a presencethat figurine could well derive from its use
or vertical),like thoseset up by Linton is of short duration, or cyclical; or a as a pestle by means of which one
and Wingert (1946), Olbrechts (1946), presence that is effectivebut invisible strikes the soil to promote the fertility
Gerbrands(1950), Burssens(1958), and and veryspiritualin nature.It mayhap- of the earth or to invite the dead to as-
Maesen (1959), being rather applica- pen that the work of art is strictlyre- sist in some ceremony (Holas 1957).
tions to the plastic arts of the "cultureserved for those persons who are suf- In a study concerned with art and so-
areas" of cultural anthropology.An- ficiently qualified. ciety (Vandenhoute 1960), from which
other stylisticclassification,related to Having called attention to the spe- we have reproduced here some conclu-
the sculptureof the Dan and Gere of cificpresenceof the work of art in re- sions, we attempted a functional analy-
the Ivory Coast (Vandenhoute 1948), spect to means of communicationor sis of a ridge sculpture of the Bapende
should more closelyapproximate "cul- culturalreality,it becomes necessaryto of Kasai (Central Africa).
ture patterns" in specifying,not so mark thatwhichwe call the functional
much centersof style,as nuclear styles content,i.e., a purportof ideas or im- Conclusions
resultingfromdifferent pressions,of sensationsor impulses,ex-
artisticvisions. Starting with these few essential
It should be noted here that a study periencedin a preciseor a vague fashion premises, it seems to us possible to at-
of thegenesisof forms,whichshould en- by the person or persons who use the tempt a provisional systematization,
gage all our attention,will also confrontworkof art in some manner.These sen- based primarily on a method centered
us with the interdependenceof mor- timents and impulses of which the on the work of art:
phologyand other aspects of the work motive is considered present (among
of art as well as of the entireculture. others,by the expressionof the form A. ANALYTICAL
broughtabout by means of the mate- 1. Morphological analysisand classification
The Aspect of Expression rial), or is imposedas a resultof various of the work of art in space and in time
The formresultingfromthe techni- eventsor circumstances, do not always (stylisticcritique), which comprises the
cal and spiritualactivitiesof the artist depend on themotifmade by the artist, fieldworksui generisin the private col-
lections, the museums, and the litera-
should,by definition, permitan impres- nor on expression,and need not neces- ture. Moreover, we think that it is of
sion of the whole. In short,it is the sarilyaccord with the aim and the in- greaturgencythat the museumspublish,
source from which spring the senti- tentionsthat the artistplanned at the if not detailed studies, at least icono-
ments,ideas, and associationsof ideas, time of the realization of his work. graphic archives, annotated with the
data at their disposal.
whichare extremely variedand veryun- Hence the aestheticexperience of the 2. Functional analysis and classificationof
stable,sometimesdistinctlyfixedor else expressioninherentin the formmaybe, worksof art.
completelyunfixed.This subject is by by nature, completelyopposite in two 3. Practical method of field work of the
naturedelicate and not easilyrecogniz- individualsor groupsof individuals,of ethnologyof art:
a) the work of plastic art
able, especiallyin the presentWestern whichtheone is consciousof functional b) the artist (male or female):
world,whereit is more subjectivethan content,and the otheris not. -as a member of a cultural commu-
in thosemilieux studiedin ethnology. Knowledgeof functionalcontentand nity;
If it is truethatthe expressioninher- the breadth,in the user,of thatknowl- -relations with his colleagues;
ent in theformof theworkof artis one edge of eventswhichconditionthe mo- -initiation to his craft
-technology
of thefactorsimpregnating, to a certain tifwhich provokesstabilityor changes -as a creative personality
extent,the aspect of function,it is no in thepersonalor social behaviorof the c) the user of the work of plastic art.
less truethatthe presenceor absence of individual,allow us finallyto set offthe It is worth noting that a practical
an empiricalknowledgeof the particu- cultural(or social) functionat the same method of fieldwork should preferablybe
based on vertical studies in depth and
lar use and the specificfunctionof an time as the artisticrole of the work of should, throughextremeflexibility,aim at
artisticcreationis an imperativefactor art in question. stimulating the initiative of the qualified
of firstimportance,directingthe conse- An ancestorfigurineburied beneath researcherwith a view to the discoveryof
quences of an aestheticexperience. A the house effectively fulfillsits cultural unknown facets.
Dan mask fromthe IvoryCoast amuses functionforthosewho are consciousof B. SYNTHETIC
thosewho are aware of its proper func- the invisible presence and those who
tion, whereasotherswho lack this em- have had the aestheticexperiencewith- An ethnological method for the mor-
phological and functional study of the
pirical knowledge will experience a out thisbeing able to recur. plastic artsshould give rise to an ethnologi-
feelingofanguish,whileperhapsadmir- The ethnologistwho undertakesthe cal or anthropological theory of plastic
ing thegood technicalqualities and the studyof art mustnot ignore the differ- arts in general, and ultimatelypermit an
originalityof the sculpturein wood. ent aspects,nor the multiple and com- adequate comparison with Western arts
and those of the Eastern world.
plex interactionsof thoseaspectswhich
The Aspect of Function finallyresult in a particular entityof Let us emphasize, finally, one of
By definition,the workof art has its formand content,and as such makes it Haselberger's conclusions: "Many tasks
own ultimatefixedgoal. The use of the impossibleto isolate the functionalas- await future research.P rchent. 1.3.611

Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
By JAMES WALTON*
In attempting to find a convenient ti- in the inevitablegeneralization.Unless A glance at thebibliographiescompiled
tle to cover the subject of this study, great care is taken,such generalization by theBuilding ResearchStationof the
Haselbergeruses the term"ethnological can easilylead to inaccuracy;and there Departmentof Scientificand Industrial
art,"in which"ethnological"is given a are a number of cases where this has Research and the VernacularArchitec-
restricted
meaningby definition.By ex- arisen.A typicalinstanceis affordedby ture Group will quickly demonstrate
tendingsuch a usage to "ethnological the statement: that our knowledgeof folk building is
peoples,"we arriveat a termwhich is not so meagre as Haselberger would
While studying African murals, I was
not only awkward but also etymologi- able to distinguisha men's and a women's have us believe.
cally and grammatically unsound, and style.Women restrictthemselvesto secular These commentsare not intendedto
whichis adequatelycoveredby the sim- abstract decorations,which sometimesin- detractfromthe importanceof Hasel-
ple word"folk."The objectionsput for- clude highlystylizedhuman figures,musi- berger'smain theme,namelytheurgent
cal instruments,tools, etc. They use only
wardagainst "folk" are based on false the three traditional colours of Negto necessityfordetailed studiesof folkart
premisesresulting from an incorrect Africa,black, red, and white. and folk building,but merelyto stress
usage of the word. "Folk art" does not the dangersin attemptingto coversuch
denote "everythingnot belonging to Althoughthisstatementmay be true a wide field. There is undoubtedlya
high art or higher applied arts," nor fora certainpart of West Africa,it can- veryreal need forsuch studies,and the
does it require a markedsocial stratifi- not be applied to "Africanmurals" in lines of approach and projects which
cationforits existence. general.The Ndebele and Sothowomen she outlines emphasize the enormous
Writing of "folk song" and "folk of South Africa use whatever local gaps whichstill exist in our knowledge
dance," Fox-Strangwaysstated (The ochres are available, and with the in- of thesesubjects.
Observer,June 19, 1938), troductionof washingblue and enamel There are many points on which I
paints a full range of colours is em- should like to comment,but in particu-
'Folk' means'all humanbeings'.You are ployed. Nor do the women restrict
a memberof the folk,so am I. 'The folk' themselvesto "secular abstractdecora- lar I wish to supportHaselberger'scon-
never meant 'yokels'; these . . . were the tentionthat certain "ethnologicalpeo-
'lewde men' as opposed to 'lettredmen'. tions," although these are by far the ples" do paint murals simply for the
There is ample evidencethat what was mostcommon.Nevertheless,thereare a aestheticpleasure which they provide.
sungand dancedin Langland'sdaywas the number of instances of Sotho women The traditionalhome of the Southern
sameforall, and thatin theseoccupations, decoratingtheirhut walls withnatural-
castleand cottagemet on equal footing; Sothowas a thatchedbeehivehut which
and thoughdameofhighdegreemadeone isticrepresentations of animals (Walton affordedno opportunityfordecoration.
thingof themand serving-maid quite an- 1958). When the Sotho adopted the cone-on-
other,yetbothsharedonefancyand moved By attemptingto cover such a wide cylinderdwelling theyalmost immedi-
to one rhythm, as theirmoderncounter- field,other inaccurate impressionsare
partsmay. ately began to decorate the mud walls
given,due to theauthor'slack of knowl- with fingerpatterns,with different col-
To thisstatementlorwerthPeate adds, edge of therelevantliterature.A case in oured ochres,or with mosaic patterns.
"Though this quotation refersspecifi- point is the sentence,"The bark,mud, The latter were introduced by the
cally to folk-songand folk-danceit is or wood muralsof ethnologicalpeoples Taung, who stuckpebbles in the mud
universallytrue of folk life." in Africa... have seldombeen investi- wall to protectit fromthe rain. Ulti-
In his Presidential Address to the gated and are ratherundervalued."But matelytheyarrangedthe pebbles in de-
British Association for the Advance- our knowledgeof Africanparietal art lightful mosaic patterns which were
ment of Science in 1958, Peate stated is byno meansrestrictedto theworksof quickly copied by the neighbouring
that Cory,Haselberger,and Redinha. A con- tribes.
siderableamount of workhas been car- I have questionedhundredsof Sotho
some Americananthropologists cloud the
issue by differentiating betweenfolkand ried out among the Berbers, notably by women, both young and old, as to the
urban,and folkand peasant,communities. Paris but also by Terrasse, Adam, meaning or significanceof their pat-
When such special meanings are given ar- Jacques-Meuni6,and manyothers.Simi- ternsbut theyinvariablyreply,"They
bitrarilyto the term folk,the exposition larly,themuralart of Uganda has been have no meaning;we just producewhat-
of our studyis reduced to incoherence.The
studyof folklife,as I see it, is the study studied by Margaret Trowell (1953), ever patternwe feel will make the hut
of the way of life of communitiesand of and in South Africamuch has been re- look beautiful";and I have been unable
nationswhich are comparativelyunaffected corded of the wall paintings of the to find any evidence to indicate that
by a high degree of industrialization.... Ndebele and Sotho-Tswana(see Walton these wall decorations had any other
But thereis no exclusionof any class
withinthecommunity. 1948-1949; 1956). sourceof origin.
A furtherexample is affordedby the [Rondebosch, Unionzof South Africa,
In 1952 at the inaugural meetingof statementthat "research on architec- 1.3.61]
the VernacularArchitectureGroup the ture,with a few exceptions(Beguin et
term"vernacular"was adopted in place al. 1952; Engestrom1957; Glick 1956, By GENE WELTFISH*
of the moreusual "folk,"but it is not a Phillips 1952, 1955) has been confined The proposal here made that the
termwhich has been widelyaccepted- to ethnological,economic,or sociologi- ethnologistand the art historian de-
although it is gaining ground and is cal problems."This completelyignores velop "a combined approach" in the
used by Conant in his Carolingianand the workof Terrasse,Paris,Adam, and fieldof ethno-artis a verywelcomeone,
Romanesque Architecture,800 to 1200 Jacques-Meuniein the Atlas; of Des- particularlyto an ethnologistforwhom
(1959). I feel, however,that the terms pois,Bernard,and Crawfordin Tunisia; art studyhas been mainlya functionof
"folkart" and "folkbuilding," used in of Rathjens in Yemen and Syria; of ethno-genesisand ethno-dynamic, and
the truesense of the word as employed Ling Roth and Goodwin at Benin; of who has looked with envy at the time
by Fox-Strangways, Peate, and Erixon, MargaretTrowell in Uganda; and my depth and the vast materials "on the
would have adequately described the own work during the past 15 years in otherside." As an ethnologistit would
subject of Haselberger'sstudy. SouthernAfrica. These are but a few seem to me that if this approach is to
The scope of the paper seems too studiesof folkbuilding,all of whichfall illuminatethefieldof "aestheticintent"
wide for the available space, resulting withinthe fieldof Haselberger'spaper. and expressionto include all mankind.

we ourselvesneed to develop a renewed rial culture,in the sense of the cultural whichthevisual artsare a comparatively
awarenessof our own culturalbiases. expressionof a tribal group's transac- minoraspectof thewhole aestheticcul-
Fine arts as here definedand in the tion with the materialworld,is one of tureof thepeople, is a notableexample.
main as we have studied them-"archi- the least developed fieldsof ethnology. The student of any given aspect of
tecture . . . ; painting and drawing; As a people who have passed historically ethno-artmustconstantlykeep in view
sculpture; arts and crafts . . ."-are lim- froman outlook on materialityas inert its place within the settingof all the
itedtocertainconcretematerialobjects. mass,to Newton'sgravity,to Einstein's otherarts,and theculture"style"of the
From an ethnological point of view, atom and relativetime,and to modern people whose aesthetic intent it ex-
this studythus becomes a functionof matterand anti-matter, we can hardly presses.
materialculture,albeit servingaesthetic overlook the ethnic variabilityof our The ethnologistwho achieves some
intentand expression.Material culture materialculture. bridgingof the gaps of culturepattern
is the cultural expression of man's In this emphasisupon ethnic varia- or style, however, does discover the
transactionwiththematerialworldand bility in all aspects of human experi- many facetsof the common human in
this is by no means given, but takes ence, I do not mean to implythatpeo- thecourseof his work,even thoughit is
varyingethnic forms.In our culture, ple living in tribal polities are groups his yet unresolvedand difficult task to
the materialaspect can with some defi- apart, as has too oftenbeen presumed, defineand portrayit. Being an intellec-
nitenessbe categorizedinto "with or sometimesforstatusreasons.The break- tual in the nature of the case, as Him-
without aesthetic intent," or perhaps ing of thistrendas representedin Has- melheberhas so well shown,he encoun-
utilitarianand non-utilitarian;but for elberger'ssummaryof Africanart his- tersartistsand fellow-minds in most of
thetribesmanin his morelimitedpolity, toryis a major contributionto our field. the cultural settingshe enters,be they
the impulse to aestheticexpressionin- It is certainlyveryunlikelythat there in the Arctic or in the tropics. One
trudesitselfmore often into his daily was ever a human group at any time mightwell parallel Himmelheber'sex-
activitiesand materialconcernsthan it that was an isolate, however limited perience in most cultures.The Pomo
does among ourselves. Moreover, the communicationmay have been at one Indian woman of a food-gathering
balance of aestheticmedia in a tribeis periodor another.But thequestionstill tribe of centralCalifornia has reached
different fromour own. In a tribal set- remainsof what definesand delimitsa the epitome of technicalskill in a rare
ting the whole people are generally people as a distinctive "ethnos"-a art.Into her coiled basketshe sewsa de-
more active participantsin such aes- classificationthat must be subsumed sign that has nothing to do with the
thetically-orientedactivities as the under any studyof their aestheticcul- mechanicsof the techniqueand is con-
dance, music, drama, and story,while ture.Ruth Benedict's "Patternsof Cul- ceptuallyso separateforher that,in dis-
our people are extensiveusers and col- ture" approach was initiallystimulated regardof the formlimitsof the basket,
lectorsof material things-a group ex- by studiesof ethno-artsuch as Boas had the design seems to just float spirally
perience that reflectsitselfin our con- made. If, Benedict reasoned, there are beyond the rim into space. Her Yurok
centrationon the material arts as here such clearlyidentifiableart stylesfrom sistersomemilesto the northused com-
exemplified. thedifferent ethnicgroups,thismustbe parable techniquesand thesame design
Further,in our fine-arts tradition,the a function of general "life styles." I elementsand formalarrangements, but
general culturalcontextis forus more thinktheircharacterization is stilla ma- she puts her design neatlyfittedto the
or less understood.This is not the case jor object of ethnology.Like Hasel- object. This Yurok basket-makerartist
withthe ethno-arts. In a studyof ethno- bergerforart,I should like to see such we are told,in an all too familiarmode,
art, the aestheticintent of the object "life styles" defined concretely and chasesthe childrenout of the hut while
requires more knowledge than can be scientifically.And being very much a she worksso thatshe can concentrateon
obtained by closelyobservingits mate- productofmyculture,I givemateriality her aestheticproblems,measuring,con-
rial and its form,or even by a compari- a high value in such a study,based on sidering,and contemplating.The Pomo
son withother(to us) seeminglysimilar theassumptionthatthehistoryof man's Indian woman makes one finemaster-
objects. Whether they come from an transactionwith the material(as borne piece of her technicalvirtuosityand de-
archeological or an ethno-historical out byrecentprehistoricfindings)is the sign creativity,on which she worksall
source,we are not in a positionto study most continuous in time and space of her lifeso thatit maybe burned on her
them in the same isolation fromtheir all aspects of human experience,and funeralpyre.Art and artistsare every-
cultural matrixas the fine-artsobjects that it can furnishthe studentof man- where,and art is as implicitin man as
of our cultureor even theirantecedents kind with the mostuniversalof all cul- mind. For all our cultural variability,
in a moredirectline. tural "languages." But the elementsof communication is eminentlypossible
As forcomparabilityof data in terms its universalityremain to be uncovered forpeople of knowledgeand good will,
of their materiality,objects made of against the backgroundof its cultural and I thinkthe studyof ethno-artwill
the same materialsdo not in themselves variantsand changesover time. not only enrich our knowledgeof art,
giveus an obviousbasis forcomparison, If the fieldof ethno-artis to enrich but will deepen our understandingof
or even what we considerto be analo- our knowledgeof the universalsof aes- what is reallyhuman.As we now stand,
gous forms.Malinowskiin his studyof thetic intent and expression,then we a more creative vision of our species
theTrobriand Islandersgivesus an ex- cannot reston the idea that if we con- would not be unwelcome.
ample of an object that would ordi- fine ourselves to the field of material [New York,28.2.61]
narilybe classifiedas a stone axe. How- arts,we can take thematerialaspect for
grantedas cross-cultural "safe ground." By ANTHONY WHITTY*
ever it is neithermade of stone (but of
volcanic tuff),nor is it an axe (but a Further,when we apply such a limita- The methodof studyoutlinedin this
gardeningimplement).Plutonic stone, tion to a people whose aestheticpar- article seems to me to be applicable
which the Trobriandersdo have, is im- ticipation is heavier in the fields of over a wider field than "ethnological
ported from the south and is named dance, music,drama,and myththan in art." The principlesof analysingan ob-
"imported."The "axe" is called kema, thatof the"artobject,"we are matching ject into readilyapprehensibleabstrac-
the name of the tuff.As we get more our major aestheticinterestwithwhat, tions such as material,technique,pur-
insight into other people's lives, the among mostotherpeoples, receivesless pose, form,and content; of research
"solid rock"upon whichour knowledge emphasis-gettinga distortedview of into thebiographyof theartist(maker);
can rest is no longer so definite.Mate- their aestheticvalues. African art, in and of study of objects in the whole
378 CURRENT ANTHROPOL OGY

structure of a cultureare all applicable Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
and relevantto artifactslying outside
the definedfield. Whether or not a and no single word seems capable of tion, thoughnot of the mostprofitable
Pygmywind screencan be regardedas bearing the meaning which primitive kind.
architecture, it is neverthelesssuscepti-
has acquired throughmany decades of It is true thatarchitectureand paint-
ble toanalysisand classification bytheseadmitted misuse by anthropologists. ing are frequentlyignoredin studiesof
means and can significantlybe com- The objections to this word fall into primitiveart,presumablybecause most
pared with, say, a simple hut which two main groups: (a) it does not coin- of thesestudieshave been done on mu-
qualifiesas architecture.Fromthepoint cide withthe dictionarymeaningof the seum collections,not in the field.Wall
of viewof the historianor the prehis- word; and (b) it is objectionable to the paintings and buildings are not easily
torian,the precise boundary between people to whom it is applied. Now collected for transferto a museum,al-
artand not-artis merelyof academic in- when primitivewas firstused of pre- thoughit can sometimesbe done.
terest.To thestudentof art thisbound- literateEuropean societies,it was gen- Haselbergersays that"touristart ...
aryis necessaryas providinga limit to uinely thoughtthat these societiesdid should not be neglectedby the art in-
his fieldof research.But the detection, representprimitivestagesof social evo- vestigator,"and that "touristart . . .
throughan artifact,of the maker'saes- lution.Thereforeat thattimetheusage sometimes has aesthetic importance
theticintention,or the absence of such coincidedwith the dictionarymeaning. (Forman and Fagg, 1959)."
intention(leavingaside the question of As anthropological studies have pro- The Afro-Portuguese ivoriesare very
itssuccessor failure)is open in a great gressed,it has been discoveredthat the exceptional examples of tourist art,
numberof cases to verywide differences dictionary meaning of the word no which usually even at its best is more
of opinion. This boundarymustbe un- longerapplies to thesesocieties,but the valuable as an example of craftsman-
real and arbitrary. A vehicleof aesthetic
word has continuedin use, being rede- ship than of art. At best the execution
expression,be it in theformof architec- fined from time to time, so that al- is good, but thereis usuallyno original-
ture,painting,sculpture,or, indeed, of thoughas used by anthropologists it no ity eitherof expressionof emotion,or
any humanly-madeartifact,must have longer has its dictionarymeaning, this of conceptionof the subject.This is be-
had its cultural origins below the is because thedictionarieshave not kept cause it is made, not to please the
thresholdof art so-defined.Moreover up to date withthisparticularsemantic makers within their own traditional
thereare countlessobjectsbelongingto change.We all knowwell enough what culture,but to please the touristwith
artistictraditionswhich have degener- we all mean by primitivesocietiesand his own standardswhichare entirelyir-
ated to levelswhichcannotbe regarded primitive art-the art and societies relevantto the maker'ssituation.Tour-
as art. Such objects,of eitherkind, are studiedby anthropologists. I would sug- ist art is thus more important as a
suitable material for Haselberger's gest that the length of time that the phenomenonof culturecontact,thanas
method, which is logically valid, I word primitivehas been used in this art. The harmonyof European forms
think,in thewide fieldof "all artifacts."sense by anthropologistsjustifiesits re- treated in an African manner which
It is evident that no such analytical tention, and calls for an additional characterizesthe Afro-Portugueseivo-
method can elicit from its subject- definitionin thedictionaries.The emo- ries is occasionallystill found in works
matter the real essence of "art," any tionalassociationswhichmake theword commissionedby Europeans froma tra-
more than a structuraldissectionwill objectionable would be transferredto ditional artist,when the artist is left
describe the essence of a Bach fugue. any other word which was used to re- completelyfreeto execute the work in
Of all thefactorswhichgo to makeup a place it, just as the stigmaattached in his own way and is not shown pictures
work of art, the one which inexorably England to elementary schools still of European works he is intended to
evades this method (or any objective sticksto the secondarymodern schools copy.In such a case the artistneeds suf-
method) is that which contributesthe which have replaced them. ficientfreedomto create the workas if
veryqualityof art.The methoddoesn't It is, of course,legitimateto circum- it were intended for use in his own
deal in the subject.It merelydeals with vent the use of the word primitiveby cultural setting,and this sets it aside
certain abstractedattributesof an ob- the use of other words appropriate to fromtruetouristart,whichI take to be
ject of art,attributeswhichmaybe com- the context;one can forexample speak objectsmade on speculation,forfuture
mon also to humanly-madeobjects of of traditionalsculptureof the Yoruba sale, and intendedto appeal to the (usu-
not-art. or of the Kwakiutl,even though"tradi- ally bad) taste of the tourist.
It thereforeseems to me that within tional art" cannot be considereda suit- "Ethnological peoples today seldom
the limitingdefinitionof "Ethnological able substitutefor"primitiveart." have themeansor desireto preservethe
Art" the functionof this methodmust Haselberger remarks"Works of art artof theirpast." One wonderswhether
remain chieflyclassificatory, but thatare thereforedistinguishedfrompurely theyeverdid have the means or the de-
when freedfromthat limitationit be- utilitarianobjects by the aestheticin- sire. In many parts of Africa carved
comes a potentiallyimportanttool for tention."How are we to distinguishthis masks are permittedto rot afterbeing
the studyof significantrhythmsin hu- aestheticintentionwhen the maker of used only once; indeed, in some cases
man history. the object is not present,or when the it is considered essential that they
[Borrowdale,SouthernRhodesia, specimenis alreadyin the museum?Le should do so. Among the Yoruba, carv-
Corbusierhas taughtus that suitability
1.3.61] ings such as verandah posts and shrine
to purpose is an aesthetic quality, figureswere not preservedbut replaced
By FRANK WILLETT* though museum ethnographersought when theydecayed, and the new carv-
This paper evokesa numberof com- not to have needed the lesson. If the ingswereconsideredto be the old ones,
ments on the topics upon which it formof an object is pleasing,it can be even when theywere appallingly bad
touches.In the firstplace, since the au- treatedas an object of art in European copies. Occasionallycarvingswerecared
thorrejectsthe wordprimitiveand uses terms,but not necessarilyin the terms for, especially twin figures(ibeji), not
ethnological instead, may I play the of the societywhich produced it. This for aestheticbut for religiousreasons.
advocatus diaboli and suggestthat we is comparableto a European artist'sad- The problem of satisfactoryphoto-
retain the word primitivein our vo- miringa work of primitiveart for the graphic recordingof art in the field is
cabulary?No attemptsto find substi- (ethnologically)wrong reasons. It is a indeed very important. "Photographs
tutesforthe wordhave been successful, permissibleformof aestheticapprecia- should show the object as it ordinarily
Vol. 2 No. 4 - October 1961 379

appears,"but manyobjects are kept in comprisedin Fagg's remark"The prog- his own work,or will claim,as his own,
near darkness,and photographsof ob- ressmade by our art criticsin develop- workby anotherhand. On one occasion
jectsin normal surroundingscan often ing verbal techniquesto matchthe non- I got threeapprenticecarverswho were
be extremelyunenlightening.At the verbal arts of their own culture holds workingunder a Yoruba mastercarver
same timeover-dramatic lightingneeds out little hope . . . indeed most of to group togetherthepieces whicheach
to be avoided since even if it does not those who have writtenfrom an aes- of themhad carvedso thatI mightfind
"showqualities thatin realitydo not lie theticpoint of view on Africansculp- out whether they had yet developed
within the object," it does emphasize turehave succeededonlyin interposing stylesof theirown. They had, and I was
the photographer's interpretationof an opaque screen of largelyirrelevant able, much to their surprise,to point
the object. The middle way betweena verbiage between it and the student" out pieces which they themselveshad
flat,uninteresting, uninformativepho- (Elisofon and Fagg 1958a:25)? For ex- attributed to the wrong carver. Yet
tographand a dramatic,startling,but ample, the concept of frontalityand these carvingshad been made during
misleadingphotographis oftenhard to space-depthseemsto me to be irrelevant the few weeks immediatelypreceding
find. The difficultyis not that the in primitiveart.If an object is intended my visit.
cameracannot lie, but to persuadeit to to be seen frontallyit will be essentially Anthropologists have been pained by
tell the truth. two-dimensional-e.g.a piece of cloth,a the use whichwell-intentioned psychol-
Art for art's sake is probably an im- painted wall, a carved door. If it is ogistshave made of theirdata. Let us
portantelementin all great art. If the sculpturedin the round it may not be not treatthemin the same way. There
art object is intended for utilitarian, intendedto be viewed fromall possible is a verygreatdangerin amateurismin
ritual,educational,commercialor social angles (particularlyfromthe back), but psychological interpretation. Hasel-
purposes,a lowerstandardthanthebest it will not be intended to be seen from bergerremarksthat psychological"re-
would be sufficient, but the good artist only one view-point.The doors carved searchis in such fluxthatwe musttime
surpassesthe "good enough" standard by the Yoruba Olowe of Ise, Ekiti (a and again adapt ourselvesto the latest
chieflyfor his own satisfactionas an pair in the British Museum are illus- position." Surely then, if psychology
artist.The finestcave paintingsof the trated in Joyce and Braunholtz 1925, and psychoanalysis are to contributeto
Upper Palaeolithic seem to have satis- Plate XV), showa remarkableblending the studyof primitiveart, it is better
fiedthe artistsin thisway. of both theseconcepts,foralthoughar- that the work should be done by pro-
"A descriptionof theuse and purpose ranged as a two-dimensionalpattern fessionallytrained psychologists.Most
of art objects can help determinethe the individualelementsneed to be seen ethnographersworking in the field
time and place of theirmanufacture." frommanyanglesto be appreciated,for would be severelyhandicapped if they
This is true where the objects are still most of his figureslean out from the had to carry a psychiatrist'scouch
in theirprimarysocial setting,butin the door and are carvedin theround. On a around in theirloads!
case of one of the most important door at the palace in Ilesha he has It would be interestingif Haselberger
groups of art objects in Africa,namely carved a palm wine tapsterclimbinga would explain her statementthat "to-
thoseofIfe,thepresentuse and purpose palm treewhich growsout clear of the day painting-an artintroducedonly 30
are quite clearlyunrelated to the origi- door! There are othercaseswhereworks years ago-best representsthe artistic
nal use and purpose (cf. Murray and by the one hand and thereforein the abilitiesof theAfricanNegro."It would
Willett 1958; Willett 1960). Moreover, same tribal stylemay show eitherfron- appear by thisthatshe means the Euro-
in the case of excavatedart objects,we tality or space-depth,e.g. Bamgboye, pean kind of paintingtaughtin schools
may be able to discoverthe time and the carverof the Epa mask illustrated withoil and water-colours on canvas or
place of theirmanufacture,but not be on Plate XV of Fagg 1960, also carves paper. Is not this a thing apart from
able to establishtheiruse and purpose. flatdecorativetrays. ethnologicalart,and strictly a phenom-
In interpretingthe contentof primi- It is rarelyin primitiveart that we enon of European art? Such Nigerian
tive art, oral sources collected at the have any independentevidenceto show artists as Ben Enwonwu and Felix
same time as the object itselfare more whetheran object belongs to the begin- Idubor have their place in European
importantthan the writtenaccountsof ning,the climax,or the end of a devel- art-history not strictlyin the historyof
similarpieces.The processwhichHasel- opment; whetherit is a pioneering,a traditionalAfricanart, for such tradi-
bergerdescribesreads like a technique mature,or a late work of a particular tional elementsas appear in theirsculp-
of investigatingundocumented speci- style.This is possiblein the earlyhigher turesor paintingsare used in the same
mens in museum collections, which civilizations,when works of art were way as Picasso and Matisse used them
have a secondaryvalue in comparison made in durable materials.It is possible when Africanart was firstrevealed to
with well-documentedspecimens col- in the case of Benin, but here it has to them-a valid use, but one divorced
lected in the field.In publications de- be based on assumptionsand internal fromAfricantradition.
scribing art objects this distinction evidence rather than on proven inde- "This so-called Nok Culture" (why
should be made, so that secondaryevi- pendentfacts.The fewYoruba pieces at so-called?) is not representedin any
dence maynot be mistakenforprimary, Ulm, collectedbefore 1650, seem to be European museum unless by plaster
and so that erroneous interpretations no different in stylefromthoseof three casts. I can find no statementin the
may not be indefinitelyproliferated. centurieslater; yetwe rarelyhave such original edition (Elisofon and Fagg
The content of two art objects repre- earlyexamplesof art in perishablema- 1958a) which could have given thisim-
sentingsimilarformsmay not be iden- terials,and our studyof development pression.
tical. Figuresof men on horsebackap- has to be restrictedto the last 5 or 10 "The ceramic findsnoted by David-
pear in Yoruba shrinesto many gods; decades, during which usually only a son" may serve to date the culturesof
because one is recordedin theliterature decline can be observed.On the other Benin and Yorubaland,but not to date
as representinga worshipperof a par- hand it is sometimespossible to estab- the art objects themselves,unless, as
ticular god, it does not by any means lish stages in the developmentof the seemshighlyunlikely,thewastemoulds
follow that other carvingsof the same style of an individual artist, though of bronzesare foundat the castingsites
kind have thissame meaning. even this is sometimesmore difficult in association with domestic pottery.
I wonderhow valuable theseopposed thanone would expect.The artistoften These moulds are extremelyfriable in
pairslistedon p. 846 are in the studyof cannot remember when he made a all the modern bronze-castingI have
ethnologicalart. Are theynot perhaps piece, and sometimnescannotrecognize seen in Africa and would almost cer-

tainlydisintegraterapidly and disap- Haselberger: METHOD OF STUDYING ETHNOLOGICAL ART
pear fromthe archaeologicalrecord.

[Ife, Nigeria, 8.3.61] a perfectdefinitionof "art" in a few Art," my concernwas to illustratemy
sentences? assumptionthatit is alreadypossibleto
3. I am verygratefulto Walton for writethehistoryof artamongethnolog-
his citingsome of the authorswho are ical peoples; I did not intend to give
Reply workingon traditionalAfricanarchitec- new data about Africanart history.
ture. As I have learned fromMr. 0. To all thosewho wish to do fieldre-
Davies, of Legon UniversityCollege, search on art during the next years,I
By HERTA HASELBERGER Ghana, and as B. Fagg noted in his com- can recommendNigeria as a fortunate
I am contentthat my imperfectand ment,an architect,M. Z. R. Dmochow- countrywherea numberof valuable art
riskyattemptto call attentionto prob- ski, is studyingtraditionalarchitecture traditionsseemto have remainedintact,
lemsof methodin the fieldof ethnolog- in Nigeria. Moreover, the Vernacular if I correctlyinterpretthe commentsof
ical arthas broughta responsefrommy ArchitectureGroup, whose work was those who are authoritieson Nigerian
morecompetentcolleagues.I am grate- exhibitedat the Paris Congressof An- tribalarts.
fulforthe correctionsof errorsoffered thropologicaland EthnologicalSciences Finally, I hope that this article has
by severalauthorities,and was particu- in 1960, does much work in this field. stimulateddiscussionof the methodsof
larlysatisfiedwith the interestingcom- Nevertheless,I maintain that research ethnologicalart-investigation, and that
mentsbyBlackwood,Carpenter,B. and on the architectureof non-literatepeo- one of the authoritiesin thisfield-per-
W. Fagg, Fenton, Fraser, Inverarity, and oftenunsatisfac-
ples is insufficient haps Vandenhoute-will soon present
Klausen,Sierksma,Walton, and others, tory. us with an adequate method for the
whichwidened the area coveredby this 4. I agree withKlausen and Vanden- studyof artin thefieldofanthropology.
article by introducing information houte that thereis a veryurgentneed
about little-knownpeoples and geo- fora set of well-definedtermsand clari-
graphicalareas,as well as valuable new fyingdefinitionsthat will allow us to Cited
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some commentators wishedme to, give 8. In the section"Historyof African Baden: Holle-Verlag.

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HASELBERGER Method of Studying Ethnological Art

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MethodofStudying Art

INTRODUCTION ideas to the significanceof the term culture" (Ger-

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342 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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-depending, of course,on ethnographicalknowledge

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346 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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Harmony with the Material- Material

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350 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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to have a fullyconceivedpicturein his mind beforehe

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Vol. 2 No. 4 *October 1961 353

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354 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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that lack of time restrictsmy response of anthropologyand art history.The

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356 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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360 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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362 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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366 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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tural mediator between Egypt and

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368 CURRENT ANTHROP O LOGY

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Yol. 2 *No. 4 - October 1961 371

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372 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY

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