Blier, Suzanne Preston. Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity, c. 1300. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

In this book, Suzanne Preston Blier examines the intersection of art, risk, and creativity in early African arts from the Yoruba center of Ife and the striking ways that ancient Ife artworks inform society, politics, history, and religion. Yoruba art offers a unique lens into one of Africa’s most important and least understood early civilizations, one whose historic arts have long been of interest to local residents and Westerners alike because of their tour-de-force visual power and technical complexity. Among the complementary subjects explored are questions of art making, art viewing, and aesthetics in the famed ancient Nigerian city-state, as well as the attendant risks and danger assumed by artists, patrons, and viewers alike in certain forms of subject matter and modes of portrayal, including unique genres of body marking, portraiture, animal symbolism, and regalia. This volume celebrates art, history, and the shared passion and skill with which the remarkable artists of early Ife sought to define their past for generations of viewers.

[Source: Harvard.edu]

Blier, Suzanne Preston. Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form. London: Laurence King, 1998.

In West and Central Africa in the centuries just before and after European contact, powerful kingdoms flourished, each with its own distinct art practices. The royal arts of Benin, Yoruba, Dahomey, Asante, Kongo, Kuba, and others are the subject of this book. What are the court-art traditions of the African royal states? How do art and architecture define individual, dynastic, royal, and national identity? What is the impact on them of centuries of trade, colonization, and religious exchange? How is this art to be understood within its cultural context? Blier draws on a vast range of individual objects - crowns and masks, thrones and regalia, palace architecture, painting, textiles, body decoration, and jewelry - as well as archival photographs of art works in use in ceremonies and performances. Using detailed descriptions, she offers a subtle cultural reading of these complex arts. Blier’s thoughtful and expert examination goes beyond particular visual analysis to explore vital questions of royalty and power, divine kingship, state cosmology, the place of women at court, and the use of art in dynastic history, diplomacy, and war.

[Source: WorldCat].

Blier, Suzanne Preston. “Africa, Art, and History: An Introduction”. In A History of Art in Africa, edited by Monica Blackmum Visonà, Robin Poynor, and Hebert M. Cole,15-19. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.

A History of Art in Africa is the only comprehensive art historical survey of the African continent to incorporate discussions of contemporary art and artists. It is both a reliable resource for art historians and an accessible introduction to the vibrant arts of Africa.

[Source: abstract obtained from Amazon]. 

Moussa Blimpo

Assistant Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto

Contact: moussa.blimpo@utoronto.ca

Boanuh, David. “The Future of Film-Making in Africa is me.” Filmed in July 2020 at TEDxEastLegon, Ghana. Video, 12:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brea6PKoEoY

“The future of film-making in Africa is me. How videos and films during early childhood set me up on this path.” David Boanuh is a film-maker using visuals to tell the African story.

[Source: Video description]

Ozwald Boateng

Fashion House/Fashion designer

London, UK

Contact: 30 Savile Row
London
W1S 3PT

Telephone: +44 0207 437 2030
Email: store@ozwaldboateng.co.uk

Website: www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk

Boehmer, Elleke. Nelson Mandela : The Black Pimpernel. London: Zed Books, 2013. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350254169.

Nelson Mandela, in his incredible transition from one of the world's longest-detained political prisoners to iconic statesman, became an exemplary figure of integrity and moral fortitude. In this fascinating essay, Elleke Boehmer looks beyond Mandela the symbol to reveal the sophistication of his self-awareness, rhetorical style, political astuteness and strategic willingness to perform the roles required of him to achieve his political aim: freedom and equality in South Africa.

Source: Book description

Bohler-Muller, Narnia, Vasu Reddy, Gregory Houston, Maxi Schoeman, and Heather Thuynsma. The Texture of Dissent: Defiant Public Intellectuals in South Africa, 2022.

The Texture of Dissent presents concise political biographies of a myriad of prominent South African public intellectuals who were shaped by the contentious issues of their day. Showcasing the ways in which these individuals were involved in the "political work of social change," the contributors also reflect on the legacy of their defiant thought and action in today's complex environment.

Source: rienner.com