Beautiful/Ugly: African And Diaspora Aesthetics

In Cameroon, a monumental statue of liberty is made from scrap metal. In Congo, a thriving popular music incorporates piercing screams and carnal dances. When these and other instantiations of the aesthetics of Africa and its diasporas are taken into account, how are ideas of beauty reconfigured? Scholars and artists take up that question in this invigorating, lavishly illustrated collection, which includes more than one hundred color images. Exploring sculpture, music, fiction, food, photography, fashion, and urban design, the contributors engage with and depart from canonical aesthetic theories as they demonstrate that beauty cannot be understood apart from ugliness.

Softcover. English. Duke University. 2007. ISBN: 0822339188. 416 pp. Good condition. Book No: 2502082