Framing America: A Social History of American Art

L’art des Amérindiens et l’histoire de l’art aux États-Unis : un siècle d’expositions

“…Je m'exprime à ce sujet en tant qu'historienne de l'art, puisque depuis trente ans, mes recherches ont essentiellement porté sur l'art amérin-dien, à l'exception de quelques contributions dans d'autres domaines de l'histoire de l'art américain 2 . Ces vingt dernières années, certains professeurs d'art américain ont cherché à intégrer l'histoire de l'art amérindien dans leurs cours ; les deux principaux manuels dans ce champ traitent ces sujets de manière honorable 3 , et les principales revues d'art américain publiées aux États-Unis ont abordé au moins occasionnellement des thèmes et des questions indigènes 4 . Pour ce qui est de la collecte de cet art, beaucoup de grands musées américains ont une histoire bien plus ancienne qu'on ne veut bien l'admettre.…”

‘The Birth of Black Consciousness on the Screen’?: The African American Historical Experience, Blaxploitation, and the Production and Reception ofSounder(1972)

“…85 Because, as Pohl notes, '[I] mages of mothers and children were common among FSA photographs, for they were perfect symbols of endurance in the face of disaster,' then it is arguable the middle section of Sounder, when Nathan Lee is in a labour camp and his wife and children struggle to harvest the crop of sugar cane in his absence, was particularly effective in engaging and shaping the audience's perceptions of both the past and the present. 86 Equally, the sight of Nathan Lee's resolute efforts to share in the burden of work on the farm, despite his debilitating injuries, inspires the belief America's disadvantaged black population possessed the fortitude to rise above social iniquity.…”

Transatlantic Narratives about American Art: A Chapter in the Story of Art History’s Hegelian Unconscious

“…54 Pohl, too, rejects the idea of an evolution of a national style. Instead, both scholars see history as 'an accumulation of tensions, crises, accidents and insights', 55 and both want 'to demonstrate how artworks were consumed as well as produced in relation to particular political and social conditions, especially struggles over class, race, and gender'. 56 But the struggles Pohl is interested in are part of a larger historical process as defi ned by historical materialism (that is, after all, the reason why her history is called a social history), and Bjelajac's struggles lead us back to Craven and diversity.…”