Eurocentrism still sets the terms of restitution of African art
Title: Eurocentrism still sets the terms of restitution of African art
Author: Z. S. Strother
Media Outlet: The Art Newspaper
Publish Date: January 8, 2019
'“An online petition favouring Belgian restitution explains better what is actually being argued: “More than 90% of classical African works of art are outside of Africa.” In other words, what the statistic highlights are the art forms admired by early modernists such as Picasso and Matisse. “Classical” in commercial galleries is a term that most often refers to African works collected during the first half of the colonial period, ca. 1885-1930. Such a selective view of what constitutes cultural heritage continues the colonialist paradigm that African cultural achievement should be defined by European criteria. It also perpetuates the misguided notion that African cultural production effectively died in 1885 and everything produced thereafter is illegitimate and debased in quality.”