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Katherine E Flach Dissertation.pdf (10.99 MB)

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"Eliot Elisofon: Bringing African Art to LIFE"

Flach, Katherine E
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427999641

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Art History.
As a public figure and a famous LIFE magazine photographer, Eliot Elisofon participated in the mainstream appreciation and discussion of African art more than many scholars. He publicized African art in magazine articles, exhibitions, books, lectures, films, television documentaries, and much more during his career. Elisofon exposed a wider population to unknown art forms, peoples, and cultures. By putting this content into the mass media, he was ahead of his time. Through stimulating interest in African art, he contributed to its transformation from natural history artifact to fine art. The occasional flaws of his promotion tactics reveal some of the perceptual difficulties encountered during the formation of the field of African art history. This examination of Elisofon’s life’s work delineates his unique place in African art history by assessing his contributions to the study and appreciation of African art. It is a field of study that defined a large part of his life, and his affiliated activities give us a window into the history of reception of African art in America from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. Elisofon was fascinated with Africa and African art, and he wanted to convey this interest to the widest audience possible. While he never earned a degree in art history, his photographs of African art and words on this topic influenced generations. Elisofon brought the public along on his journey for knowledge about African art and Africa, initiating public consideration of what most people regarded as a foreign and intimidating topic. His projects embody the varied perceptions of the time. As Elisofon first discovered African art, he appreciated it because of its influence on modern European art. Later he began to discuss its aesthetic value independent of modern art, and its meaning for Africans. He participated in the debate over how much information should be presented to the public about these objects without getting in the way of appreciation of them as art. Toward the end of his life, he continued to serve as a proponent of African art and culture in the mass media, forming an interest in how his work could encourage black pride.
Catherine Scallen (Advisor)
Constantine Petridis (Committee Co-Chair)
Henry Adams (Committee Member)
Jonathan Sadowsky (Committee Member)
373 p.
Art History
Eliot Elisofon; Elisofon; African art; African studies; African culture; Life magazine; photography; photography of Africa; photography of African art; Life photographer; American photographer; Smithsonian; African art history

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Flach, K. E. (2015). "Eliot Elisofon: Bringing African Art to LIFE" [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427999641

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Flach, Katherine. "Eliot Elisofon: Bringing African Art to LIFE". 2015. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427999641.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Flach, Katherine. ""Eliot Elisofon: Bringing African Art to LIFE"." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427999641

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1427999641
3,409
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.