Primitive art: Its Traditions and Styles

New York: New American Library, 1962. — 421 p.As an introduction to primitive art, this book endeavors first to isolate the concept of the term and then to examine the various attitudes and approaches that have prevailed or presently do prevail toward this art. A method of approach is therefore proposed that involves: 1) the investigation of the physical, psychological, and sociological backgrounds so that the reader can envisage the full cultural context in which a work was produced; and 2) the analysis of the objects created in the three major areas, that is, in Negro Africa, Oceania, and North America so as to discover the formal art properties and aesthetic qualities that characterize the numerous styles within the traditions of these regions. Such a methodology is necessary in order to comprehend the significance of the art forms, since by this procedure the objects are not isolated from the positions they occupied, culturally and aesthetically, in the lives of these peoples.