Customer Reviews

Pende (Visions of Africa)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Pende masks and masquerading tradition are some of the most interesting in Africa, and yet they still remain fairly unknown to the general public and average collector.

With this sort of book, there is often a fine line between those who do field work and those who study from afar. Both camps can yield worthy results, but a presence in one or the other is not a necessary prerequisite for a competent analysis. However, in this case the author, a professor at Columbia University, delivers both in a rigorous and satisfying manner, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more. This is a well written, well researched, interesting book with lots of photos, and I would hope to see an expanded version of it down the road before these traditions are gone for good.

Visions of Africa Series don't satisfy me at all. These books are not impressive. Few informations, beautiful color pictures but few in number (just 50 each book), overall poor analysis of each tribe. At least, could be better to print three "Visions of Africa" books in one volume at the same price - 144 pages for 21$ is a wicked commercial choice by the publisher. I'm giving 2/5 just because of the beautiful pictures - my vote would be 1/5.

About Pende tribe, "Inventing Masks: Agency and History in the Art of the Central Pende" by the same author (Z. S. Strother) is ten times better than this book, and the most complete book on the arts of Central and Eastern Pende ever printed until today, so buy it instead of this.