Hair in African Art and Culture (African, Asian & Oceanic Art) [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Roy Sieber (Editor), Frank Herreman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In the West, hairstyle choices range from the purely functional to the complex fashion statement. In the African continent their significance is far greater. Hair can be an indicator of age, authority, social status, and religious affiliation, as well as part of a long tradition of aesthetic adornment or a strictly contemporary style statement. In some cultures hair itself is used as a potent substabce with supernatural power.

From the Publisher
Published to accompany an exhibition at the Museum of African Art in New York, already hailed as one of the must-sees of the year 2000, this lavishly illustrated volume provides a long overdue summary of this fascinating topic. The enormous significance of hair in African art and life through the centuries is explored through photographs, masks, fugures, combs, hairpins, beads, hairdresses, and painted barber shop signs. Hairstyles among the diaspora, especially the African-American community, are explored, and cross-cultural influences traced. Field photographs show the use of hairstyles depicted in traditional artworks. Techniques of styling and adornment in the creaion of contemporary coiffures is also examined.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Prestel; illustrated edition edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3791322915
• ISBN-13: 978-3791322919
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #937,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)