On a different note, have you followed Nka’s Roundtable Conversations at the Duke UP’s blog? I have read through the latest responses and commentaries over a cup of breakfast tea and really loved this line by Okwui Enwezor (my emphasis)
… All these issues make the important point raised by John [Picton] on the idea of modernity as a conduit through which all manner of artistic inventions have flowed in many directions, benefiting not only European artists (there is such a species, no?) but African, Asian, American artists as well. …
The other week (don’t ask me about the concrete context) they’ve once again been speaking about Africa as a country on the news, on Monday I was asked to characterise African art in its entirety (considering the source, I suspect that question was meant to be a challenge to the art historian in me) … - Now the question: When was the last time you heard somebody in the news talk about Europe (the continent of that name, not the EU) as if it was one country? (Pls., don’t expect me here to seriously consider the tactic oversimplification of the ideological tattle of ‘the West’ against ‘the rest!’) And, when was the last time somebody asked you to sum up European art? That’s right, not German or French arts, Romanesque or Gothic arts but European art. Against this background, forgive me the minute of delight I derived from Enwezor’s beautiful little barb!