Primitivism, the art of cultural appropriation
The Age of Enlightenment brought about newly found interests in science, philosophy, and an emphasis on all matters of the human intellect. The industrial revolution that ensued shortly after, birthed tangible extensions of these “progressive” ideals in science and technology. Emerging as a response to the many socio-economic uncertainties of the time, Primitivism began in France in the latter half of the 19th century. The movement claims to emulate the “primitive” experience and existed as a philosophical doctrine championing a belief in the nobility found in “primitive people” — whatever that means. Alongside the excitement that came with the Industrial Rev, where some believed in the need for new societal structures centring technology; others, like the primitivists, felt society had become devoid of our innate humanity. Primitivism considers Romanticism, Realism and a withdrawal from the lifestyles of the subjects they portrayed.
Primitivist supposedly adopted new ‘styles’ of painting as a rejection of the rigidly taught art ideas in famous art institutions like the Royal Academy of Art. With the ‘Age of Discovery’ having brought Europe into much closer proximity to other cultures of Africa and Asia, Primitivism was to serve as an upending of the typical aesthetic manifestations of traditional European art. The movement itself was established on the very little exposure to African and Oceanic art which primitivists reduced to “unsophisticated and simple lines”. The ‘movement’ heavily romanticised nature and humans in their most primal states as an attempt to replicate the beautiful coexistence between man and nature — reminiscent of what no longer existed in their realities.
In highlighting the many shortcomings of this ‘movement’, it is important to note the inherent struggle to accept this movement as anything other than the appropriation of culture; as the learned definitions of primitivism are not substantial enough to summate an entire art movement. The lack of a collective understanding of the movement from the primitivist perspective and hence, the ambiguity of the movement’s definitions, key characteristics and techniques shows not only a real lack of enthusiasm but the subjectivity of the movement. The absence of information testifies to a real disregard and the effort, or lack thereof, Primitivists put into understanding the non-European art forms they sourced their inspirations from. How can one seek to emulate the “primitive experience” when one does not seek to understand?
Observing the subjects of the paintings of this movement, we find nude women at the focal points of a lot of the imagery. Paintings such as Gauguin’s The Seed of the Areoi circa 1892 and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon circa 1907 make a spectacle of women’s nudity and subverts the ideas of innocence that existed in these non-European states at the time. Modesty, being heavily emphasised in day-to-day dressing in the western world, by virtue of religion meant women’s clothings covered the body from the neck down. Hence, primitivists presenting the female anatomy in such a way causes it to appear incongruous to western society circa 1950 and decontextualises the symbolism of women nudity in non-western cultures. The decontextualisation of these paintings are manifestations of the primitivists negligence and subliminal racism.
Overall, I believe the understanding of Primitivism to be a movement that existed as the European response to their (then) mundane realities is microcosmic for how art from other parts of the world are often used as a vice for western expression. The popularisation of such movements enhance the visible marginalisation of ‘other’ cultures and limits them to a particular era and time period. Whilst African and Oceanic art existed prior to the ‘Age of Discovery’, movements like primitivism minimise the entire body of work produced by entire continents and at times cause them to only exists when the western gaze is fixated on them and thus, they cease to exist once new ideas come along.
Please note, this piece is dedicated to a big fave Edward Adonteng
Slim Noble x