Ethnographic art, also known as tribal art, is the material culture of native or indigenous societies. Most people would recognize this style of art as “primitive”, although that term is discouraged in the collecting community because of its pejorative connotations. While ethnographic art does not conform to the classical traditions of Western culture, it has a unique beauty all its own.
Modern design language, regardless of whether employed in a painting, building or smartphone, is almost universally sleek, precise and minimalist. But these ostensibly positive attributes can also make contemporary art seem remote and sterile. In contrast, ethnographic art is renowned for its highly abstract, organic forms. It possesses an untamed, raw energy that appeals to us on a deeply primal level. In fact, sometimes we might not even know why we are attracted to these masterpieces of aboriginal culture. We are simply drawn in by their primordial glamour and untamed magnetism.
Ethnographic art originates from a variety of geographic locations. Oceania, Australia, Africa and the Americas are the traditional sources of a large amount of tribal art. However, although little recognized, India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East have also produced their fair share of naïve artworks. Most of the world, at one time or another, has produced coveted tribal treasures.
Ethnographic art is an incredibly expansive and varied branch of antiques. It can range from a Pre-Columbian Central American jade figurine to an 18th century African Akan brass goldweight to a Pacific Island wooden ritual mask. Complex geometric designs and patterns comfortably reside side-by-side with flowing, stylized depictions of curious plants, exotic animals and local deities. Tribal art’s massive diversity of materials, form, design and execution gives even the most discerning collector a niche to passionately pursue.
Sometimes people mistakenly assume that tribal art is an evolutionary dead end, a more archaic artistic style that is inevitably replaced by more refined art as time and culture progresses. This is not the case. In fact, ethnographic art has had a major influence on modern art. For example, the famous 20th century painters Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso both drew heavily on the art of non-Western cultures for inspiration. This cultural affinity filtered into their works, forever changing the contemporary art world’s perspective on tribal civilizations.
But the first, and perhaps most important, acolyte of incorporating indigenous culture into modern art was the French painter Paul Gauguin. He was so obsessed with the idea of tribal life that he moved to the then French colony of Tahiti…twice! His work from this period oozes with ethnographic symbols, themes and style. Today his Tahitian work is widely recognized as one of the most dynamic phases of his entire artistic career. By the time he died in 1903, Paul Gaugin had embedded tribal art firmly into the Western public conscience as something wild, exotic and seductive.
Ethnographic art is worlds away from art in the Western tradition that most of us are familiar with. And that’s a great thing. It allows us to pursue a very different kind of art that both excites and intrigues. Unlike with many pieces of postmodern art, a deep knowledge of dialectic materialism or gender deconstruction isn’t required to appreciate the intimacy and energy inherent in ethnographic art. Some of us like our art to be academic or photorealistic; for everyone else, ethnographic art beckons.
