Style, Cultural Values and Appropriation: Three Paradigms in the History of the Art Anthropology in Western.

Taking Africa Fang race's sculpture of West Equatorial as a case study, this paper discusses three paradigms in the Western art anthropology during the last half century. The first paradigm is stylistic analysis, which emphasizing the sculpture itself and its morphological properties. This quantitative approach aimed at distinguishing sculptural styles and sub styles and its goal is mapping the art production of the Fang geographically. Such a typological approach has colonial roots and serves the purposes of surveillance and control. The second is qualitative analysis which focuses not on form but on meaning. On the basis of local research, anthropologists presented Fang sculpture as the embodiment of the Fang social cultural value system. This approach, based on fieldwork and highlighting culture's unique values and thinking ways, may be considered as classical cultural anthropology paradigm. It followed Franz Boas's teachings created in the US. This research tradition rooted in nineteenth--century Germany. The third is post--colonialism paradigm. This paradigm investigated the attitude of western artists, collectors, and museums since Fang sculpture arrived in Europe at the nineteenth--century. It pays attention to the appropriation of these things, including re--labeling them as "work as art" and their commoditization in the international art market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]