Response to Afrochic: Africa in the Modernist Imagination by Camera Dia Holloway from

the book African Diaspora in the Cultures of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the
United States
Summary
Holloway starts with an excerpt from Joseph Conrad’s, The Heart of Darkness, written in
1899. In the excerpt Conrad pays much attention to the African women’s attire detailing it
extensively. Additionally, as later explained by Holloway in the essay Conrad expresses the
fascination of the continent that Europeans had. By the turn of the 20th century African
resources, and cultural artifacts were available to Europeans. This created a shift in taste of
avant-grand (Art that is exploratory, innovative, or new) art to include more “primitive” styles.
Primitivism played a role in artistic movements including, fauvism, cubism, and expressionism.
In 1914 African art came to the US in a sculpture exhibit by Alfred Stieglitz, photographer
and gallerist. The show was titled, “Statuary in the woods by African Savages-The Root of
Modern Art.” Following this the Brooklyn Museum of Art opened ethnographic collections in an
effort to appropriate African culture. They believed appropriation of the culture would benefit
American artists.
Couturier Jacques Doucet created a dress and cape in the early 1920s. Doucet was a
collector of African art, and used cubism to create his designs. Doucet’s dress shape later
inspired an evening dress, pictured below, created by Louiseboulanger in 1928. The exposure
of skin, and use of animal products can easily be linked to
Africa.

In the early 1920’s fashion magazines began to publish portraits of celebrities. As shown
in the images below animal furs, ivory bracelets, and other pieces related to Africa were worn.
Headlines were run referencing Africa’s influence on life in America, such as “Africa Speaks in
the New Fashions,” from the New York Times. Sally Victor created a braided straw hat the
obviously mirrored the cornrows of african women.

*Images from book*

Questions and Thinking Further

I found this essay particularly interesting due to its relationship to appropriation. As I
know cultural appropriation its bad, its Kim Kardashian wearing cornrows and dreadlocks on the
runways. As I know cultural appropriation it’s people taking others culture as their own without
giving any thought to what that actually means. The essay talked about cultural appropriation in
a way that benefited the white community, but gave no note to the black/african american
communities feelings on the subject. Sharing culture with one another is something we do to
benefit one another, and understand each other as humans. I wonder if when the author used
the term, “appropriation,” if they meant it as sharing to benefit and promote understanding. The
definition of appropriation from google is,
noun
1. the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's
permission.

Where is the line between sharing cultures, and taking them?