Art and Trauma in Africa Representations of Reconciliation in Music, Visual Arts, Literature and Film [#911880]

Free Download Lizelle Bisschoff, "Art and Trauma in Africa: Representations of Reconciliation in Music, Visual Arts, Literature and Film "
English | ISBN: 184885692X | 2012 | 360 pages | PDF | 19 MB
The traumas of conflict and war in postcolonial Africa have been widely documented, but less well known are their artistic representations. A number of recent films, novels and other art forms have sought to engage with and overcome postcolonial atrocities and to explore the attempts of reconciliation commissions towards peace, justice and forgiveness. This creativity reflects the memories and social identities of the artists, whilst offering a mirror to African and worldwide audiences coming to terms with a collective memory that is often traumatic in itself. The seeming paradox between creative representation and the reality of horrific events such as genocide presents challenges for the relationship between ethics, poetics and politics. In Art and Trauma in Africa, Lizelle Bisschoff and Stefanie Van de Peer bring together multiple ways of analyzing the ethical responsibility at the heart of an artist's decision to tackle such controversial and painful subjects. Also, to study trauma, conflict and reconciliation through art in a pan-African context offers new perspectives on a continent that is often misrepresented by the Western media.