Authorship (Autoría)

Contexto del término At the end of the twentieth century, misunderstanding of Africa's cultural heritage among the general public remains pervasive. Banishing stereotypes is a challenging and delicate exercise. The obstacles that prevent us from easily identifying those responsible for giving shape to Africa's contributions to world culture are well known: a limited historical record, significant cross-cultural differences, and an enormous range of conceptually divergent works. Lost to us forever is documentation concerning the authorship of most of the extraordinary works of African art created in the last century and now housed in Western museums. Nevertheless it is important that we consider carefully how that absence of identity may be interpreted. Rather than revealing the condition of African art's creation, it reflects the manner in which the material was gathered by Western collectors.