Perspectives: Angles on African Art is a unique exploration into the most subjective arena of human thought: what we find beautiful and appealing in art. The art is African; the perspective and analysis is provided by ten of the most distinguished and diverse connoisseurs ever assembled in one book. Presented with photographs of over one hundred works of African art--representing the highest aesthetic quality and a tremendous range of styles and culture--each co-curator was asked to select ten pieces. This challenging assignment was an effort to gain fresh insights into the minds of ten articulate, influential people who share an admiration for African art: to discover why they perceive some objects as peerless and praiseworthy, and why others do not move them nearly as much. The book delves into each co-curator's earliest encounters with African art and seeks to examine the delicate, often intriguing evolution of their highly individual tastes. What we derive from their insights and their selections is a glimpse into the meaning of art, connoisseurship, and the often ineffable meaning of beauty.

Exhibition catalogue by James Baldwin, Romare Bearden, Ekpo Eyo, Nancy Graves, Ivan Karp, Lela Kouakou, Iba N'Diaye, David Rockefeller, William Rubin, and Robert Farris Thompson, with introduction by Susan Vogel and interviews by Michael John Weber.

Published and distributed by The Center for African Art and Harry N. Abrams Inc., Septmeber 1987. 196 pp.

Cloth: ISBN 0-9614587-4-7, Paper: ISBN 0-9614587-6-3 [OUT OF PRINT]. LCCN: 86-26328.