Art of Decolonisation: Dakar-Paris, 1950-70

Description: A transnational and transhistorical history of the artistic, political, and diplomatic relations between France and Senegal from the 1950s to the 1970s. This book examines the strategies of decolonisation from a globalised perspective and decentres perspectives about modernism and the global turn in contemporary art.

Review Quotes:

'Murphy's thoroughly researched work provides fresh perspectives on Senegalese modern art through comprehensive use of archival sources. In clear, persuasive language, she explores the complexities of cultural transition across historical periods, national boundaries, and artistic media. Her critical analysis of decolonization reveals an artistic imagination that transcends reductive binaries of Europe versus Africa or dominant versus marginalized. The book is an essential resource for scholars and readers interested in postcolonial studies, museology, and global modernism.'
--Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, The Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator in Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

'This fascinating book provides a fresh look at the cultural politics, institutional gambits and artistic claims shaping the postwar relations between Senegal and France. With her compelling transhistorical approach and careful archival work, Murphy deepens and complicates our knowledge of Senegalese modernism, anticolonial politics, and the networked histories of modernisms from the global south.'
--Elizabeth Harney, University of Toronto Scarborough