African Dream Machines by Anitra Nettleton

ISBN: 9781868144587

Publisher: Wits University University Press, 1st October 2007

Paperback, 487 pages

African Dream Machines takes African headrests out of the category of functional objects and into the more rarefied category of ‘art’ objects. This book defines styles in African headrests as a single formal style model as exclusive to a single ethnic group.

African Dream Machines takes African headrests out of the category of functional objects and into the more rarefied category of ‘art’ objects. Styles in African headrests are usually defined in terms of western art and archaeological discourses, but this book interrogates these definitions of style and demonstrates the shortcomings of defining a single formal style model as exclusive to a single ethnic group.Among the artefacts made by southern African peoples, headrests were the best known. Anitra Nettleton’s study of the uses and forms of headrests opened up a number of art-historical methodologies in the attempt to gain an understanding of form, style and content in African art objects. Her drawings of each and every headrest encountered become a major part of the project.