Robert Farris Thompson
Robert Farris Thompson (born December 30, 1932, El Paso, Texas[1]) is the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of the History of Art at Yale University.
He lived in the Yoruba region of southwest Nigeria for many years while he conducted his research of Yoruba arts history. He is affiliated with the University of Ibadan and frequented Yoruba village communities. Thompson has studied the African arts of the diaspora in the United States, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and several Caribbean islands. Robert Farris Thompson is also an authority on hip hop culture.
History at Yale
In 1955, Thompson received his B.A. from Yale University. After receiving his Bachelors Degree, he continued his studies at Yale where he received his Masters in 1961 and his Ph.D in 1965.[2]
Having served as Master of Timothy Dwight College from 1978 until 2010, he was the longest serving master of a residential college at Yale. He was recently replaced as Master of Timothy Dwight College by Jeffrey Brenzel. Thompson is one of America's most prominent scholars of African art, and has presided over exhibitions of African art at the National Gallery in Washington D. C.. Thompson is one of the longest-serving alumni of Yale.
Publications and Areas of Study
Beginning with an article on Afro-Cuban dance and music (published in 1958), Thompson has dedicated his life to the study of art history of the Afro-Atlantic world.[2] His first book was Black Gods and Kings, which was a close reading of the art history of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria (population of approximately 40 million).[2] Other published works include- African Art in Motion, Flash of the Spirit (1983), Face of the Gods, and Tango: The Art History of Love.[2] Thompson also published an introduction to the diaries of Keith Haring. Some of his works have even been translated into German, Portuguese, French and Flemish.[2] Additionally, Thompson also studies the art of Guillermo Kuitca and José Bedia, and has been anthologized 15 times.[2]
Awards
In 2007, Thompson was given the "Outstanding Contribution to Dance Research" award, by the Congress on Research in Dance.
References
- ↑ Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy (Random House, 1984: ISBN 0-394-72369-4), p. 398.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Yale University :: Department of the History of Art". arthistory.yale.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
Bibliography
- 1971 Black Gods and Kings: Yoruba Art at UCLA
- 1974 African Art in Motion: Icon and Act in the Collection of Katharine Coryton White
- 1974 African Art and Motion: Art Illustrated Guide to the Exhibition
- 1981 The Four Moments of The Sun: Kongo Art in Two Worlds
- 1984 Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy
- 1993 Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas
- 2005 Tango : The Art History of Love
- 2011 Aesthetic of the Cool : Afro-Atlantic Art and Music
External links
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Entry partly made by Michael Oladejo Afolayan, PhD - friend and former student of Robert Farris Thompson.