一场原始艺术的世界之旅——莱昂哈德·亚当《原始艺术》述评

A world tour of primitive art:the review of Primitive Art by Leonhard Adam

莱昂哈德·亚当的《原始艺术》首次在国内译介,虽是一本普及性的小书,却是作者考证修订多次的代表作,其中涉及对原始艺术的概念名称、形式特征、社会功能、文化变迁等内容的阐释,都非常精彩独到,应当引起学界重视。《原始艺术》所描摹的对象,从时空上讲包括史前艺术和现代原始民族的艺术;从形式上看可分为写实与象征两种;从功能上则有实用与审美的辩证关系。在研究方法上,亚当主要依靠博物馆藏品和历史文献材料,对原始艺术作风格上的分析与比较,同时重视语境研究和文化阐释;晚年定居澳大利亚后,他通过多次的田野考察和资料收集,对《原始艺术》的内容进行了修改和扩充。相比博厄斯,亚当更加关注原始艺术在未来的发展,关注原始艺术对于现代社会的适应情况及影响。总而言之,亚当以其全球文化史的视野,带领他的读者开始了一场原始艺术的世界之旅。

Primitive art wrote by Leonhard Adam is a first translation in Chinese. Though it was a limited-space book intended for general public, it was representative work revised many times by author. The topics discussed in the book,such as the concept of primitive art, form features, social functions and cultural changes, were brilliantly addressed by the author and we should pay attention to it. The objects described in Primitive Art include prehistoric arts and the arts of modern primitive people from the perspective of time and space. In form, it can be divided into two kinds of style: realistic and symbolic. From the function, there is a dialectical relationship between practicality and aesthetics of primitive art. In terms of research methods, Adam mainly relies on museum collections and historical documents to make stylistic analysis and comparison of original art, while paying attention to contextual research and cultural interpretation. After he settled down in Australia in his later years, he was able to revise and expand the content of Primitive Art through many fieldwork and material collection. Compared with Boas, Adam pays more attention to the development of primitive art in the future and the adaptation and influence of primitive art on modern society. In a word, with global cultural history perspective,Adam takes his readers on a world tour of primitive art.