Locating Primary Documents: Global Modernism and the Archival Turn

Abstract

AbstractThis essay considers the contribution of Anneka Lenssen, Sarah Rogers, and Nada Shabout'sModern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documentsto global art history. In particular, the essay addresses the archival turn, the challenges of language and translations in the publication of primary sources, and the continued need to challenge Eurocentric views of and approaches to global modernism. This includes considering howModern Art and the Arab World'scontributions aim to upend Western preconceptions about modern art from the “Arab world,” and demonstrating how such publications can serve as sources for critical evaluations and reconsiderations of the history of global modernism in general.