- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Pantheon Books (10 Feb 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375409319
- ISBN-13: 978-0375409318
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,568,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts > Dance > Ballroom
- #48 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts > Dance > Tango
Tango: The Art History of Love
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Product Description
Product Description
In this generously illustrated book, world- renowned Yale art historian Robert Farris Thompson gives us the definitive account of tango, “the fabulous dance of the past hundred years—and the most beautiful, in the opinion of Martha Graham.”
From its syncretic evolution in the nineteenth century—partaking of European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and, unbeknownst to many, African influences—to its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world, Thompson shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life.
As he did in his classic Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy, Thompson, in this book, “takes his subject in the round, not in any specialized or compartmentalized manner. He is part anthropologist, part art critic, part musicologist, part student of religion and philosophy, and entirely an enthusiastic partisan of what he writes about” (The New York Times).
Passionately argued; unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding; and written with revelatory clarity, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.
From its syncretic evolution in the nineteenth century—partaking of European, Andalusian-Gaucho, and, unbeknownst to many, African influences—to its representations by Hollywood and dramatizations in dance halls throughout the world, Thompson shows us tango not only as brilliant choreography but also as text, music, art, and philosophy of life.
As he did in his classic Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy, Thompson, in this book, “takes his subject in the round, not in any specialized or compartmentalized manner. He is part anthropologist, part art critic, part musicologist, part student of religion and philosophy, and entirely an enthusiastic partisan of what he writes about” (The New York Times).
Passionately argued; unparalleled in its research, its synthesis, and its depth of understanding; and written with revelatory clarity, Tango: The Art History of Love is a monumental achievement.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Despite Buenos Aires and Montevideo being the whitest cities of the Americas, their characteristic dances, tango and milonga, are at root deeply and, according to this remarkably thorough and wide-ranging piece of investigation, inescapably African..
Thompson is expertly equipped to make the case, being both a tango enthusiast and, in his other hat, a scholar of African art and deeply knowledgeable of the Bantu language Ki-Kongo, spoken by the Bakongo people in the tropical forests of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Ki-Kongo was spoken by many Africans who were taken into slavery and sold in the Americas. Creolized forms of the language are found in the ritual speech of African derived religions in Brazil, Jamaica and Cuba. Thompson argues that Ki-Kongo is "the main ancestral idiom of black Buenos Aires." In the course of a detailed history of the evolution of tango, with potted biographies of dozens of dancers and musicians, Thompson traces dance steps to antecedent body moves in the cultures of Central Africa at the moment the slave ships transported them across the Atlantic and created an overarching Afro-Atlantic culture.
Wonderful stuff, passionately argued, with some charming lyrical flourishes - `...some milongas are tinctured with yearning...'; `To follow its motions, steps and offbeats is to learn to connect roots with new voices.'
One or two minor blemishes in the argument: on occasion, word derivations we suspect are hypothetical are stated as fact. At times the thinking behind renderings of porteño in Black `yoof' English (`homegirl' for `compadrita,' for instance) beg for some justification. On the editorial side, two passages on the derivation of canyengue, and two passages about there being no African instruments in tango, should each have been melted down to one. And, strangely, the original Ki-Kongo follows his translations from that language, but not so verses and aphorisms first cast in Spanish, for instance, or German. Lastly, I'm against celebrity prefaces a priori: they suggest a lack of confidence in the book that follows. Don't let David Byrne's put you off: it could cost you an enriching, horizon-expanding read.
Thompson is expertly equipped to make the case, being both a tango enthusiast and, in his other hat, a scholar of African art and deeply knowledgeable of the Bantu language Ki-Kongo, spoken by the Bakongo people in the tropical forests of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Ki-Kongo was spoken by many Africans who were taken into slavery and sold in the Americas. Creolized forms of the language are found in the ritual speech of African derived religions in Brazil, Jamaica and Cuba. Thompson argues that Ki-Kongo is "the main ancestral idiom of black Buenos Aires." In the course of a detailed history of the evolution of tango, with potted biographies of dozens of dancers and musicians, Thompson traces dance steps to antecedent body moves in the cultures of Central Africa at the moment the slave ships transported them across the Atlantic and created an overarching Afro-Atlantic culture.
Wonderful stuff, passionately argued, with some charming lyrical flourishes - `...some milongas are tinctured with yearning...'; `To follow its motions, steps and offbeats is to learn to connect roots with new voices.'
One or two minor blemishes in the argument: on occasion, word derivations we suspect are hypothetical are stated as fact. At times the thinking behind renderings of porteño in Black `yoof' English (`homegirl' for `compadrita,' for instance) beg for some justification. On the editorial side, two passages on the derivation of canyengue, and two passages about there being no African instruments in tango, should each have been melted down to one. And, strangely, the original Ki-Kongo follows his translations from that language, but not so verses and aphorisms first cast in Spanish, for instance, or German. Lastly, I'm against celebrity prefaces a priori: they suggest a lack of confidence in the book that follows. Don't let David Byrne's put you off: it could cost you an enriching, horizon-expanding read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful
The philosophy, anthrpology, religion and art of the tango revealed
13 Mar 2006
Format:Hardcover
Robert Farris Thompson is a Yale art historian who here tackles not art but the artistically-defined world of tango, the dance of the past hundred years which evolved from 19th century European and even African origins to come to Hollywood. His isn't just a musical, dance or art expose: it embraces anthropology, religion, philosophy and more as it seeks an in-depth understanding of not just the dance but its cultural expression in TANGO: THE ART HISTORY OF LOVE. A gorgeous survey of a much-revealed form of expression.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
WELL DONE MAESTRO
13 April 2008
Format:Paperback
As an argentino, that grew up listenning to the Beatles and CCR, I must say that this book was quite an enlightning experience.
It opened my curiosity with regards to the history of Africo-Argentino culture. It is not dead, thank you milonga.
I have a copy signed by Mr thompson and really didnt know what I'd gotten until I went home and read the book.
His theories, to my scrutiny, are sound.
You may not see 'blacks' in Argentina now a days but, an underlined racism still lingers.
I have had difficulty talking about this book with relatives and friends.
I think that Mr Thompson has done a great catharthic piece that will test the Argentine historians for years to come.
Although the lyrics could have been translated closer to the point, using a less literal method.
I believe that this book is 'heavy' more so than anything else out there.
It has more knowledge per page and hopefully will inspire a new generation of writers within the Argentino culture.
Thank you! Mr Thompson.
It opened my curiosity with regards to the history of Africo-Argentino culture. It is not dead, thank you milonga.
I have a copy signed by Mr thompson and really didnt know what I'd gotten until I went home and read the book.
His theories, to my scrutiny, are sound.
You may not see 'blacks' in Argentina now a days but, an underlined racism still lingers.
I have had difficulty talking about this book with relatives and friends.
I think that Mr Thompson has done a great catharthic piece that will test the Argentine historians for years to come.
Although the lyrics could have been translated closer to the point, using a less literal method.
I believe that this book is 'heavy' more so than anything else out there.
It has more knowledge per page and hopefully will inspire a new generation of writers within the Argentino culture.
Thank you! Mr Thompson.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Recommend this for dancers interested in more than the steps.
20 Oct 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was recommended to me by a fellow Tango student. It seems to be one of the best out there for those whose dancing has lead to intellectual curiosity about the Argentine culture, politics, and music. This understanding contributes to how I dance Tango today. As I learn new dances, I hope to get beyond being mechanically competent, to dancing this Tango from some inner place. This is one of those books that is helping me get there.
There is a very good section on the "how-to" of the dance which will be helpful to dancers with some experience. Beginners will need a little floor time to recognize and absorb the instructions.
There is a very good section on the "how-to" of the dance which will be helpful to dancers with some experience. Beginners will need a little floor time to recognize and absorb the instructions.
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