David Doris Associate Professor U of M Affiliation(s) The Center for Afroamerican and African Studies PhD Yale University

David T. Doris is Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art and in CAAS, specializing in the History of African Arts and Visual Cultures. His scholarly interests include theories of cross-cultural interpretation, conceptions of an "anti-aesthetic" in African contexts, and the representation of Africa and its peoples in world's fairs, theme parks, and other commodity spectacles. He maintains a special focus on the art and culture of the Yoruba people, both in southwestern Nigeria and in the Diaspora. His current book project is entitled Vigilant Things: the Strange Fates of Ordinary Objects in Southwestern Nigeria; it deals with the moral and mnemonic function of assemblages of useless and discarded objects in contemporary Yoruba culture. The dissertation on which the book is based received the 2004 Roy Sieber Memorial Award for the Outstanding Dissertation in the Field of African Art History, from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA).

Books:

Zen-kabaré: Barangolá a fluxus határvideekén. Budapest: Kalligram, 2000.

Articles in journals:

"Vigilant Things: The Strange Fates of Ordinary Objects in Southwestern Nigeria." In Center 21: Record of Activities and Research Reports, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. Washington D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2001, pp. 65-67.

"It's the Truth, It's Actual: Kodak Picture Spots at Walt Disney World." Visual Resources Vol. XIV, no. 3. (1999), pp. 321-338.

Articles in books:

"Zen Vaudeville: A Medi(t)ation in the Margins of Fluxus." In The Fluxus Reader. Edited by Ken Friedman. London: Academy Editions, 1998, pp. 91-135.

"Zen and Fluxus? Shut My Mouth, Quick!" In the catalogue of the travelling exhibition Fluxus Virus. Edited by Ken Friedman. Köln: Galerie Schüppenhauer, September 1992.

Museum Projects:

Co-Curator (with Sarah Adams), "African Art at Yale: A Recollection," Yale University Art Gallery, Autumn 1999.

Co-Curator (with Michael Kan), "African Masterworks: Yoruba Aesthetics," University of Michigan Museum of Art, November 2004 - May 2005.