Ilona Szombati, born in Hungary, in 1945. Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the New School for Social Research, New York City.
Fellow (1 September 1982 – 31 August 1983)
The aim of my research project was to organise and synthesise a large body of information accumulated over several years:
extensive field-research material from Zaire, consisting of paintings, films and photography, as well as taped interviews with African artists;
archival documentation and taped interviews with members of the expatriate community in Belgium;
review of literature in different areas (e.g. Theories of art, aesthetics, representation and visual communication, theories of objects and material culture, etc.) in order to formulate a theoretical framework capable to interpret the phenomenon under investigation.