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Voicing New Critical Perspectives

of stylistic development, chronology, and biography? why have new methodologies made so few inroads in this field? I will not presume to answer these questions or to dispute such claims, although a great deal of evidence to the contrary exists. (The two most recent studies of African American cultural production, authored by Richard J. Powell and Patton, both position themselves a texts seeking to move beyond traditional methodologies.) I would, however, urge us to remember that notwithstanding the drift away from hierarchical and canonical formations inart history, some of the most exciting new work on American visual culture has been done on some of its most widely studied artists and objects; this work stands on a foundation that was the accomplishment of prior generations, many of whom were pioneers working with very little encouragement. African American art history has been around a long time, but in some ways, and for many people, it is an emerging field. Thus recovery and reclamation are still extremely important enterprises. This is time-consuming and often tedious work, but it is not without its own intellectual interest and certainly not without value. We need more monographs on African American artists and catalogues raisonnes of their work, and we need to provide the support necessary to produce them. This support may take many forms, from encouraging graduate students to undertake certain dissertation topics to ensuring that this work finds its way into the literature via the mainstream presses and journals in our field. I am not suggesting that the systematic development of African American art history depends upon the completion of this record before new paradigms can emerge. Like any other field of scholarly inquiry, African American art history will remain vigorous to the extent hat it remains dynamic. My hope is that the growing enthusiasm and energy in this field will be channeled in a number of different directions, enabling African American art history to become a model of the productive coexistence and encouragement of diverse scholars and scholarly methodologies.