Arnold Rubin (1937-1988)

Dr. Arnold G. Rubin (1937-1988) taught art history in the Department of Art, Design, and Art History at UCLA from 1967 until his death in 1988. He was a leading scholar and innovator in the expressive arts of Africa, focusing on the Middle Benue River Valley in Nigeria. Professor Rubin’s work and teaching also extended to studies of popular culture in Los Angeles, including the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and body art such as tattoo and piercing. He edited the seminal volume, Marks of Civilization: Artistic Transformations of the Human Body (Museum of Cultural History, 1988) and wrote the landmark essay, Accumulation: Power and Display in African Sculpture (Artforum, May 1975). The Arnold Rubin Papers — consisting of journals, correspondence, published articles, manuscripts, visual materials, and course materials produced and collected by Professor Rubin – are housed at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. For further information, see: https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf0779n3nm/