Primitivism refers to a) an artistic movement in particular which originated as a reaction to the Enlightenment, or b) the general tendency to idealize any social behavior judged relatively simple or primitive, whether in the arts, social sciences or elsewhere.
In art, Primitivism can be seen as a set of modern European and Euro-American representational conventions inspired by non-Western art and artifacts. These conventions were first developed by Europeans and Euro-Americans who were dissatisfied with a variety of aspects of European culture, and sought to find what they were missing in other parts of the world. What emerged was a simplistic understanding of other cultures, structured by the primitivists' own desires, their lack of knowledge of other societies and, to an extent, to racism inherent within European society.
Paul Gauguin (painting) and early Igor Stravinsky (music) are two of the important examples of primitivist art.
See our other WIKI : Geoff Bunn Art & Artist
