The Mimbres cultural florescence between about AD 1000 and AD 1140 remains one of the most visually astonishing and anthropologically intriguing questions in Southwest prehistory. In this revised edition, noted Mimbres scholar Dr. J. J. Brody incorporates the extensive fieldwork done since the original publication in 1977, updating his discussion of village life, the larger world in which the Mimbres people lived, and how the art that they practiced illuminates these wider issues. He addresses human and animal iconography, the importance of perspective and motion in perceivingMimbres artistry, and the technology used to produce the ceramics. This lively, engaging work will interest archaeologists, art historians, and all people who enjoy the beauty of Mimbres pottery. Featuring over one hundred new illustrations and insights drawn from a lifetime of study and contemplation, this book is much more than a revised edition; it establishes a new standard for the artistic interpretation of a classic Southwestern culture for the new century.

This paper takes as its starting point the theory that Eskimos came to the Americas from Paleolithic Europe, then compares the artwork of both cultures to see if there are any similarities to support this hypothesis.

The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art is an ambitious publishing endeavor, unparalleled in its comprehensive approach to the study of art in the United States. Edited by Joan Marter, Distinguished Professor of Art History at Rutgers University, the five-volume Encyclopedia reconceptualizes American Art from the vantage point of the twenty-first century with a new methodological approach and broader scope than any such work published to date. The project takes a fresh look at what American art is, how it is defined, and who influenced it and produced it, and it offers a new foundation for scholarship for decades to come.
Taking the American art content from Grove Art Online as its starting point, the Encyclopedia contains entries that were reviewed, revised, and updated as well as hundreds of new entries that comprise an up-to-date survey of this essential and ever-growing area of art history. It covers American painting, architecture, sculpture, and photography from the Pre-Columbian sources to the colonial period to the twenty-first century devoting coverage to many previously underrepresented areas of inquiry, including African American artists, Asian American artists, and Native American art, both historical and contemporary. Artists, major movements, institutions, critics, and the architecture found in major cities of the United States are covered, as are new media and methodologies, including digital art, performance art, and installation art. In addition to American artists such as John Singer Sargent, Robert Rauschenberg, Maya Lin, and Kiki Smith, attention is also paid to individuals who have had a significant impact on American art and art history through their activity in the United States, including Marcel Duchamp, Erwin Panofsky, Renzo Piano, and Max Beckmann.
With an extensive illustration program totaling over 700 images, 128 color plates, a topical outline, and a detailed bibliography accompanying each of the more than 2,300 entries, The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art will be of particular interest to students, researchers, and collectors specializing in American art as well as students and researchers in art history, American history, and cultural anthropology.
2011 Booklist Editors' Choice
RUSA/ALA Outstanding Reference Source
Library Journal Best Reference 2011

The story of the Native peoples of the Great Plains--including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Lakota, Shoshone, Blackfeet, Kiowa, Pawnee, Arikara, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Crow tribes-- is integral to the history and heritage of the American West. These buffalo-hunting and horticultural people once dominated the vast open region of the Great Plains, west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, that stretches from present-day Canada to Texas. The Native people of the Plains found this vast, harsh land rich in resources, with tall grass prairies abundant with herds of buffalo and other grazing animals and fertile river valleys that supported farming. Economic practices were intertwined with spiritual ceremonial activities and core beliefs about the people's relationships to the land, sky, and universe. The magnificent arts of Plains Indian people also had such spiritual underpinnings, which, together with their historical and cultural contexts, can provide greater insight into and appreciation of their tribal significances. Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 images of objects from traditional feather bonnets to war shirts, bear claw necklaces, pipe tomahawks, beadwork, and quillwork, as well as archival photographs of historical events and individuals and photographs of contemporary Native life, Memory and Vision is a comprehensive examination of the environments and historic forces that forged these cultures, and a celebration of their ongoing presence in our national society.

The Indians of northeastern North America are known to us primarily through reports and descriptions written by European explorers, clergy, and settlers, and through archaeological evidence. An additional invaluable source of information is the interpretation of rock art images and their relationship to native peoples for recording practical matters or information, as expressions of their legends and spiritual traditions, or as simple doodling or graffiti. The images in this book connect us directly to the Indian peoples of the Northeast, mainly Algonkian tribes inhabiting eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and the lower Potomac River Valley, New York, New Jersey, the six New England States, and Atlantic Canada. Lenik provides a full range of rock art appearances in the study area, including some dendroglyphs, pictographs, and a selection of portable rock objects. By providing a full analysis and synthesis of the data, including the types and distribution of the glyphs, and interpretations of their meaning to the native peoples, Lenik reveals a wealth of new information on the culture and lifeways of the Indians of the Northeast.

The second National Indigenous Art Triennial, "unDisclosed," charts the trajectory of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in Australia since the first triennial, "Culture Warriors," in 2007, exploring the work of 20 exemplary Indigenous artists from around Australia.

Thematically, "unDisclosed" goes behind the scenes to discover the often invisible framework of motivations and meanings upon which artistsO ideas, narratives and works of art rest. It is a celebration and examination of the importance of an Indigenous voice in framing an Australian identity and serves as a platform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists determined to present their individual and shared perspectives."

"The vessels in the pages that follow open to us a world flickering with the light of a people's collective character and shared philosophy. These vessels have bodies of clay, but they float before us in the zero gravity of wisdom and belief."-- Edwin L. Wade

Canvas of Clay tells the story of Hopi ceramics from the 14th century to recent times, offering a particularly close look at the art and life of the master potter Nampeyo (1860-1942). It analyzes the specific dynamics of nearly 100 jars and bowls, all richly illustrated, weaving in many insights into Hopi history, aesthetics, and symbolism. Included are original schematic drawings that will help readers understand how pottery decoration is built from ingeniously combined design elements. This book is a glorious testament to a brilliant art form and its practitioners, presented with passion, knowledge, and respect.

Constructing African Art Histories for the Lagoons of Cote d'Ivoire is an investigation of the methods employed by art historians who study creative production in Africa. While providing insights into the rich visual arts of the Lagoon Peoples of southeastern Cote d'Ivoire, this study is one of the few attempts by an Africanist to situate local and regional artistic practices in the context of the global art market, and to trace the varied receptions an African art work is given as it leaves a local context and enters an international one. Drawing on her three seasons of fieldwork among Akan populations in Cote d'Ivoire, Monica Blackmun Visona provides a comprehensive account of a major art-producing region of Africa, and explores such topics as gender roles in performance, the role of sculpture in divination, and the interchange of arts and ideas across ethnic boundaries. The book also addresses issues inherent in research practices, such as connoisseurship and participant observation, and examines theoretical positions that have had an impact on the discipline of African art history.

The Definitive Guide to Ancient and Contemporary Rock Art! Rock Art explores the fascinating history of ancient human-made stone markings that have puzzled historians, archaeologists, and hikers alike for centuries. What is rock art, and who created these mysterious symbols, and why are so many pieces of artwork similar across disparate and long-forgotten cultures? How was rock art made-and, more importantly, why? These questions and more are addressed in this comprehensive guide, complete with full-color images and travel listings. Look inside to find: *Prehistories and histories of the cultures who created these images and etchings. *Detailed descriptions of the tools, techniques, and methods used to create rock art. *Best practices and techniques for photographing these alluring rock images. *Extensive list of rock art sites across the United States. Whether you're fascinated by the wondrous ancient imagery imprinted on the landscape or just curious about the markings alongside your favorite hiking trail, Rock Art is the only guide you need to better understand this mysterious and beautiful art form.

In the history of art only a select number of artists distinguish themselves as originators of a personal idiom that reverberates beyond place and time. John Nieto is one of those originals. His eye-dazzling paintings rank him among the vanguard of contemporary American colorists. Recognized worldwide for his signature blend of expressive colors, dynamic brushwork, and powerful compositions, Nieto is an American artist who speaks in a universal Language. His personal story, told here for the first time, is a journey of discovery. His paintings combine reverence for his heritage with a sophisticated worldview. They are also autobiographical. Nieto depicts Native peoples as icons of dignity and unity. His buffalo, bears, and coyotes are symbols of survival. Each is captured in pulsating saturated hues that affirm the vibrant spirituality inherent in all living things.

This beautifully-illustrated book features some of the most magnificent works of art produced by the people that inhabited the present territory of Ecuador before the arrival of the Spaniards. Ecuador, the territory where an important part of pre-Columbian thought was formed, is a place of contact and cultural dissemination between societies from the southern part of the continent, Peruvians and from the north, Mesoamericans. Located in the middle of the world, it is influenced by natural phenomena such as the mix of the cold Humboldt ocean current with the warm El Nino current. At the same time, its territory is divided by the Andes, giving shape to a couple of impressive mountain ranges that drain into the Pacific humid forest, as well as into the Amazon jungle. Factors like these bring a huge richness to the ecosystem which pre-Columbian humans had to respond to, producing stunning cultural expressions.A picture of this mosaic of settlements, which fostered exchange in ceremonies and cult objects, is presented in this book which gives an overall view of a very rich civilising movement as illustrated through a selection of emblematic objects made of pottery, metal and other materials. This book is enriched by a collection of essays from the most distinguished experts in Ecuadorian archaeology.

Over the centuries, artists across sub-Saharan Africa have memorialized eminent figures in their societies using an astonishingly diverse repertoire of naturalistic and abstract sculptural idioms. Adopting complex aesthetic fromulations, they idealized their subjects but also added specific details--such as emblems of rank, scarification patterns, and elaborate coiffures--in order to evoke the individuals represented. Imbued with the essence of their formidable subjects, these works played an essential role in reifying ties with important ancestors at critical moments of transition. Often their transfer from one generation to the next was a prerequisite for conferring legitimacy upon the leaders who followed. The arrival of Europeans as traders, then as colonizers, led to the dislocation of many of these sculptures from their original sites, as well as from the contexts in which they were conceived; thus, today, they are seen primarily as timeless representations of generic archetypes. "Heroic Africans "reexamines the sculptures in terms of the individuals who inspired them and the cultural values that informed them, providing insight into the hidden meaning and inspiration behind these great artistic achievements.

Author Alisa LaGamma considers the landmark sculptural traditions of the kingdoms of Ife and Benin, both in Nigeria; Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire's Akan chiefdoms; the Bangwa and Kom chiefdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields; the Chokwe cheifdoms of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.); and the D.R.C's Luluwa, Kuba, and Hemba chiefdoms. More than 140 masterpieces created between the 12th and the early 20th century--complemented by maps, drawings, and excavation and ceremonial photographs--reveal the religious and aesthetic conventions that defined distinct regional genres.

Dynasty and Divinity presents a major part of the extraordinary corpus of ancient Ife art in terra-cotta, stone, and metal, dating from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries. Artists at Ife, the ancient city-state of the Yoruba people of West Africa (located in present-day southwestern Nigeria), created sculpture that ranks among the most aesthetically striking and technically sophisticated in the world. Dynasty and Divinity reveals the extraordinarily creative range of Ife art through a diversity of objects that includes handsome idealized portrait heads, exquisite miniatures, expressive caricatures of old age, lively animals, and sculptures showing the impressive regalia worn by Ife's kings and queens. Together, these illuminate one of the world's greatest art centers and demonstrate the technological sophistication of Ife artists, as well as the rich aesthetic language they developed in order to convey ideas about worldly and divine power.--The refined sculptures from Ife demonstrate the dignity and self-assurance associated with the idea of dynasty, as well as the results of misfortunes and violence that could befall human beings -- both fates shaped by divine as well as human interventions. Among the many masterpieces from Ife art in this book are a group of life-size copper portrait heads, carved stone animals, and the spectacular seated male figure found in the town of Tada, Nigeria, shown dressed in an elaborate textile. Essays explore the significance of Ife's stone, terra-cotta, and metal sculptures in the context of Yoruba history and culture and consider the significance of this portrayal of an ancient African city. Today, the city of Ife is still a spiritual heartland for the 29 million Yoruba people living in Nigeria and countless descendants in the Americas and elsewhere in the world. --Dynasty and Divinity accompanies an exhibition co-organized by the Museum for African Art, New York City, and the Fundacion Marcelino Botin, Santander, Spain, in collaboration with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria. The exhibition will appear at the British Museum, London, as Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures of West Africa. --Henry John Drewal is Evjue-Bascom Professor of Art History and Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and adjunct curator of African art at the University's Chazen Museum of Art. --Enid Schildkrout is chief curator and director of exhibitions and publications at the Museum for African Art and curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History.

The nation's premier private collection of Rookwood art pottery featuring American Indian portraiture is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum from October 2007 to January 2008. "Rookwood and the American Indian: Masterpieces of American Art Pottery from the James J. Gardner Collection" is a remarkable exhibition catalogue that will be of interest well beyond the exhibition because of its unique subject matter. Fifty-two pieces produced by the Rookwood Pottery Company are showcased, many accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the American Indians portrayed by the ceramic artist. In addition, the catalogue includes a brief biography of each artist as well as curators' comments about the Rookwood pottery and the Indian apparel seen in the portraits.
The catalogue also presents two essays. The first, "Enduring Encounters: Cincinnatians and American Indians to 1900," by ethnologist and co-curator Susan Labry Meyn, describes American Indian activities in Cincinnati from the time of the first settlers to 1900 and relates these events to national policy, such as the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Rookwood and the American Indian, by art historian Anita J. Ellis, concentrates on Rookwood's fascination with the American Indian and the economic implications of producing that line.
Rookwood and the American Indian blends anthropology with art history to reveal the relationships between the white settlers and the Native Americans in general, between Cincinnati and the American Indian in particular, and ultimately between Rookwood artists and their Indian friends.

"The traditional art forms of the Admiralty Islands occupy an important place in the art of the South Sea Islands. The originality of their oeuvre is manifested in monumental sculptures and magnificent wooden bowls and dishes as well as in small implements of virtuoso design. The works are decorated in a rich palette of red, black, brown and white tones that give severe, strongly contrasting visual effects. " Featured here are] the artistically fashioned products of the archipelego's material culture. A centrally positions in occupied by representations of humans and animals and the adornment of ritual objects. Objects that played a role in religion and mythology, and above all, in the daily life of the inhabitants of the islands. " -- From the Preface by Lorenz Homberger

Like few of his contemporaries, Norman Feder helped shape the study of American Indian art. In a career spanning four decades as hobbyist craftsman, author, curator, and editor, Feder contributed to the theoretical and methodological foundation of a discipline about to emerge from the narrow interests of museum anthropologists and devoted amateurs into public prominence and widespread appreciation. Feder entered the field without the benefit of academic training, but with a profound firsthand knowledge of the importance of techniques for an understanding of Native American visual forms of expression. Among his lasting contributions is the explicit recognition of the historical nature of these art forms, of the resulting significance of documented collections and information contained in early drawings and photographs for a placement of artifact styles in time and space, and of the usefulness of studies of artifact types or genres in Native American art. In this volume a group of American, Canadian, and European anthropologists, art historians, and collectors explore topics relating to FederOs far-ranging interests in Native American art and shed light on his background and achievements. Essays by Arthur C. Einhorn, Joyce Herold, Tilly Laskey, Roanne P. Goldfein, Christian F. Feest, Steven C. Brown, Colin F. Taylor, Bill Holm, Arni Brownstone, Imre Nagy, Molly Lee, Marvin Cohodas, Ruth B. Phillips, Sally McLendon, William C. Sturtevant, and Sylvia S. Kasprycki deal with works from different regions, time periods, and traditional forms of expression of Native North America."

This volume tracing the history of Native American art examines such topics as Native American culture, art and tradition, and how these have changed in modern times.

This is the third volume of a new edition of a classic work, the annotated collection of waiata made by the distinguished Maori leader and scholar Sir Apirana Ngata and previously published in four volumes by the Polynesian Society with English translations of the first three volumes by another great Maori scholar Pei Te Hurinui Jones. This completely redesigned and reset edition, published in association with the Polynesian Society, preserves the integrity of Ngata's text and Jones's translations and their commentary but modernises the typography by the inclusion of macrons. It also includes a CD of waiata drawn from the Archive of Maori and Pacific Music at the University of Auckland, An essential text for anyone studying Maori culture. Part One of the AUP edition, published in 2004, was so successful it was reprinted in 2005. This work: brings back into print a classic work of Maori scholarship, preserving a cultural treasure bringing to a wider audience; Part One was so popular it had to be reprinted within months; it has bilingual text. It is an invaluable resource for scholars, teachers and students of Maori or Polynesian or Pacific traditional music, culture language, literature and tribal history. It includes: new design and layout. It now includes notes from Maori scholars. It is further enhanced, for the first time, by audio CD. The last volume of the set will follow in July 2007.

Roy Henry Vickers is known around the world for his unique artistic style marked by clean lines, vivid colours and natural themes drawn from the rugged beauty of the west coast of British Columbia. Influenced by his Tsimshian, Haida, Heiltsuk and British heritage, Vickers unites the stylized forms of his aboriginal ancestry with the realism of European art, creating vibrant images that speak to a universal spirit. His limited edition prints can be found in homes, museums and galleries around the world and have been presented to royalty.
"Storyteller" collects a decade of prints and paintings by Roy Henry Vickers into one stunning volume, including 118 previously unpublished works, making this a much-anticipated addition to the libraries of admirers of Pacific Northwest art. A note from the artist accompanies each image, inviting the reader to a deeper understanding of both art and artist.

'Challenging Hegemony' is a collection of essays by leading social movement scholars and activists analysing the emergence of new political struggles in post-Apartheid South Africa.

David Malangi (1927-1999) of the Manharrngu people was a leading figure in the development of the central Arnhem Land bark painting movement and holds a prominent place in Australian Aboriginal art. Made famous by his design used on the Australian one dollar note introduced in 1966, Malangi painted over a period of four decades. This volume traces the development of MalangiOs work from the early bark paintings of the 1960s that record his patrilineally inherited land and ceremonies, to the masterful dedications to his mother's land and culture for which he was also responsible and where he spent the last thirty years of his life. Susan Jenkins is acting curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, National Gallery of Australia. Other contributors to the volume include Nigel Lendon, Djon Mundine, Margie West, and members of MalangiOs family."

Presenting for the first time over 150 artefacts from private collections, this lavishly illustrated volume offers readers a rare glimpse into an underexplored and underappreciated area of art and art history.It traces the origins of artefacts from the Lesser Sundas islands east of Bali, back to the time when the islands were first inhabited by mankind, before going on to firmly establish them in their historical and cultural context.Providing an invaluable insight into the origins of what has popularly become known as Oceanic art, this wonderful volume is an essential reference for anyone interested in art history, archaeology, or Indonesian culture.

When Europeans encountered them, the Catawba Indians were living along the river and throughout the valley that carries their name near the present North Carolina-South Carolina border. Archaeologists later collected and identified categories of pottery types belonging to the historic Catawba and extrapolated an association with their protohistoric and prehistoric predecessors. In this volume, Thomas Blumer traces the construction techniques of those documented ceramics to the lineage of their probable present-day master potters - or, in other words, he traces the Catawba pottery traditions. By mining data from archives and the oral traditions of contemporary potters, Blumer reconstructs sales circuits regularly traveled by Catawba peddlers and thereby illuminates unresolved questions regarding trade routes in the protohistoric period. In addition, the author details particular techniques of the representative potters - factors such as clay selection, tool use, decoration, and firing techniques - which influence their styles. In assessing the work, David G. Moore, of Warren Wilson College, states, ""This book represents an enormous body of work concerned with a significant topic - the persistence of the Catawba Indian pottery tradition. Using his extensive fieldwork and a narrative presentation, the author juxtaposes the evolving ceramic technology with a fascinating discussion of the role of pottery in changing Catawba economy from the 18th and continuing into the 21st century.