Artistic traditions of indigenous North America are explored in a study that draws on the testimonies of oral tradition, Native American history, and North American archaeology, focusing on the artists themselves and their cultural identities. Original.
This illuminating and provocative book is the first anthology devoted to Twentieth Century Native American and First Nation art. Native American Art brings together anthropologists, art historians, curators, critics and distinguished Native artists to discuss pottery, painitng, sculpture, printmaking, photography and performance art by some of the most celebrated Native American and Canadian First Nation artists of our time The contributors use new theoretical and critical approaches to address key issues for Native American art, including symbolism and spirituality, the role of patronage and musuem practices, the politics of art criticism and the aesthetic power of indigenous knowledge. The artist contributors, who represent several Native nations - including Cherokee, Lakota, Plains Cree, and those of the PLateau country - emphasise the importance of traditional stories, myhtologies and ceremonies in the production of comtemporary art. Within great poignancy, thye write about recent art in terms of home, homeland and aboriginal sovereignty Tracing the continued resistance of Native artists to dominant orthodoxies of the art market and art history, Native American Art in the Twentieth Century argues forcefully for Native art's place in modern art history.
This collection of essays deals with the development of Native American art history as a discipline rather than with particular art works or artists. It focuses on the early anthropologists, museum curators, dealers, and collectors, and on the multiple levels of understanding and misunderstanding, a
"I argue for a history of Native American art that is politically informed," Margaret Dubin writes, "and for a criticism of contemporary Native American fine arts that is historically founded." Integrating ethnography, discourse analysis, and social theory in a careful mapping of the Native American art world, this insightful new study explores the landscape of 'intercultural spaces' -- the physical and philosophical arenas in which art collectors, anthropologists, artists, historians, curators, and critics struggle to control the movement and meaning of art objects created by Native Americans. Dubin examines the ideas and interactions involved in contemporary collecting, in particular, to understand how marketplace demands have homogenised Western perceptions of 'authentic' Native American art. In doing so, she reveals the power relations of an art world in which Native American artists work within and against a larger system that seeks to control people by manipulating objects.
This series takes an in-depth look at both the decorative and functional art and design of a given culture. The engaging text explains how the art ties in to the culture, what it means, why it was created, and what it's used for or represents. Fine art, architecture, music and theater, cookware, clothing and textiles and other topics are all discussed. Feature boxes highlight fascinating bits of information on a specific topic, such as African embroidery.
Native American arts and crafts are enjoying renewed appreciation and increasing recognition as a vital part of America's cultural heritage. This volume, a magnificent collection of full-colour photos and incisive commentary, presents the richness and celebrates the diversity of this centuries-old tradition and places it within a larger historical and social context.