Continuum Encyclopedia Of Native Art

This lavishly produced voulume is the first reference work to focus on the symbols, meaning, and significance of art in native, or indigenous, cultures.

Indigenous North Americans have continuously made important contributions to the field of art in the U.S. and Canada, yet have been severely under-recognized and under-represented. Native artists work in diverse media, some of which are considered art (sculpture, painting, photography), while others have been considered craft (works on cloth, basketry, ceramics).Some artists feel strongly about working from a position as a Native artist, while others prefer to produce art not connected to a particular cultural tradition.

Animals and their symbolism in diverse world cultures and different eras of human history are chronicled in this lovely volume.

Inseparable from its communities, Northwest Coast art functions aesthetically and performatively beyond the scope of non-Indigenous scholarship, from demonstrating kinship connections to manifesting spiritual power. Contributors to this volume foreground Indigenous understandings in recognition of this rich context and its historical erasure within the discipline of art history. By centering voices that uphold Indigenous priorities, integrating the expertise of Indigenous knowledge holders about their artistic heritage, and questioning current institutional practices, these new essays "unsettle" Northwest Coast art studies. Key themes include discussions of cultural heritage protections and Native sovereignty; re-centering women and their critical role in transmitting cultural knowledge; reflecting on decolonization work in museums; and examining how artworks function as living documents. The volume exemplifies respectful and relational engagement with Indigenous art and advocates for more accountable scholarship and practices.

What happens when a Native or indigenous person turns a video camera on his or her own culture? Are the resulting images different from what a Westernized filmmaker would create, and, if so, in what ways? How does the use of a non-Native art-making medium, specifically video or film, affect the aesthetics of the Native culture? These are some of the questions that underlie this rich study of Native American aesthetics, art, media, and identity. Steven Leuthold opens with a theoretically informed discussion of the core concepts of aesthetics and indigenous culture and then turns to detailed examination of the work of American Indian documentary filmmakers, including George Burdeau and Victor Masayesva, Jr. He shows how Native filmmaking incorporates traditional concepts such as the connection to place, to the sacred, and to the cycles of nature. While these concepts now find expression through Westernized media, they also maintain continuity with earlier aesthetic productions. In this way, Native filmmaking serves to create and preserve a sense of identity for indigenous people.

This landmark publication brings North American Indigenous art to the fore with the presentation of 280 objects from the culturally and aesthetically rich collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. More than two-thirds of the volume's featured works--paintings, sculptures, drawings, regalia, ceramics, textiles, and baskets--have never before appeared in publication. These profound artistic achievements represent the traditions of Native cultures across the US and Canada in a continuum of visual expression from pre-encounter to the present. W. Richard West, Jr., President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West and Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, opens the book with a compelling essay contrasting Western and Indigenous understandings of Native art. In a second essay, Curator of American Art Stephanie Fox Knappe contextualizes the voices of twenty-two contemporary artists. Full-page detail images of the artist's works are included. The inspired vision underlying the collection and this publication is articulated by Curator of Native American Art Gaylord Torrence, who traces the evolution of the Nelson-Atkins holdings and their significant expansion since 2001. He also provides an overview of the traditions of seven geographical regions and offers a framework for engaging with these remarkable works. New voices, fresh perspectives, and masterworks certain to find their place in the canon of Native American art history combine in an enlightening and important survey.

In Indians in Color, noted cultural critic Norman K. Denzin addresses the acute differences in the treatment of artwork about Native America created by European-trained artists compared to those by Native artists. In his fourth volume exploring race and culture in the New West, Denzin zeroes in on painting movements in Taos, New Mexico over the past century. Part performance text, part art history, part cultural criticism, part autoethnography, he once again demonstrates the power of visual media to reify or resist racial and cultural stereotypes, moving us toward a more nuanced view of contemporary Native American life. In this book, Denzin-contrasts the aggrandizement by collectors and museums of the art created by the early 20th century Taos Society of Artists under railroad sponsorship with that of indigenous Pueblo painters;-shows how these tensions between mainstream and Native art remains today; and-introduces a radical postmodern artistic aesthetic of contemporary Native artists that challenges notions of the “noble savage.”

A fresh perspective from Haida leaders, art and cultural historians, anthropologists and artists on the lasting legacy of the famed Haida artist Bill Reid.