Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Fourteen authorities explore sociology, anthropology, art history of Native creativity. Dazzling illustrations.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This is a collection of essays by authorities in the field, mostly on topics related to the aesthetics and meaning of 3000 years of North American Indian art down to the present. Just as ambitious is its geographic sweep, from the art of Eastern woodlands Indians to Alaska to the Plains and the Southwest. A superbly designed volume, it is richly illustrative of the variety of Indian arts, with a generous supply of both color and black-and-white reproductions of hundreds of objects. Unfortunately, the text is marred by a defensive tone set by the editor and a few of the contributors who seem to feel compelled to overmake the case for Indian art by assaulting European and European-derived art and civilization. Otherwise recommended. Raymond L. Wilson, Hu man i ties Dept., San Francisco State Univ. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Contemporary American Indian art is part of an ongoing struggle for identity. Ron Anderson's protest piece Car Scaffold Buriala Mercury wrapped in a funerary blanket and hoisted on a Plains burial scaffoldbespeaks the anguish of the dislocated Indian. Aleut sculptor John Hoover affirms the tribal artist's ability to communicate with the spirit world in his carved-cedar Winter Loon Dance. This collection of essays by American, Canadian and European scholars overturns the stereotype of a changeless Indian culture by investigating Native Americans' adaptation of European styles, their responses to colonialism, interaction among tribes and the continual evolution of tribal arts. Even when Amerindian artists adopt Cubist or Photorealist techniques, their goal is to give concrete form to myths and archetypes. Illustrated with nearly 300 color plates and halftones, this panorama catalogues a nationally touring exhibition. (May 16) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

This coffee-table volume presents 14 papers from a special 1982 convocation on Native American art, as well as illustrations of masterworks from an accompanying exhibition, chosen principally from public and private collections in Oklahoma. This is not an exhibition catalog, nor does it follow the more usual ``culture area'' format. Rather, the several hundred color and halftone plates serve as documents to illustrate the featured essays by well-known authorities who address various philosophical and aesthetic concerns related to American Indian art. Detailed explanatory captions accompany each illustration and serve as a significant ``subtext'' for exhibition materials, which represent a span of time from the prehistoric to today's avant garde. American Indian art is perceived, not as a tribal or ethnic tradition, but as many diverse, dynamic, aesthetically complex traditions that consistently undergo change. Among the topics addressed are ``meaning'' (for artist as well as viewer), the effects of white patrons, tourist markets, art teachers, mainstream art movements, etc., on Indian art traditions; ``native'' aesthetic concepts and standards of quality; individuality and the place of the creative individual in tribal society; issues over definition of Indian imagery and style; the place of Indian art in today's art world; and future developments. A competent glossary as well as bibliography and index enhance the overall excellence of this volume. Some prior knowledge of the general topic is advised; this is not a selection for beginners. Recommended.-H.H. Schuster, Iowa State University