24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Balanced and Astute, July 7, 2004
This review is from: Art of the Andes: From Chavín to Inca (Second Edition) (World of Art) (Paperback)
This book stands out, among many others, for the quality of insight that Rebecca Stone-Miller brings to her study of Andean art. Not content with simple typology and iconography, her account is illuminated by the cultural constants - "duality, reciprocity, hierarchy, and embeddedness in nature" (p. 218) that she finds in the underlying Andean cultures. Art history, in these terms, becomes an exploration of meaning, both of the art that is produced and of the culture that produces it. It's rare to find so much insight in an introductory book; I highly recommend it.
Another strength of the book is the nicely-judged balance of attention that the author pays to the multitude of cultures (including the Chavin, Nasca, Moche, Wari, Tiwanaku, Chimu, and Inca, to name just some) that weave together into the Andean tapestry. The author also provides balanced coverage of all the arts -- metalwork, tapestry, featherwork, stone working, and architecture, in addition to the ever-popular ceramics (pottery).
With so much ground to cover, there are relatively few individual ceramic examples in the book; this unfortunately gives a too-restricted an idea of the range of form, beauty, and variety of Pre-Columbian pottery from South America. I recommend a book such as "Ceramics of Ancient Peru," by Christopher B. Donnan, as a supplement to Rebecca Stone-Miller's study.
A small number of errors have made it through the second edition. For example, the distance from Quito to Santiago is quoted as 3400 miles, rather than the correct 3400 kilometers. A bothersome number of specialized terms were left out of the index. A glossary would have been helpful, and one wishes that more of the photos had been printed in color rather than black and white.
In summary, "Art of the Andes" is a balanced and insightful survey that should appeal to a wide variety of readers. It's the kind of book that doesn't just sit on the shelf after one reading, but gets picked up again, thumbed through, and read more than once.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent historical overview of native Andean art., September 23, 2000
This is an excellent overview of native Andean artform the earliest perod through Chavin, Paracas, Nasca, Moche, Tiwanaku, Wari, to Incan. Covers architecture, textiles ,pottery and metallic arts. Looks at the main themes of religious and secular art in these various mediums. Text is accompanied by many black and white photographs, drawings and plans. Some photographs are in colour.
I found this work most interesting for the way it brings out the Andean worldview through the artistic artifacts remaining of those cultures. The work is also reasonably priced and up to date.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful look at ancient Andean art, January 14, 2010
This review is from: Art of the Andes: From Chavín to Inca (Second Edition) (World of Art) (Paperback)
By examining ancient and more recent precontact Andean visual art, Stone-Miller provides an extraordinary insight into Andean culture, philosophy, and world views. In the 2002 revised version, she is able to include recent archaeological discoveries that push Andean civilizations and art further back in time. The book looks at architecture, gourd art, textiles, carving, jewelry and metalsmithing, and ceramics - the techniques of manufacture, trade, symbolism, religious and cultural significance, and aesthetics. She also examines major cultures throughout precontact Andean history and clearly explains how they influenced each other.
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