A Land So Remote : Religious Art of New Mexico 1780-1907 [Hardcover]

Larry Frank (Author), Charles Bennett (Author), David Skolkin (Author), Michael O'Shaughnessy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1878610732 | ISBN-13: 978-1878610737 | Publication Date: November 1, 2001 | Edition: 1st

Volumes 1 and 2 of A Land So Remote-Religious Art of New Mexico 1780-1907 elegantly illustrate the development of religious art in northern New Mexico during an active period of over 125 years. To sustain their faith when they came to the New World, the Spanish relied on santos, visual representations of saints, to alleviate their loneliness and enrich their lives. The result is a uniquely American art which embodies the religious spirit and aspirations of New Mexico's Spanish immigrants, whose enduring faith helped them cope with the rigors of a harsh and dangerous frontier life. With roots in Spanish baroque style, the pieces illustrated in this book played an important role in church, community and family. Many of these rare and beautiful works of art have never been published. With hundreds of color photographs of works from four museums and numerous private collections, A Land So Remote is vital to any art library and as a reference for collectors.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

During the 19th century, the fervent gratitude New Mexicans felt for their deliverance from the difficulties of frontier life gave birth to a marvelous and exciting period of religious art, explored in the first two volumes of this three-volume set on frontier New Mexico. These two volumes (Religious Art of New Mexico, 1780-1907) cover the art of santos, retablos, and bultos, personal objects of worship drawn from medieval traditions that were more accessible than the official saints. In the home, they became like beloved members of the family, and they served an important social function as well. As Frank notes, "Rightly understood, santos are a kind of 'liberation theology' written in the language of wood, plaster, and paint, an understanding of Christianity that empowers the poor to free themselves from unjust socioeconomic and cultural structures in the larger world and within themselves." The third volume (Wooden Artifacts of Frontier New Mexico) covers wooden objects e.g., agricultural tools, tanning tools, furniture, toys, and games created in reaction to frontier needs and the lack of metal. These objects are often prime examples of cultural transference between Native Americans and Hispanics. Many of the images show rare works, not previously photographed, from nine museums and numerous private collections. With their extensive essays and careful selection of beautifully reproduced images, Frank (The New Kingdom of the Saints) and Miller (curator and director, Taos Historic Museums) make a major contribution to the field. Available as individual volumes and in a collectors' limited-edition boxed set, this is recommended for special and academic collections in art history, history of the Southwest, and Hispanic culture. Sylvia Andrews, Indiana State Lib., Indianapolis
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A land so Remote will undoubtedly become a masterpiece of art history...have a tremendous impact on readers and scholars. -- ABQ Arts, February 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Red Crane Books; 1st edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878610732
• ISBN-13: 978-1878610737
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Feast" for the Scholar and General Public Alike, January 23, 2002

By 

dean a. porter (University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Land So Remote : Religious Art of New Mexico 1780-1907 (Hardcover)

A LAND SO REMOTE

Prior to the holidays, I received a great gift, a copy of the beautifully produced three-volume study A Land So Remote, authored by Larry Frank and Skip Miller, and published by Marianne and Michael O'Shaughnessy of Red Crane Books, Publishers, Santa Fe.
Creation of a successful publication of this magnitude can only be accomplished by many who work in concert, in this case scholar, editor, publisher and, of course, those who are willing to share their treasures with anyone wishing to turn the pages in this landmark study. Frank and Miller have devoted a large percentage of their lives carefully studying and painstakingly handling objects-some of religious importance, powerful images that were the subject of daily devotion, while other objects that served a useful function in the lives of hundreds of thousands attempting to make their lives easier. To the Hispanic, Native American, and the Anglo, these objects were an integral part of daily life-whether as an expression of their spirituality, their intense religious devotion-- or to enable them to perform certain physical tasks-- cutting wood or baking bread.
The authors, in concert with photographer Michael O'Shaughnessy, have treated each object sympathetically, whether it be a santo or bulto, or packsaddle or carreta wheels, with the same level of care, even reverence. The real joy is in seeing so many diverse objects fashioned out of wood and other materials in significant numbers. How often have we had the opportunity of examining page after page of images beautifully organized and described. The authors, of course, treat us to a display of work by lesser known santeros, as well as the most celebrated, notably José Rafael Aragon. Volume two devotes pages 288 to 377 to some of the most powerful religious images by Aragon and his followers that the reader will ever experience.
Since 1974, I have been a frequent visitor to New Mexico and have written a few books on the Anglo painters. After reading Miller's and Frank's essays, I said to myself, "I wish I had written these words. Both scholars write with conviction and authority. They also write in a style I have labeled "an easy read." They have organized their material so that it makes sense. You understand why the objects were created, who created them and importantly, how they were created. Happily, these objects, some still in the churches in Ranchos de Taos, Chimayo, Taos, and chapels throughout the Southwest, others in museums and private collections, have been "gathered" and presented to the reader and viewer in a beautiful and effective manner (I was tempted to use the phrase elegant but refrained).
All reviews of the publication praise A Land So Remote for its visual appeal, handsome photographs," fascinating account of the history and culture of Hispanic New Mexico," scholarship, a major contribution to Hispanic studies. One critic even suggested that, before being placed in a glass case [with other rare books], it might serve as a coffee table book. Never! If anything, it will be a banquet table book, and will be the scene of great feasts-visual and literary. But their words, like mine, fail to express the impact this handsome three-volume study will have on you-the participant. This study will, like the objects that it treats, transcends time. Secure your copy. I can assure you that it will never gather dust (although it will go out-of-print).

Dean A. Porter, Ph. D.
Director Emeritus, The Snite Museum of Art
Professor of Art History
University of Notre Dame