The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life's Sake [Paperback]

Ekkehart Malotki (Author), Mary Jordan (Illustrator), Donald E. Weaver (Collaborator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1885772386 | ISBN-13: 978-1885772381 | Publication Date: July 31, 2007

With an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 sites spread throughout its canyons, mountains and deserts, the Grand Canyon state of Arizona constitutes one of the premier rock art theaters in the world. Consisting primarily of engraved images (petroglyphs) on sandstone and basalt, but also offering paintings (pictographs) under overhangs, and ground figures (geoglyphs) on the desert pavements, Arizona's rock art truly commands awe and respect. This book, in a comprehensive survey, presents the full gamut of the state's impressive open-air art from its earliest beginnings until more recent manifestations in the historic era. Though The Rock Art of Arizona contains more than 380 color photographs, over 130 drawings, and numerous charts and maps, it goes beyond the usual bounds of a lavishly illustrated coffee-table book. In addition to describing the various Archaic and post Archaic rock art styles and traditions in the state's fifteen counties, author Ekkehart Malotki focuses on providing insights into what may have compelled Arizona's ancestral artists to produce the imagery and what functions it may have had in their daily lives. At the same time, he acknowledges the severe limitations of scientifically dating the paleoart, the subjective biases involved in stylistic classification, and the ultimate mystery of its meaning. Within the confines of this explanatory framework, drawing primarily on novel ideas derived from the field of evolutionary psychology and the concept of human universals, he argues that rock art, in a broadly defined context of art and ritual, had beneficial adaptive value in the human struggle for survival and thus can truly be perceived as art for life's sake.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A comprehensive book on the rock art of Arizona was missing. Ekkehart Malotki has now provided it and he has done it beautifully. Thanks to his superb photographs, readers will be amazed at the wealth and splendor of what is undoubtedly one of the most impressive collections of rock art paintings and engravings in the world, set in incredible landscapes that played a vital part in their significance. The author also stresses the various functions and meanings of the art insofar as we can comprehend them. As he did so simply and clearly, general readers, rock art enthusiasts and specialists will all be deeply interested in this landmark publication. --Jean Clottes, president of IFRAO (international Federation of Rock Art Organizations)

A journey through this volume is an experience that will transport the reader to places unknown, compliments or Malotki's extraordinary photography, elegant prose, and original insights that only someone with his field acumen could produce. This intelligent, well-crafted synopsis fills a void in the rock art literature of the Southwest. It is destined to become a classic. --Henry Wallace, Senior Research Archaeologist, Center for Desert Archaelogy

This is more than a collection of amazing, beautiful, and sensitively-photographed images--most never seen before. As if that was not enough, Malotki also gives us a wide-ranging, well-researched analysis and interpretation of those Arizona images, setting them into the worldwide corpus and discourse of rock art. Whatever one's level of interest and knowledge of the subject, this book will be a revelation of the marvel--and deep importance--or human art making. --Ellen Dissanayake, Author of Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes From and Why

About the Author

Ekkehart Malotki is professor emeritus of languages at Northern Arizona University where he taught German, Latin, and Hopi from 1977 until 2004. For more than twenty-five years, his work as an ethnolinguist focused on the preservation of Hopi language and culture. In addition to over a dozen bilingual works on Hopi semantics and oral literature, he has published three children's books based on authentic Hopi stories. For over ten years, he was the principal data contributor to the Hopi Dictionary/Hopikwa Lavaytutuveni. He also provided the Hopi titles, including that of Koyaanisqatsi, to Godfrey Reggio's movie trilogy on our destructive behavior toward this planet. Among his most recent publications are Earth Fire: A Hopi Legend of the Sunset Crater Eruption, Hopi Tales of Destruction, and Kokopelli: The Making of an Icon. During the last fifteen years, his passion for rock art has taken him to the Sahara, to the Paleolithic caves in France, to Italy, Scandinavia and Mexico, and twice to Australia. In addition, he has devoted much of his time to the photography and interpretation of the rock art of the American Southwest. Both of his rock art works have received prestigious awards. Tapamventi: The Rock Art Galleries of Petrified Forest and beyond, co-authored by Patricia McCreery, won an award of excellence from the National Park Service, and Stone Chisel and Yucca Brush: Colorado Plateau Rock Art, co-authored by Donald E. Weaver, a Benjamin Franklin Award winner.

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: Kiva Publishing (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885772386
• ISBN-13: 978-1885772381
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 9.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely beautiful book, December 28, 2007

By 

Lawrence Wiseman (Williamsburg, VA and Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life's Sake (Paperback)

THE ROCK ART OF ARIZONA is an absolutely beautiful book, something you want to hold and investigate joyfully and unhurriedly. Gorgeous photography and superb graphic design invite frequent re-visiting and lingering delight. But it is much more than a visual treat. It tells a story. Ekkehart Malotki is either an artist who thinks like a scientist, or a scientist who feels like an artist. Just as in two of his previous books, TAPAMVENI and STONE CHISEL AND YUCCA BRUSH, the writing is concise, informative, and helpful for those who want to appreciate the artists and cultures that made these beautiful, ancient images.

I live in both Virginia and Colorado, and drive back and forth two or three times each year with dog and various family members. Malotki's books always come along, both ways. They are big books, but they still make the trips back and forth between the East Coast and Colorado to remain within easy reach in each house. In the past three years I have bought many dozens of books on rock art and archaeology. These beautiful books by Ekkehart Malotki are the very best I have. I tell everyone I know that if they are going to buy just one book on rock art in the American Southwest: get one of Ekkehart Malotki's. If you are going to Arizona, this is THE choice. Better than five star!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant combination of science and photography, March 24, 2008

By 

A Southwest Artist - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life's Sake (Paperback)

"In addition to stunningly beautiful photography of the petroglyphs themselves, Malotki's book presents one of the best and most level-headed, scientifically based summations of what American petroglyphs may represent that I have read anywhere. Malotki is well versed not only in petroglyph studies in the U.S. but worldwide; and he puts the specific rock art works he shows and discusses into the widest context. For anyone interested in southwestern petroglyphs, and in world rock art, this is a very good read with truly brilliant photography." G. Frank Oatman, Jr., retired college professor and serious amateur student of rock art.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Dean Campbell, January 10, 2008

By 

A. Dean Campbell (Sedona, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life's Sake (Paperback)

I congratulate Dr. Ekkehart Malotki on the publication of his recent book, The Rock Art of Arizona: Art For Life's Sake. The spectacular photographs and comprehensive review of the rock art of Arizona as presented in this book gives the rock art of Arizona the attention it rightfully deserves. For those interested in gaining more knowledge regarding the rock art of Arizona, this book is a 'must have' for your library.