RITUAL ARTS OF THE WORLD PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA

De: OCTAVIO PAZ

 
Sección: historia, teoria y critica del arte » civilizaciones

EAN: 9788881183265

THIS WORK IS DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS AND INCLUDES AN ESSAY BY THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR LITERATURE OCTAVIO PAZ. THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK IS HISTORICAL AND, ESSENTIALLY, EXAMINES THE BRUTAL SHOCK SUFFERED BY TWO WORLDS BETWEEN 1492, THE YEAR OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, AND 1532, WHEN PIZARRO SUBDUED AND CONQUERED THE INCA EMPIRE IN PERU, ELEVEN YEARS AFTER HERNANDO CORTES HAD DESTROYED THE AZTECS IN MEXICO." "THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT TOOK PLACE IN THOSE YEARS IS ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS, OLD ENGRAVINGS AND COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE VARIOUS PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE BACKGROUND SCENARIOS LINKED TO THE EXPLOITS OF THE EUROPEAN NAVIGATORS. THE SECOND PART LOOKS AT THE MAJOR CIVILISATIONS (MAYA, AZTEC, INCA, ETC.), AND SOME LITTLE-KNOWN CULTURES, ATTRIBUTED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF THE APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY WORKS OF ART FROM MESOAMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, THE ANDEAN CORDILLERA AND THE AMAZON BASIN, SHOWN IN FULL PAGE COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS. THE AUTHORS - HISTORIANS AND SPECIALISTS - PROVIDE IN THESE PAGES A CLEAR VISION OF WHAT HAS OFTEN BEEN DRAWN OUT IN LONG-WINDED EXPLANATIONS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY PAUSE ON THE AESTHETIC VALUE OF PEOPLES THAT HAVE, ON MANY OCCASIONS, BEEN CALLED "PRIMITIVE," WITHOUT HOWEVER OMITTING TO PLACE THE SCULPTURES, POTTERY AND FABRICS SELECTED BY THE AUTHORS THEMSELVES IN A PRECISE ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONTEXT.