Art In Relation Research Articles

Московский концептуализм в монологе с авангардом

This article is the first to explore the relationship of Moscow conceptual artists with the creative and moral legacy of the Russian avant-garde of the 1910s-1920s. In the 1960s, the previous generation of Soviet non-official artists resonated with the avant-garde legacy upon getting acquainted with it and attempted to continue the tradition seen precisely as a formal experiment. Meanwhile, the Moscow conceptualist circle recognized Russian avantgarde as a conceptual source for the consequent ideologization of the entire reality and as a project of the violent transformation of life. And if social realism was a more obvious opponent for conceptualists, the forbidden art of the avant-garde became its own Other, alien in a very close and uncomfortable sense. The relations articulated in Moscow conceptualism over several decades were different and ambiguous; they developed and evolved as the legacy of the avant-garde became more familiar and as the socio-political and cultural context changed. In the 1970s, the conceptual art practice did not seek a ‘dialogue’ with the avant-garde, and the reflections of the older generation of Moscow conceptualists were marked with intention to dissociate themselves from the avant-garde and its aesthetic systems (the discussion of the political engagement of the avantgarde was pushed forward for later reflections, mainly into the 2010s). The 1980s brought liberalization into the study and exhibiting of the Russian avant-garde, and its admiration became a kind of duty that was taken ironically by the next generation of Moscow conceptual artists. To get international recognition, contemporary Russian art required to establish any affiliation (negative, if not positive) with the brand of the ‘Russian avant-garde’. The artistic practice of Ilya Kabakov has radically escalated the polemics with the avant-garde, which was subsequently projected onto the entire Moscow conceptualism. However, the exploration into the history of Moscow conceptualism as a response to the avant-garde project reveals heterogeneity of such a response, comprising individual halftones and historical dynamics.

“Peacocks?!” or How James Abbot McNeal Whistler (1834–1903) Redefined Chinoiserie and Patron–Artist Relationship

One of the illustrative examples of the intervention of Chinese art in the formulation of the most important styles of the late 19th – early 20th centuries and its creative tandem with Japanese culture, which was then extremely popular in Europe, is James Whistler’s Peacock Room, the famous masterpiece of aestheticism and “Anglo-Japanese style”. The time has come to reflect on this work not only using several familiar stylistic labels, but also by trying to understand why the famous art style is classified as an Anglo-Japanese style if the key work in the room bears the unambiguous title “Princess from the Land of Porcelain.” The close connections between Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Far Eastern artistic influences are well known, but it makes sense to place Whistler’s masterpiece “Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room” within the context of existing since 16th century Orientalistic style and a long-standing (since the 18th century) fascination with China. The main style of the unique work is undoubtedly Chinese (blue and white qinghua-qi vases (青花瓷), the imaginary portrait of a princess from the Land of Porcelain, the general design of the literati’s office (wenfang; 文房) and the golden peacocks themselves, which gave the room its name), but Whistler was also inspired by Japanese landscape engravings long before Monet and Van Gogh, even imitating the works of Hokusai and Hiroshige. Having analyzed the influences and history of the room, the author concludes that it should not be inertly attributed to the Anglo-Chinese style, but the concept of “Neo-Chinoiserie” should be introduced.

Ghost-Stitching American Politics

Ghost-Stitching American Politics

Complicating Narratives of Contemporary Chinese Art as Global Art through the Lens of Exhibition Histories

Abstract This essay reviews two publications on Chinese contemporary art and its relation to the global through the lens of exhibition histories. The monograph Die chinesische Avantgarde und das Dispositiv der Ausstellung. Konstruktionen chinesischer Gegenwartskunst im Spannungsfeld der Globalisierung (The ‘Chinese avant-garde’ and the exhibition as dispositive. Constructing contemporary Chinese art in the global context) authored by Franziska Koch (2016), and the edited volume Uncooperative Contemporaries: Art Exhibitions in Shanghai in 2000, (2020) published in the Exhibition Histories series by Afterall Books. The former seeks to re-write the history of contemporary Chinese art exhibitions from a transcultural perspective with a particular focus on group exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art in the West. The latter focuses on exhibitions that took place in the wake of China's “global turn in the year 2000. It examines the first international Shanghai biennial and so called “satellite shows,” unofficial exhibitions that took place concurrently with the biennial. Both books examine how Chinese contemporary art's relation to the global has been conceptualized and operated differently at different times, in different yet often transculturally/transnationally entangled locales, socio-political contexts, power structures and geopolitical currents, in different discursive contexts, according to specific political and discursive conditions and agendas, and through various agents and institutions. This essay argue that by shedding light on specific locales, and their transnational and transcultural entanglements, and the various agents involved in the formation of global contemporary Chinese art both publications critically intervene into top-down universalist discourses of the “global contemporary.” Speaking from different positionalities, they seek to complicate narratives and understandings of contemporary global and Chinese art from the bottom-up. Informed by the post-colonial critique of historicism a bottom-up perspective they conceive of global art not as a universalistic concept, but as plural articulations of global contemporaneity conceived as “disjunctive unity,” a shared yet heterogenous present constituted by multiple contemporaneities.

The Emergence of a New Identity

Abstract This present study aims to challenge simplistic views of division and boundaries between Muslims and Christians. It delves into the cultural and artistic relationship between the Safavid ruling elite and the newly arrived Armenians in seventeenth-century Isfahan. The primary goal is to understand how the Armenian population merged with the predominantly Muslim community of Isfahan. An insightful perspective is gained by examining the Armenian architecture in Isfahan, where Armenians adapted and appropriated local architectural elements, creating a sense of belonging and shared identity. To gain a comprehensive understanding, the study delves into the wider cultural and political context of Isfahan during that time, drawing from a diverse array of European, Persian, and Armenian sources. By adopting this inclusive approach, the study explores the complex interplay of Christian and Muslim, as well as Safavid and Armenian elements within Isfahani society, thereby shedding light on the multifaceted identities at play.

I’ll Be Your Mirror: Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa’s Science Fiction of Truth

Euro-modern colonisation produced many truths, which, despite having been recognised as false information, continue to shape the social order of today. Artist Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa’s lifelong quest was to build a subjective artistic relationship with the physical traces of colonial disinformation, which still resonate in Ugandan art education. But sometimes it is impossible to make clean separations. The post-conceptual practice of the British–Ugandan artist Wolukau-Wanambwa challenges and subverts the experience of complex contemporary social realities which were triggered by colonialism. Her artistic stress test exposes the instability of facts and the liquid ambiguity of archived information. This article explores the artist’s conscious and radical act of subjective entanglement with her research. The visual and textual analysis of her works’ conceptual layering unlocks politically charged archival truths to release new fictions for the future.

Mexicana and Chicanx Queer Kinship across Visual Art and Performance: Astrid Hadad and Ester Hernández.

This brief and personal essay discusses Ester Hernández's and Astrid Hadad's artistic relationship, which includes a beautiful friendship that spans time and space. In particular, and from an intimate vantage point, I read two of Hernández's images that feature Hadad, which the Mexican artist has displayed in her home in Mexico City, to ponder a larger question regarding contemporary cross-border feminist and genderqueer esthetics and relations. The queer kinship between these two artists, I humbly posit, extends to the fans that come out to support Hadad's shows when she performs in cities in the U.S. with large Latinx demographics, particularly in California.

Decorative aesthetic aspects and their use in Islamic architecture

The architecture of the richly decorated mosques demonstrated that the Islamic culture is one of the most significant and greatest civilizations in the history of humanity. The plant decorative units are one of the key areas in which the Muslim artist excelled. As a result, he created various plant forms that he took from nature, which led him to invent the arabesque art consisting of plant motifs with curved and rounded lines or wrapped between them. These shapes with curved borders include leaves, twigs, and flowers. Buildings and artefacts from the nineteenth century AD have this shape. they achieved their objectives during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. There was another kind of vegetable decorative unit, made up of stems and flowers drawn in arranged geometric patterns. This sort of design, which deviates from the standard in Islamic art and takes on a form more akin to that of nature, was particularly popular in Persia. The types and shapes of flowers vary, as well as the shapes of the leaves, their edges, or their miniatures. The artist also painted more plant branches with circular and spiral curves, leaves, and flowers emerging in a geometric artistic relationship in which repetition, contrast, symmetry, and overlap, which is distinguished by a hint of modification and inspiration. This later influenced art schools in the architectural decorative unit methods. Do not construct from nature.

Re/Visiting

Frakcija No. 55, 2010: At Least One-Third of the Subject We as artists usually receive invitations from abroad (or locally) to present our work there (or here) by way of individuals who represent organizations or artistic and cultural institutions or who do not represent anyone but themselves. They come to us, they contact us, they meet with us, and they leave . . . what are they looking for? I have no idea. Maybe for something new, something different, alternative, a new language, new blood . . . Or rather, to create some ideas, to pose some questions related to certain problems such as the artist's relationship to power, or similar. I have no idea. Maybe they are on the lookout for new commodities for their respective markets, or for an Orient they have heard so much about, an Orient they have missed greatly, or . . . I really have no idea. My belief is that they all have their own motivations and purposes. Each one of them has his or her own reasons, desires, and objectives. Really, I have no idea. Frakcija No. 55, 2010: Never Explain Marta Keil: We are invited to revisit your text, “At Least One-Third of the Subject,” which was published thirteen years ago and has become kind of a classic since. I have to confess: I come back to it regularly with my students to discuss the figure that you drew of the artist's bittersweet innocence. Is this figure still recognizable to you today? Configurations in Motion: Performance Curation and Communities of Colour (1–2 June 2017): Preview to an Introduction I met with Thomas F. DeFrantz and Seika Boye in early 2023 to talk about Configurations in Motion: Performance Curation and Communities of Color—the gatherings, booklets, and the curatorial work—to ask how and if the work remains necessary. To think this through, we looked back at the 2017 conversation and the question posed about how we might cultivate a livable future. This brief essay is part of what resulted. Configurations in Motion: Performance Curation and Communities of Colour (1–2 June 2017): By Way of Introduction As curators of the third iteration of Configurations in Motion: Performance Curation and Communities of Colour in Montréal at Concordia University, in Québec, Canada, from 1 to 2 June 2017, we decided to begin with a few questions to set a frame for the essays that follow in this booklet of conference presentations. Here are our reflections.

The Relationship of Tennessee Williams' Autobiographical Artist and Fragile Female character and its Presence on his Life and Works

The two most influential forces in the life of Tennessee Williams were his writing and his sister Rose. By no accident, many of his male characters are artists, and many of his female characters, like Rose, suffer from some condition that makes them alienated from the world and emotionally unprepared to dealwith its hardship. This study is an examination of the relationship between William's male artist and fragile female characters in each of the plays in which the two figures are found. It reveals that through these two characters and the progress of their relationship, Williams expressed the inner emotional turmoil of his own life. By the end of his work, Williams created an unsustainable bond between his writer and fragile female, allowing them to live, flourish, and care for one another in a way that he and Rose never could.

Греция и Франция: к вопросу о национальной идентичности Жоржа Апергиса

This article examines the music of Greek-French composer Georges Aperghis through the prism of national identity. This kind of approach was used for engaging in conversations with the composer about various biographical facts from his life, the characteristic features of his aesthetic views, his musical and theatrical language. The historical context and the stylistic and structural features of various French composers compared with Aperghis’ musical output make it possible to characterize the specific features of the latter’s musical thinking. Greece characterizes the early phase of his work, the beginning of his art studies. After having left Athens, the composer has spent most of his life in France, engaged in close contact with the country’s culture. The concert, theatrical and cinematic life in Paris in the 1960s was seething with artistic discoveries and large-scale events, and he found himself in their epicenter. Many of the composer’s personal artistic patterns have been shaped not only by his impressions of the cultural abundance in France, but also by the French language itself. He perceives the latter as musical material, making use of phonetic and prosodic possibilities. The parameter of corporeality and gesture is also important for Aperghis, wherein the connection with the French tradition in the field of plasticity and sound are revealed. Aperghis’ artistic relationship with the works of theater director Antonin Artaud, as well as the concept of “body without organs” is examined in more detail; and the nature of the interconnection between sounds, gestures and phonemes, as well as the possibility of their combinations with each other are revealed. Fragmented, kaleidoscopic qualities, as well as a “framework” type of perception of reality in Aperghis’ music matches with the cinematographic approaches of the contemporary New Wave film directors, as well as the philosophy of post-structuralism, in particular, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari and the concept of the rhizome. The perspective proposed in the article makes it possible for us to examine in greater detail the peculiar features of Aperghis’ life and work of. Based on information from various European scholarly works, as well as an interview with the composer, for the first time in Russian a set of facts from his life is presented, and parallels are drawn with various other composers, philosophers, theater and cinema directors in terms of their compositional methods.

Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico, and the Roots of American Youth Literature Culture by Marilisa Jim�nez Garc�a (review)

Reviewed by: Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico, and the Roots of American Youth Literature Culture by Marilisa Jiménez García Hilary Brewster (bio) Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico, and the Roots of American Youth Literature Culture, by Marilisa Jiménez García. UP of Mississippi, 2021. Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico, and the Roots of American Youth Literature Culture by Marilisa Jiménez García is a complex analysis of the historical, cultural, and artistic relationship between Puerto Rico and its mainland colonizer, the US. Her nuanced study examines authors, actors, playwrights, and librarians and the textual productions of these iconic Puerto Ricans—or Nuyoricans—in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and how each plays a role at the intersection of Puerto Rican and American youth cultures. Jiménez García expertly weaves history, politics, textual and media analysis, cultural critique, and scholarship to demonstrate their connectedness and transnational impact on one another. Although this connectedness is a result of complicated, often fraught and detrimental policies enacted by the United States lauding its colonial power over the people of the (now) territory of Puerto Rico, Jiménez García ultimately urges readers to celebrate the people whose stories are not only art and means of cultural expression but acts of resistance. In the introduction, Jiménez García lays out myriad frameworks as a precursor to the subsequent five chapters. In this rather dense beginning, she details how texts for youth and literacy programs for youth in Puerto Rico have a longstanding history with political protests on the archipelago (4), as well as how "literature for children" and other culture aimed at youth continues to have a seemingly negative standing in the academy, within pop culture, Latinx and Ethnic studies, and literature studies. Furthermore, she outlines the ways in which children's and youth literature is frequently coded as Anglo-British, white, and white [End Page 220] American in academic discourses (7); how picture books in particular play a role in replicating and upholding a racist, colonial hegemony; and also how children's literature has fallen out of the larger realm of Latin literary studies (12). Although Jiménez García notes that the relatively recent public attention to the need for "diverse" literature in the children's publishing world is ultimately positive, she also makes clear that this diversity generally overlooks authors, characters, and settings from Latin America and the Caribbean (16). Perhaps the most important point made in the introduction that becomes a recurring thread—even more than the others, given the nature of the cultural texts examined in the chapters—is that there has been a hesitancy to view the US as an empire, preferring an immigrant paradigm in locating difference rather than a settler colonial model regarding past and present land acquisition, occupation, removal, and continuous displacement of Indigenous populations. Particularly in the case of Latinxs, the dominant discourse lingers on issues of immigration and the border [rather than the US as an empire]. (14) This depiction of the US as "benevolent conqueror" has been a longstanding tradition in US K-12 classrooms (19). Jiménez García's critique of the US K-12 and higher education systems in upholding much of the aforementioned hegemony is perhaps the strongest section of the introduction, although also the thread that disappears most quickly in the other chapters. The first chapter centers two questions: what representations of Puerto Ricans occupied the bookshelves in the New York City public library from the late 1800s through 1960 (after the US invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898 through Operation Bootstrap and the beginning of the establishment of the commonwealth in the 1950s), and how did the general US public learn about Puerto Rico and its people in children's texts? (30). Divided into two sections, this chapter is focused first on early primers and illustrated texts by white US writers, then shifts to discuss Puerto Rican writers responding to US imperialism (31). Drawing on scholars such as Nathalie op de Beeck and Lara Saguisag, Jiménez García argues that the "faux history books [primers especially] contain aspects one has come to expect...

Hernando Lamberto: novedades sobre un escultor holandés activo en Andalucía entre 1578 y 1617

This paper deepens the knowledge about Hernando Lamberto, a Dutch sculptor who was active in Andalusia since 1578 and died in 1617. New works are identified based on published and unpublished archive data. His style is analyzed and new attributions are provided and hitherto unknown works are documented. It also delves into his biography and artistic relationships. All this is aimed at configuring the artist’s catalog of works, including his facet as a stone and wood sculptor, as well as altarpiece artist.

De Madeira a Canarias: influencias del artesonado mudéjar de la catedral de Funchal en las iglesias de Santa Cruz de La Palma (siglos xvi y xvii

During the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, Portuguese carpenters and polychromers such as Gaspar Núñez and Juan de Sosa settled down and worked on the realization of the Mudejar coffered ceilings that covered the churches of El Salvador, San Francisco and Santo Domingo in Santa Cruz. from La Palma. Through the reading of archival documentary sources, the biographical data obtained, the structural and decorative analysis of the mentioned roofs, and the comparison of the mentioned armor and those that close the Cathedral of Funchal, we intend to establish an incessant artistic relationship between the island of La Palma and Madeira for the mentioned chronological segment.

Influence of Scenography Development on Artistic Interpretation in Plastic Directing

The purpose of the article is to reveal the specifics of the development of scenography in plastic directing and its influence on artistic interpretation in the context of the peculiarities of theoretical developments and practical implementation in stage practice of leading theatre directors of the 20th – early 21st centuries. Research methodology. The research is based on modern art history and philosophical concepts of the study of the phenomenon of development of unique forms and the principles of the artistic relationship between direction and scenography. Taking into account the interdisciplinary nature of the issue, the cultural-historical method has been applied in research and analysis of the pictorial-plastic solution of the performance (to define the concept of "plastic stage forms" and "plastic drawing of acting" in the context of cultural, art history and philosophical concepts). The method of comparative analysis has been applied to combine methods and ways of representing scenography in theoretical works and practical activity of leading theatre directors. The typological method has been used to identify the factors of formation of the performance plastic solution. Scientific novelty. An art-historical study of the stage space approximation to the forms of the human body in the context of the specifics of theatrical art is carried out. The process of the transition of scenographic design from detached to dynamic in the context of transformational processes of theatrical art is considered. Common and different values, as well as forms of scenography representation in the theoretical works and practical activities of leading theatre directors of the 20th – early 21st centuries, are identified and analysed. Conclusions. The issue of artistic space in the organisation of the temporal component of the stage production plays an extremely important role in plastic directing, namely the circumstances that determined the specificity of the spatial structure of the literary original source or the director's interpretation and, accordingly, have an impact on its artistic and figurative interpretation. In the Ukrainian theatrical art, the relationship between directing and scenography is expressed as a sole management of all means of scenic expressiveness, namely plastic directing, which is based on the plastic unity of the stage work. The uniqueness of the scenography of the leading Ukrainian directors’ productions of the late 20th and early 21st centuries manifests itself in the artistic interpretation of the selected literary material and the innovative detection of the semantic and content saturation of their formal and plastic solution. Key words: scenography, stage form, plastic, theatre art, theatre artist, scenery, scenographic decoration

Изобразительные источники образов мифологических существ в видеоигре Nioh

The purpose of this article is to review the characters in the two-part Japanese video game series Nioh so as to identify their origins and artistic relationships with the visual arts. Based on the names and appearance of the characters created in the game, the author attempts to perform a comparative analysis of the images in the game and those known in Japanese art. The subject of the research is identifying and studying the connection between the art of the past and modern video game character design on the example of the Nioh video game series, using the methods of art analysis. Modern researchers consider video games to be one of the forms of interaction between modern culture and cultural heritage. Therefore, this study is relevant as it reveals the cultural significance of video games and demonstrates the method of working with the artistic heritage in building game worlds. The article provides a comparative analysis of the characters yoki and one-eyed oni, kappa and kamaitachi and the pictorial sources of the 8th–12th and 17th–19th centuries. The author comes to the conclusion that the video game Nioh is a modern catalogue of Japanese demonology, based on well-known pictorial and written sources.

ARTISTS AND CULTURAL WORKERS AND THE LEGACY OF KGB IN THE ACTUAL PUBLIC DISCUSSION LANDSCAPE IN LATVIA

The purpose of this paper is to examine how myths, narratives and biases referring to the recent history are born and developed in nowadays Latvia, supported by the analysis of the case study of the legacy of KGB and its actualization in the public discussion landscape focusing on the relationship of KGB and artists and cultural workers. One of the main criteria for narrowing the research subject to regarding only the relationship between representatives of the fields of arts and culture and KGB is that those particular relationship cases have caused the most heated discussions in mass media and general public, mostly due to the undeniable public ‘visibility’ of the aforementioned professionals as well as due to personal in-depth connection of society members with art products, artists and cultural workers via artistic preferences, engagement with cultural processes, individual contribution to profes- sional and amateur arts, emotional links, memories etc. Another important aspect to be considered is the strong connectedness of arts and culture with the state apparatus, as throughout history arts and cultural production has served as a propaganda tool, putting forward regime ideology and granting a certain kind of ‘power legitimization’ as supported by entertainment industry. In order to get a deeper insight into the formation of the myths, narratives and biases referring to the relationship between artists and cultural workers in nowadays Latvia, the authors of the study have combined empiric data analysis based on the research project by the Government Commission for KGB Research at the University of Latvia, the purpose of which was to prepare KGB card files for public access on the website of the National Archives of Latvia, and qualitative media and public discussion narrative analysis, focusing on how certain aspects referring to Soviet legacy in general and specifically to cooperation between artists and cultural sector workers and KGB have been framed and portrayed in actual social memory representations.

TOPLUMCU- GERÇEKÇİ NECATİ CUMALI’NIN AŞK DA GEZER ROMANINDA TİYATRO SANATÇILARI ARASINDAKİ EVLİLİK VE KADIN- ERKEK İLİŞKİLERİNE BİR BAKIŞ

Şiir, roman, hikâye ve tiyatro türündeki eserleriyle tanınan Necati Cumalı, Aşk da Gezer romanında, edebî kişiliğine sinen, alışılmış temalardan uzaklaşarak Anadolu insanı yerine, tiyatro oyuncuları çevresindeki ilişkilere yönelir. Tanzimat’tan beri her sahada Batılılaşmaya çalışan Türk aydınına tiyatro muhiti üzerinden toplumcu bir zaviyeden eleştiriler getiren Necati Cumalı, sanatçıları gelenek-modern çatışması içerisinde değerlendirir. Anlatıcının modernle gelenek arasında dengeyi kurmaya çalıştığı romanda 1960’lı senelerin sanat muhitindeki ilişkiler, gerçekliğini, yazarın tiyatro türüyle yakından kurduğu mesaiden aldığı kadar gerçekçi müşahedelerine de borçludur.Toplumcu duyarlığını bu eserinde de devam ettiren Necati Cumalı, romanın akışına müdahale etmeden, sanatçı kavramı, sanatın sınırları ve aşkın sanat dünyasındaki ilişkilere yansıması konularında fikirlerini öne sürer. Çalışmada, İzmir’e gelen bir tiyatro topluluğundaki kadın-erkek ilişkilerinin 1960’lı yıllardaki durumuna yorumlar getirilirken toplumcu yazarın, ideal sanatçı ve ideal ilişki anlayışı belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca yazarın Anadolu gerçekçiliğinden uzaklaştığı bu eserinin Batılılaşma izleğiyle geliştirilerek devrin tuluat gruplarının, modern sanat toplaşmalarının kadın-erkek münasebetleri gibi unsurlarının hususiyetlerinin incelenmesiyle Necati Cumalı’nın edebî kişiliğine bir katkı daha sunulmuş olur.

Artist and Viewer Relationship As a Collaboration of Experience

Artist and Viewer Relationship As a Collaboration of Experience

Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics ed. by Jami C. Powell

Reviewed by: Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics ed. by Jami C. Powell Shanna Ketchum-Heap of Birds (bio) Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics edited by Jami C. Powell; with contributions by Morgan E. Freeman, Courtney M. Leonard, Sequoia Miller, Anya Montiel, Rose B. Simpson, Roxanne Swentzell University of Washington Press, 2020 FORM & RELATION: CONTEMPORARY NATIVE CERAMICS was published to coincide with an exhibition of the same title that took place at the Hood Museum of Art and focuses on six Indigenous contemporary ceramics artists (Anita Fields, Courtney M. Leonard, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Ruben Olguin, Rose B. Simpson, and Roxanne Swentzell) from various regions in the United States. As editor Jami C. Powell mentions in the introduction, the works made of clay embody the relationship of the Indigenous artists to the land, not only in terms of the medium's materiality but also the "knowledge embedded within it" (15). Powell's adept discussion of the broad philosophical underpinnings of the clay medium, and its utilitarian and aesthetic forms, provides the necessary context for creating a dialogue with viewers about "the power of intergenerational community, cross-community connections, and even international collaboration" (19). Thus, it is through a broad, global lens that the six Indigenous artists are introduced, their works discussed and critically analyzed by scholars in the field, and the complexity of their practices clarified in enlightening conversations with the artists. In the chapter Memory, Landscape, Knowledge: The Clay Practices of Indigenous Artists, contributing essayists Anya Montiel and Sequoia Miller collaborated to determine the state of the field by situating Indigenous ceramic traditions within mainstream, Western systems of meaning. In so doing, Montiel and Miller cite the visibility of several exhibitions within the last fifteen years that evidence "the ongoing dissolution of the traditional hierarchies of Western art that has created wider audiences for contemporary Indigenous art" (23). What is then considered are recent theorizations of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination that Native American art historians and artists, such as Montiel and Miller, respectively, have forged to highlight Indigenous worldviews "regarding land, knowledge, gender, and [End Page 178] agency" (22) within the wider field of contemporary Indigenous art, theory, and practice. Consequently, Anita Fields's (Osage/Mvskoke) clay figures and sculptural pieces are described as evincing Osage epistemologies encompassing "the life-sustaining concept of duality" (86) through techniques of layering, texture, and coloration that "convey the balance and duality that characterize the relationship between the earth and sky as well as our relationships to one another as earth people or sky people" (15). In the chapter Bound To: On Lineage, Place, and Futurity, the mother-daughter collaborations of Santa Clara Pueblo artists Roxanne Swentzell and Rose B. Simpson resonate in cocurator Morgan E. Freeman's conversations with the artists about their family lineage as well as their "depictions of the self through sculpture" (44). Their collaborative works are showcased in monumental pieces, multisite ceramic installations, as well as individual works that, according to Montiel and Miller, have literal and metaphorical meanings associated with clay such as "land, body, water, and blood memory" (23). Furthermore, Montiel and Miller draw attention to the diversity of ceramic works made by multidisciplinary artists Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara/Lakota/Austrian/Norwegian) and Ruben Olguin (Nambé Pueblo/Mexican/Spanish) whose processes are understood by way of Christine DeLucia's concept of "memoryscapes" as a place-based notion that "transform[s] blank or neutral spaces into emotionally infused, politically potent spaces" (27). In particular, Luger's piece entitled Every One (#MMIWQT Bead Project) uses social collaboration workshops to produce a project that responds to "the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and queer and trans community members (MMIWQT)" (16–17) by enlisting those affected by this type of violence to participate in making clay beads, which represent a MMIWQT person lost to this crisis. In comparison, Olguin's creative approach "connects his interest in traditional ceramic practices, including adobe and hand-built vessels, to digital and audio technology" (29). Olguin's Retablos are made of clay and pigments in order to comment upon the history of Spanish retablo art forms employed as "tool[s] of conversion and assimilation" (16). Artist Courtney M. Leonard [Shinnecock...