Inside abstraction : interpreting Inka visual culture / Carolyn Dean.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dean, Carolyn, 1957- author.

Series:

William & Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere

The William and Bettye Nowlin Endowment in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inca art--Themes, motives--Social aspects.

Inca art.

Decoration and ornament--Peru--Inca (Region)--Themes, motives--History.

Decoration and ornament.

Geometric patterns--Peru--Inca (Region)--History.

Geometric patterns.

Art, Abstract--Peru--Inca (Region)--History.

Art, Abstract.

Inca textile fabrics--Design--Social aspects.

Inca textile fabrics.

Textile design, Abstract--Peru--Inca (Region)--History.

Textile design, Abstract.

Inca pottery--Design--Social aspects.

Inca pottery.

Communication in design--Peru--Inca (Region)--History.

Communication in design.

Physical Description:

xvi, 263 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates, illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2025.

Summary:

"Why did the Inka, especially in their most prominent examples of visual culture--elite garments, vessels at imperial feasts, public stonework--prefer abstract designs? Carolyn Dean argues that what may appear to be "abstract" is actually something else, something beyond abstract. Inka designs, Dean believes, were demonstrations of proper relationships, informed by context, and imbued with agency such that the viewer is invited to participate: "The geometric forms experience the relationships they model. In so doing the geometric configuration itself is a teacher alongside agentic materials and the self-revelatory process of creation....Once the category of 'teacher' is opened to include geometric configurations, we see how they could model actions. Nevertheless, viewers must do for themselves. The Inka state carefully choreographed the contexts of viewing so as to encourage imperial subjects to think through and within design, locating themselves within networks of relationships on multiple scales. In this way, non-objective configurations served the Inka's imperial goals dependent on an acceptance of, and submission to, Inka order." It's important to understand that relationships and ideas reflected in the designs are not, Dean suggests, narrowly static but rather open-ended. Two viewers might see different obligations in the designs depending on where the viewer fits into Inka society, but the underlying principles--and general submission to an Inkan worldview--are consistent"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Note on orthography

Naming the problem

Vexing texts and confounding configurations

Thoughtful decoration

Pattern in practice

Intersubjective interpretation

Nonimagery across cultures

Collaborative cultures

Glossary of frequently used Runasimi (Quechua) words.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-251) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Dean, Carolyn, 1957- Inside abstraction.

ISBN:

9781477331965

1477331964

OCLC:

1506480117