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Lightning Symbol and Snake Dance

Aby Warburg and Pueblo Art
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Lightning Symbol and Snake Dance explores Aby Warburg's remarkable journey through the American Southwest in 1895/96, focusing on the artifacts he collected and their cultural significance. The book revisits Warburg's iconic lecture on the Hopi "snake ritual" and delves into his transdisciplinary methods in interpreting Pueblo art and culture. It highlights the artistic importance of these works and contextualises their acquisition within the sociopolitical realities of the time. Additionally, it examines contemporary efforts by Pueblo leaders to reclaim interpretive authority over their cultural symbols and practices.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This publication will appeal to readers interested in arts and culture, particularly those fascinated by anthropology, indigenous studies, and the legacy of Aby Warburg. It is suited to scholars, students, and culturally engaged audiences seeking a nuanced understanding of Pueblo art and cultural heritage.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The legacy of the art and cultural scientist Aby Warburg offers many subjects for reassessment. Almost unknown until now are the artifacts he collected on a journey through the southwest of the US in 1895/96 and donated to the Museum für Völkerkunde in Hamburg (today Museum am Rothenbaum). The results first unfolded in Warburg's famous lecture on the "snake ritual" of the Hopi (1923).

Following Warburg's transdisciplinary approach, this publication examines his guiding principles in assembling his collection as well as his reading of Pueblo art and culture. It pays tribute to the works and their artistic significance and sheds light on the circumstances of acquisition in the sociopolitical environment of the Pueblo communities of the time. The contemporary fascination with the snake ritual is also a topic.

Set against this are the previously neglected perspectives and strategies of Pueblo leaders to regain interpretive sovereignty over culturally sensitive content and imagery.

Lightning Symbol and Snake Dance is an essential exploration of these themes, offering a profound insight into the complex interactions between cultures and the enduring legacy of Warburg's work.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9783775752022

Publisher: Hatje Cantz

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 28 April 2022

Country: Germany

Imprint: Hatje Cantz

Illustration: 290 Illustrations

Contributors:

  • Text by Lea McChesney
  • Text by Nancy J. Parezo
  • Text by Rainer Hatoum
  • Text by Adam Duran
  • Edited by Christine Chávez
  • Text by Bruce Bernstein
  • Edited by Uwe Fleckner
  • Text by Lindsey Drury
  • Text by Kelley Hays-Gilpin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 225.0mm

Height: 295.0mm

Weight: 1820g

Pages: 400

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Non-Fiction Science & Nature

About the Author

ABY WARBURG (1866-1929) is considered as the founder of a modern art history oriented towards cultural studies. His research was mainly concerned with the investigation of the afterlife of antiquity in the Renaissance, which he recorded in his iconic Bilderatlas Mnemosyne.

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