Museographs

Amid the armed conflict and broken treaty signings of nineteenth-century America, the highly successful horse culture of the plains, the Sioux Indians clutched to their way of life. Composed of three major groups and spread over six states, the Sioux represent a community divided. Much of their traditional world view and custom was overshadowed by the white man's quest for the dominance of Western civilization. Still, a highly developed sense of tribal pride coupled with a warrior spirit has safeguarded the Sioux against complete assimilation and cultural elimination. Chronicle this Western tribe's enduring history with The Sioux. Understand the true scope of the white man's debilitating influence, which while leading initially to a richer vocabulary, a more practical economic system, and lasting contributions to traditional dress, was also later responsible for the horrific 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. Though such imposed change might have permanently crushed the spirit of a people, the Sioux have seen a cultural renaissance and thrive today on seven reservations throughout the United States and Canada. Traditional practice has resumed its place in such events as the modern Powwow and the Grass Dance. Costumes originating in the nineteenth-century reflect ethnic vitality and bear the graceful integration between tribal materials and European trader goods to the present. Most importantly, that warrior spirit remains replenished and unshaken, proving a valuable lesson in conquering adversity and in the self-assertion of both individual and collective identities of a people.

Escape to the perfect world! A world where prejudice is pass, order is normal, and function is favored. This is the world of the Shakers. Best-known as an eighteenth-century utopian religious community, and often liken to the Amish, few are aware of the many accomplishments that are distinctly Shaker. Shakers have excelled as architects and chemists, craftsmen and inventors. During a twenty-five-year heyday they had a hand in everything from circular saws to textiles, decorative boxes, and home furnishings. Museographs' Shaker Design explores the depth of some of their many achievements. It preserves the integrity and uniqueness of the community dispelling misconceptions about these God-fearing few. A special focus on the dearly loved and ever recognizable Shaker chair celebrates technical precision, beauty and variety that stands as a testament to God's presence in both Shaker lifestyle and in Shaker art.

Despite a current trend toward individuality and cultural disparity, the fact remains that we have powerful tools that unite us all – our collective imagination, hunger for explanations, and the artistic images that they inspire. Irrespective of geographical location or industrial advancement, people from every corner of the globe cling to the myths, legends and stories that have organized and continue to organize whole societies, dictated religious and moral ideologies, and explained the mysteries of the universe. Museographs' Art, Myth, Legend and Story invites you to indulge your mythic side! Develop a better understanding of the origins and purposes of these beloved creations, and familiarize yourself with the themes and characters that make them possible. Meet Tiddalik, the Australian frog who was so thirsty he drank all the water in the land, leaving nothing for his creature friends. The White Serpent, one of the most popular surviving Chinese legends, or taste Forbidden Fruit with an African tale that explains the origin of the serpent found in creation accounts. Peruse bold images such as Herakles on a Greek vase, the life-giving Toltec rain god, Tlaloc, and Benjamin West's painting, Noah Sacrificing After the Deluge. This issue is as visually striking as it is textually informative. It consolidates and impressive selection of cross-cultural myths, legends and stories accompanied by relevant and powerful images. As an integral reference tool or as a beautiful compendium for the art and story enthusiast, it supplies a list of additional myths, legends, stories, and artistic renderings found in other volumes of the Museographs collection.

If you are searching for a succinct yet thorough introduction to Mexican painting in the modern age, you have arrived. Spanning more than 150 years of history, Mexican Painting: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is academically formidable, yet captivating and accessible to every reader. Learn the role that the Academy of San Carlos played in dictating tastes and in reforming public arts of architecture, portraiture, and decorative painting. Delve further into the debate between the established, conservative nineteenth-century Academy, and a newly emerging and more liberal twentieth-century Academia de Belles Artes designed to reflect a rise in secularization and an abandonment of traditional faith. Witness the inception of art criticism and gallery openings, the development of plein air technique and the integration of Art Nouveau. This issue contains beautiful plates including the renowned Dance in Tehuantepec by Diego Rivera and the Candelabrum of Oaxaca by Jose Maria Velasco. It provides a consummate survey of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Mexican painting in a scholarly and an artistic sense.