Short reviews of new books on art/photo. of interest to NAs

Steve Brock (brock@ucsub.colorado.edu)
13 Nov 1995 01:11:25 GMT

Here are several short reviews and recommendations of new and
recent books on fine arts and architecture of interest to Native
Americans and anthropologists. All reviews are written by Steve
Brock:

United States:

STRONG HEARTS: NATIVE AMERICAN VISIONS AND VOICES. Aperture, 20
East 23rd St., N.Y., NY 10010, (212) 505-5555, FAX: (212) 979-7759.
Illustrated (65 black-and-white duotone photographs). 112 pp.,
$24.95 paper. 0-89381-6

In a striking effort to display the many perspectives held by
Native American writers, poets, and photographers (Nancy Ackerman,
Lee Marmon, Maggie Steber, Zig Jackson, Leslie Marmon Silko, Linda
Hogan, James Welch, Paul Chaat Smith, Theresa Harlan, Jolene
Rickard, and many others) from different tribes, this collection
gathers together powerful words and images that require the reader
to spend a bit of time with each. Don't miss Walter Bigbee's
inspiring shot of a giant eagle guarding a herd of buffalo. This
is one of the most moving photodocumentaries I've seen in many
years. It's such an exceptional work that I'll even overlook the
editor stating that James Welch's "Killing Custer" is a novel.
Grade: A+.

SWEET MEDICINE: SITES OF INDIAN MASSACRES, BATTLEFIELDS, AND
TREATIES, photographs by Drex Brooks. University of New Mexico
Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505)
277-2346, (505) 277-9270 FAX. Illustrated, notes. 176 pp., $50.00
cloth. 0-8263-1538-0

Either standing barren with only memories to mark the event, or
covered by a city street, a park, and in few cases a marker, many
of these eerie images would be landscape shots if not for the
commentary, such as "the soldiers mutilated the dead," "the
soldiers were told to spare none of the enemy," or "a Blackfeet
Indian was allowed to board the disease-ridden steamer; when he
left he became the messenger of death." In a picture of the mass
grave at the Wounded Knee Massacre Site, the reader's attention is
diverted by a building with "AIM stinks" spray-painted on it; the
word "stinks," however, is crossed out and someone else has written
"is cool." As Patty Limerick points out in her essay, these are
words and images that can never be forgotten. Grade: A-.

T.C. CANNON: HE STOOD IN THE SUN by Joan Frederick in cooperation
with Walter Cannon. Northland Publishing, P.O. Box 1389, Flag-
staff, AZ 86002-1389, (800) 346-3257, (800) 257-9082 FAX.
Northland also has a line of southwestern design T-shirts and other
gifts. Illustrated, index. 215 pp., $40.00 cloth. 0-87358-603-4

"I am nothing but a young man. These are nothing
but songs that I have lived through. I have
learned to accept myself as nothing more and
nothing less. My life is everyone's."
-- T.C. Cannon

Almost a cult figure in art circles, Cannon (1946-1978) is thought
by many to have brought Native American art into the modern era
with his adaptations from old photographs, his bold use of color,
and his portrayal of contemporary Indian life. Frederick draws
upon T.C.'s writings, extensive interviews with Walter Cannon,
T.C.'s father, and many other friends and family members, who
reveal a complex and modest artist who painted sensationally but
tried to avoid sensationalism. An honest, heartfelt work and a
fitting tribute. Grade: A.

International:

THE LAST OF THE NUBA by Leni Riefenstahl. St Martin's Press, 175
Fifth Ave, N.Y., NY 10010, (800) 221-7945, FAX: (212) 420-9314.
Illustrated (145 photographs, 123 in color), glossary, list of
further readings, maps. 208 pp., $40.00 cloth. 0-312-13642-0.
This reissue of the 1973 original captures the life and customs of
the little-known and almost extinct tribe of the mountains of
southern Sudan, but the enigmatic Riefenstahl attaches too much
myth to the tribe, and the book stands in the shadow of George
Rodger's "Early Nuba." Grade: C+.

TRIBAL SCULPTURE: MASTERPIECES FROM AFRICA, SOUTH EAST ASIA AND THE
PACIFIC IN THE BARBIER-MUELLER MUSEUM by Douglas Newton and
Hermoine Waterfield. The Vendome Press, 1370 Avenue of the
Americas, Suite 2003, New York, NY 10019, (212) 957-8802, FAX:
(212) 957-3480. Illustrated (295 in color), maps. 353 pp., $80.00
cloth. 0-86565-962-1

While most books on African art are celebratory, many still
proclaim that there is no such thing as African art because the
word for art is absent in their languages. One of the loudest
voices against this condescending attitude is "Tribal Sculpture,"
which showcases the ethnic sculptures of smaller tribes held by
Geneva's Barbier-Mueller Museum. Broken into three regions
(Africa, Indonesia, Oceania), the volume, with its crisp photo-
graphs and perceptive commentary, is essential for art historians
and ethnographers. Grade: A.