American Art History

Key words

Kunstkammer

(German for "art chamber" or "cabinet of curiosities") is a 16th-17th century encyclopedic collection, acting as a predecessor to modern museums

Counterfeit

Inferior Replica

Picts

Painted People

Pre-Lapsarian

Innocent, unspoiled, before the fall of man

Use of classical visual conventions (how and why?) - ????????????????

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Role of Printmaking in shaping & distributing the New World Images

 allowed euros to mass produce refined propaganda for the new world, guided people towards going and funding, etc

Kiva

a chamber, built wholly or partly underground, traditionally used by male members of the Pueblo people for religious rites.

Vigas

a rough-hewn roof timber or rafter, especially in an adobe building.

Transverse Clerestory

 a specialized high-window configuration, often found in traditional Spanish-American mission churches in New Mexico, designed to allow light to enter across the width of the nave, specifically illuminating the altar area. These windows are positioned high on the wall to provide natural, indirect light.

Santero

A creator of religious folk art

Expedient selection

describes the skill developed to manage this competition efficiently. choosing a solution, action, or tool that is highly effective for achieving a specific, often immediate, goal. It prioritizes convenience, speed, and practical advantage over long-term, moral, or just considerations.

Middle Ground

the space between the physical and spiritual grounds

Indian Dress

Hybrid of Euro & Indigenous peoples fashion

Wampum

Beaded Belts made from quahog (purple) & Whelk (white) shell beads, Symbols on belt tell a metaphorical story but are not a treaty or text

Curiosity

An item made by indigenous people for indigenous people (stolen/gifted to euros)

Souvenir

An item made by indigenous people specifically for the euros (financial stability and peace)

History Painting (traditional and modern versions

Often takes from bible and/or mythology, the most intellectual form of painting, was often made to be perfect and display a scene as one believes it should have been/the most ideal form etc. 

Hierarchy of Genres

1. History Painting

2. Portraiture

3. Genre

4. Animal & Vegetable

5. Still Life

6. Landscape

Symbols

Arbitrary Relationship, has no natural resemblance, has been taught to us

Icons

Visual Resemblance, fire icon looks like a fire

Index

Physical Relationship, smoke indicates fire, footprint indicates someone once stood there

Physiognotrace

Small 18th-century device designed to rapidly create accurate, reduced-size, profile silhouette portraits

Silhouette

solid, typically black,, featureless shape representing the outline of a person, object, or scene against a bright background

Petrus campers Facial Angle theory

: the jaw's projection relative to the forehead metrically differentiated species, individuals of different ages, and among what Camper called human “landaarden” (regional varieties). (aka excuse to be racist scientifically)

Simulation

some kinds of likeness (imitation relation, resemblance)

Substitution

Someone who stands in for a constituent 

visual bilinguali

Implies that the visual system is constantly negotiating between two active language systems, while