{"product_id":"inside-abstraction-interpreting-inka-visual-culture-9781477331965","title":"Inside Abstraction: Interpreting Inka Visual Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIlluminating the abstract art of the Inka, what it conveys about Inka values, and its relationship to those who view it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Inka visual culture is unusual in its tendency toward abstraction. Public stonework, vessels used at state feasts, garments worn by the imperial elite--these objects announcing status and power are adorned with geometric designs that refuse figuration. After searching in vain for hidden referents, many scholars have largely given up the search for meaning. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eInside Abstraction\u003c\/i\u003e develops a novel interpretation. Eminent art historian Carolyn Dean proposes that Inka geometries are neither ornamental nor coded depictions of other objects. Rather, Dean shows that in the Andean world, the designs were functionally self-aware, possessing perspectives of their own, quite literally looking back at and addressing viewers directly. Further, Dean contends that these agent-abstractions were teachers, conveying particular messages concerning social hierarchy: the relations among geometries and colors instructed viewers as to their own proper social relations. Inka designs thereby served imperial aims by wordlessly communicating the state's values and demands for submission. Extensively illustrated and rigorously argued, \u003ci\u003eInside Abstraction\u003c\/i\u003e is a dramatic step forward in our understanding of Inka art and political order. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e A Distinguished Professor Emerita of Art History and Visual Culture at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Carolyn Dean has also published \u003ci\u003eInka Bodies and the Body of Christ\u003c\/i\u003e and the award-winning \u003ci\u003eA Culture of Stone\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51615556862226,"sku":"9781477331965","price":62.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6d2f8625-fae6-4fa8-95da-c10e2650d3f6.jpg?v=1758102947","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/inside-abstraction-interpreting-inka-visual-culture-9781477331965","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}