Page 528 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

set. They have not received the attention and subservient to propaganda. In broader perspec- prehistory, communicating ideas and stamping
appreciation given to other native New World tive, however, the sociopolitical dimensions of a new vision of beauty on the physical world
art because they must be seen in their remote imperial Inka style can be seen as the participa- in which people lived. Its scale and effect varied
contexts. Recent studies seek to redress this tion of art and visual communication in an from the subtlety of small, exquisitely cast
imbalance. "Inka monumental stone sculpture overall process of social growth that contributed metal figures dressed in textiles and feathers for
... should be seen as one of the major sculptural to new political, economic, and aesthetic orders. offerings on high mountain peaks, through
styles of the world. Like the most accomplished To understand fully the role of art in this pro- carved rocks that were also occasionally covered
Egyptian, Greek, Mexican and Romanesque cess we need to know how the imperial Inka with textiles, to the heroic dimensions of
54
works of sculpture, it presents a unique intellec- style developed. Unfortunately, both the his- towns sculpted out of mountains. The careful
tual achievement. Mass, volume and voids are torical and the archaeological records offer only ensemble, the combining of elements in the
its primary concerns. Its angular aspect and fragmentary information on this topic. The material world, matched attempts in the social,
formal rigidity give it a distinctly 'modern' incomplete archaeological evidence suggests political, and economic realms to assemble com-
feel." 48 that the style appeared quite suddenly in the plementary elements into a vast, balanced, and
50
Although more subtle and much less stan- mid-fifteenth century. It was preceded in the wealthy whole.
dardized than other manifestations of imperial Cuzco area by the Killke style, known only from The remarkable economic, political, and artis-
51
art, these sculptures also served as markers and ceramics. While some elements of painted tic achievements of the Inka did not equip them
symbols of the presence of the Inka. Their uses design on Inka ceramics can be traced to earlier to cope with a foreign world. They could not
and meanings, however, are probably much Killke designs, these seem insufficient to sug- have envisioned the tragic consequences of the
52
more far-reaching and complex. Frequently gest a gradual evolution of the imperial Inka European invasion. Although many aspects of
they marked boundaries or commemorated style from the earlier tradition. Rather, with its Andean creativity continue even today, the
important events in myths and legends, for crisp new range of shapes, improved technical empire and its art were quickly destroyed
example, places of ancestral origin. Perhaps quality, and more controlled designs, the Inka during the first decades of outside domination.
their most intriguing and powerful meaning is style represents a marked break from the past. To the Inka the recently arrived representatives
as instruments of mediation and communica- We can only speculate as to how these special- of that foreign world must have seemed un-
tion between people and the natural and super- ized weavers, smiths, and potters may have been civilized: people driven by greed and religious
49
natural. As objects fashioned from the realms related to the creation of the style associated fanaticism to acts of brutality and ugliness.
53
of both culture and nature, they were ideal with the state. It seems clear, however, that
bridges between people, the natural worlds in these widespread designs were not simply the
which they lived, and the supernatural world, innovations of individual artists and designers,
which was also populated by extensions of later freely copied by others as they became NOTES
beings from nature. widely popular. For styles to become standard- -L. John Hyslop, Inka Settlement Planning (Austin,
Recognizing the pivotal role of Inka art in ized and then broadly disseminated as these 2. 1990), 291. "El 'Control Vertical' de un Maximo
John V. Murra,
communication between people and groups and were, there had to be some direction from the de Pisos Ecologicos en la Economia de las Sociedades
even between society and the cosmos does not governing elite almost from the outset. Andinas," in Visit a de la Provincia de Leon de
detract from the artistic importance of the The content of Inka art is thus intimately Hudnuco, vol. 2 (Huanuco, Peru, 1972).
objects. Aesthetic strength is, in some sense, tied to the nature of the empire in which it was 3. John Hyslop, The Inka Road System (New York,
based in communication. The headdresses that created and used. As we appreciate the beauty 4. 1984). The Ancient Civilizations of Peru
J. Alden Mason,
served as insigniae of group membership, the and social utility of the relatively standardized (London, 1957), 231.
tunics that may have signaled position in the objects, we need also to seek a greater under- 5. Dorothy Menzel, The Archaeology of Ancient Peru
hierarchy of state officials, the bright metal standing of their creative source. It is important and the Work of Max Uhle (Berkeley, 1977), 26-29.
objects that indicated status or symbolized reli- as well not to be so blinded by the boldness of 6. Ann P. Rowe, Costumes and Featherwork of the
gious beliefs, the stones that helped mediate the state styles that we fail to note the latitude Lords of Chimor (Washington, 1984).
See discussion of smiths, below.
between earth and cosmos: all owed some of for individual variation. Though the variety of 7. Dorothy Menzel, "The Inca Occupation of the South
8.
their artistic characteristics to the meanings regional styles is evident, some of the most Coast of Peru," Southwestern Journal of Anthropol-
attached to them. innovative and unique Inka art is actually part ogy 15, no. 2 (1959), 125-142, provides a general
The creation of an empire like that of the of the imperial repertory. It occurs most notably review of the Inka occupation of the Peruvian south
Inka depended on communication to link its in architecture and in sculptures carved in living coast. For a more specific treatment of the Inka and
Nazca areas see Menzel 1977, 8-18.
numerous and varied parts; the dependence stone. Seen in its totality the art of Tawantin- 9. John Hyslop, "Las fronteras estatales extremas del
was perhaps even greater because of the lack of suyu is as grand and complex as the empire Tawantinsuyu," in La Frontera del Estado Inca, ed.
true writing. The creation of an empire also itself, a kaleidoscope of regional variation tied Tom Dillehay and Patricia Neatherly (Oxford, 1988),
depended on motivation, inspiration, and per- together by the strong and unmistakable style 35-57-
suasion. The use of strong, simple, understand- of objects created for the Cuzco rulers. 10. Betty Meggers, Ecuador (London, 1966), 162-163;
able symbols in architecture, clothing, and Most impressive about the Inka aesthetic Frank Salomon, "Vertical Politics on the Inka Fron-
History
in Anthropological
of Andean Polities,
tier,"
objects of adornment was an important aspect of world are the combinations, the way various ed. John V. Murra, Nathan Wachtel, Jacques Revel
the means used by the state to achieve coopera- arts and media were used together and incor- (Cambridge and London, 1986), 89-117.
tion and participation in its political and eco- porated into human activities and the natural 11. Julie Jones, Art of Empire: The Inca of Peru (New
nomic activities. Objects in the imperial Inka landscape. In spite of its seeming modernity in York, 1964), 5.
Time of the
style had become part of the means by which many visual features, this was not art produced 12. John H. Rowe, "Inca Culture at the of South American
Spanish
in Handbook
Conquest,"
the empire was created and maintained. Some by individuals for purely aesthetic ends. It was Indians, ed. Julian Steward (Washington, 1946),
might argue that art and design had become art as practiced throughout most of history and 2:287.
THE AMERICAS 527