Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art

American Indian Studies (AIS)

by Denise K. Cummings (Editor), Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (Contributor)

In recent years, works by American Indian artists and filmmakers such as Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Edgar Heap of Birds, Sherman Alexie, Shelley Niro, and Chris Eyre have illustrated the importance of visual culture as a means to mediate identity in contemporary Native America. This insightful collection of essays explores how identity is created and communicated through Native film-, video-, and art-making; what role these practices play in contemporary cultural revitalization; and how indigenous creators revisit media pasts and resignify dominant discourses through their work. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art draws on American Indian Studies, American Studies, Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Women’s Studies, and Postcolonial Studies. Among the artists examined are Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie, Eric Gansworth, Melanie Printup Hope, Jolene Rickard, and George Longfish. Films analyzed include Imprint, It Starts with a Whisper, Mohawk Girls, Skins, The Business of Fancydancing, and a selection of Native Latin films.

Genres: Indigenous

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[teagan]

did not actually read the whole thing. felt like i'd written some of these essays in my high school english classes. paid in money, tears, and frustration. therefore i deserve to be one book closer to meeting my book goal.

[Kyle Aisteach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a good "book" so much as it is a great collection of individual essays, more akin to an issue of an academic journal than a book one would sit down and read beginning-to-end. But the essays themselves are excellent, delving into both cinematic aesthetics and a look at contemporary visual art by Native Americans. More useful as a resource for research (which is how I'm using it) than as pleasure reading, but a well-put-together volume nonetheless.