A study of the ancient practice of Andean head shaping and its cultural connotations. In the late sixteenth century, Spanish conquerors in Peru's Colca Valley encountered the Collaguas and Cavanas, Indigenous people who undertook a striking form of body modification: Collaguas bound the heads of infants and children so that their skulls grew ......
Prints and the Shaping of Devotional Networks from Lima to the Andes and Beyond
A study of the production and movement of prints in colonial South America. Printed images have had a central place in art-historical studies of colonial Spanish America, but scholars have typically focused on imported prints, designed and produced in Europe. The Mobile Image focuses instead on works printed in colonial Lima, generating there a ......
How the classic aesthetic of 1960s pulp comics influenced art, culture, and politics. As a form of visual art, comic books rely on a distinct and eye-catching aesthetic. This is especially true of the iconic comics, graphic novels, and illustrations of the 1960s and 1970s. The Look of the 1960s explores the sources of inspiration that influenced ......
A study of women's lives in the public sphere of the ancient city of Pompeii. Pompeii's well-preserved remains provide a unique opportunity for the close study of ancient lives. Drawing on statues, inscriptions, graffiti, wall paintings, and the architecture of tombs, sanctuaries, houses, and public spaces, The Lives and Deaths of Women in ......
The incredible career of the forgotten but foundational pro wrestler who shaped American sports culture. William Muldoon was an infamous athlete whose prowess and savvy across his six-decade career led him to wealth, cultural importance, and political power. Muldoon, the child of poor Irish immigrants, began wrestling in the 1870s and quickly ......
Winner, James Beard Foundation Book Award, 2016 Art of Eating Prize, 2015 BCALA Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation, Black Caucus of the American Library Association, 2016 Women of African descent have contributed to America's food culture for centuries, but their rich and varied involvement is still overshadowed by the demeaning ......
They may wear cowboy hats and boots and sing about "faded love," but western swing musicians have always played jazz! From Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys to Asleep at the Wheel, western swing performers have played swing jazz on traditional country instruments, with all of the required elements of jazz, and some of the best solo improvisation ......
Saints, Death, and Devotion to La Santa Muerte in Oaxaca
La Santa Muerte becomes a lens for understanding how Oaxacans relate to saints, loved ones, and other "special dead." In Oaxaca, images of saints and loved ones, as well as of victims of political or criminal violence, are seemingly everywhere. While Oaxacans relate to all sorts of "special dead," they are particularly devoted to La Santa Muerte ......
