Before América

From artifacts to the avant-garde: the “Amerindian” visual aesthetic presented in a colossal and copiously illustrated catalog

After Europeans christened two sweeping continents with hundreds of individual cultures and traditions “America,” the visual culture of the “New World” became filled with reinterpretations of ancient civilizations from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Before América turns back the clock to examine the formation of Americanist identity from Indigenous cultures, beginning with the archeological expeditions of the 18th and 19th centuries and ending with contemporary media and popular culture. With a striking graphic cover, the book is a glorious compilation of over 800 illustrations showcasing the “Amerindian” paradigm across mediums and decades: textiles, jewelry, furniture, printed books, playing cards, movie posters, Aztec-themed hotels and contemporary artwork by Josef and Anni Albers, Cecilia Vicuña and Henry Moore. Whether subtle motifs or plain pastiches, all these examples appropriate a simulacrum of Indigenous visual culture, now full of new and fascinating meanings.