Caron Caswell Lazar

The tradition of African-American Folk Art is vast and diverse. With roots that extend overseas, these traditions now flourish and continue to bloom into the twenty-first century. In Contemporary African-American Folk Art, trace the development of such mediums as wood carving, pottery, quilt making and painting.<br><br>Learn the significance of slave Henry Gudgell, whose artistic mastery is still hailed as some of the best surviving examples of African-American wood...

Two thousand years ago, Japan and Korea began a long-standing history of cultural contact. For the Koreans, this meant an invasion in the 1590s spawning four centuries of bitter contempt for Japanese society. The Japanese, however, were culturally enriched, gathering as spoils of war the traditions of Buddhism, elements of Chinese writing, and most valued of all, the removal of master potters from their Korean captives. <br><br>In Japanese Satsuma Pottery, delight in &quot;a tale...

Just uttering the word Jerusalem results in an automatic change in the state of mind for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Their individual and collective history in this city&ndash;a holy place for all three of the great monotheistic faiths&ndash;has covered over three thousand years but Jerusalem&#39;s history extends two millennia farther in the sands of time.<br><br>The Old City of Jerusalem surveys the City of Peace and her inhabitants from the Canaanite Period through...

Experience desert-dwelling at its most vibrant! From the essential features of a mosque to a wide assemblage of colorful edifices designed to offset monochromatic and infertile landscapes, Islamic art encompasses an impressive scope of mediums and styles. Some traditions mirror regional tastes that span from Spain and Morocco in the West to Central Asia and India in the East, still others connote the trademark aptness of color, shape, and pattern for which Islamic art is universally...

Escape to the perfect world! A world where prejudice is passé, order is normal, and function is favored. This is the world of the Shakers.<br><br>Best-known as an eighteenth-century utopian religious community, and often liken to the Amish, few are aware of the many accomplishments that are distinctly Shaker. Shakers have excelled as architects and chemists, craftsmen and inventors. During a twenty-five-year heyday they had a hand in everything from circular saws to textiles,...

If you are searching for a succinct yet thorough introduction to Mexican painting in the modern age, you have arrived. Spanning more than 150 years of history, Mexican Painting: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is academically formidable, yet captivating and accessible to every reader.<br><br>Learn the role that the Academy of San Carlos played in dictating tastes and in reforming public arts of architecture, portraiture, and decorative painting. Delve further into the debate...

Grounded in the maintenance of balance and the pursuit of peace, the Cherokee Nation has always had a difficult task. In The Cherokee accompany these Principle People on their quest &ndash; from the first 1,000 years of harmony preceding conflict with DeSoto in 1540 to the present-day resurgence of tribal unity.<br><br>The Cherokee&#39;s pre-contact world was peaceful and often unrecognized or misrepresented by American history books. It encompassed a deep reverence for...

Despite a current trend toward individuality and cultural disparity, the fact remains that we have powerful tools that unite us all &ndash; our collective imagination, hunger for explanations, and the artistic images that they inspire. Irrespective of geographical location or industrial advancement, people from every corner of the globe cling to the myths, legends and stories that have organized and continue to organize whole societies, dictated religious and moral ideologies, and explained...

Amid the armed conflict and broken treaty signings of nineteenth-century America, the highly successful horse culture of the plains, the Sioux Indians clutched to their way of life. Composed of three major groups and spread over six states, the Sioux represent a community divided. Much of their traditional world view and custom was overshadowed by the white man&#39;s quest for the dominance of Western civilization. Still, a highly developed sense of tribal pride coupled with a warrior spirit...

Before the printing press introduced the notion of mass production to the Renaissance world, the written word was one of spiritual significance and unfathomable mystique. Sacred texts predominated and books were acceptable means of procuring religious thought. As harbinger of the book, the Illuminated Manuscript maintains a well-respected place in literary and artistic history, as well as in the record of human progress and creativity.<br><br>Museograph&#39;s Illuminated...

High atop the Southern mountains lived the Appalachian settlers. They were people unconcerned with convention who lived removed from the throes of civilization for more than a century. From mighty blacksmiths to prized basket-makers, their crafts were well suited to a remote existence, giving them &#39;the tools to tame the wilderness.&#39;<br><br>Hand thrown pottery preserved and transported food. Cornhusk dolls lent amusement to children&#39;s playtime. Chair making and...