Art for an Undivided Earth

Jessica L. Horton is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Delaware.

"Horton’s study is scholarship as advocacy and a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion about how to develop a truly global perspective in the study of contemporary art.... This is a scholarly book with the usual apparatus and takes into account a range of theoretical approaches but is written clearly enough to offer something to serious general readers." - Andrea Kirsh (Artblog) "At last an art book that recognizes Native American art as mainstream, and takes it seriously and interprets it with the same care and scrutiny given to art created by white people.... The research behind Art for an Undivided Earth is deep and reaches not only into Native roots but also across the ocean to European influences. The plentiful color illustrations enhance the points Horton makes, and the narrative is thorough and well written.... Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." - A. Wirkkala (Choice) "The book is well-illustrated, with color plates focusing on the main artworks discussed. The author has clearly done extensive research, in some cases communicating with the artists themselves, and compiled a very thorough bibliography. The index to the book is also thoughtful, providing nuances for broad topics. In all, this book is a worthwhile read." - Amy Lazet (ARLIS/NA Reviews) "The book ... comes alive through the author’s creative reinterpretation of the art, along with the author’s cogent primary data consisting of participant observation and interviews.... A widespread interdisciplinary audience ... likely will find plenty of insights in this interesting book." - Tim Kubal (American Indian Culture and Research Journal) “Horton offers a model of contemporary art scholarship that is informed not only by wide-ranging critical theory but also of the historical traditions of Native American art. It adheres to the highest standards of scholarship while also engaging a constructive and hopeful intercultural dialogue.” - Ruth Phillips (European Journal of American Culture) "Jessica L. Horton’s book is a carefully and lovingly collected archive of stories, images, and histories that draw one closer to the artists discussed." - Lindsay Nixon (Art Journal) “Art For An Undivided Earth is perhaps the most involved and in-depth study of Native Modernism to date. . . .  Horton’s work is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduates through professional-level academics, but is a required read for anyone pursuing Native American scholarship in museum studies, archival studies, and art history, or any other discipline which calls for a deeper investment than the identitarian/ethnographic approach which too often reigns supreme.” - Anthony Ballas (InVisible Culture)

• List of Illustrations  ixAcknowledgments  xiiiIntroduction  11. The Word for World and the Word for History Are the Same: Jimmie Durham, the American Indian Movement, and Spatial Thinking  162. Now That We Are Christians We Dance for Ceremony: James Luna, Performing Props, and Sacred Space  613. They Sent Me Way Out in the Foreign Country and Told Me to Forget It: Fred Kabotie, Dance Memories, and the 1932 U.S. Pavilion of the Venice Biennale  944. Dance Is the One Activity That I Know Of When Virtual Strangers Can Embrace: Kay WalkingStick, Creative Kinship, and Art History's Tangled Legs  1235. They Advanced to the Portraits of Their Friends and Offered Them Their Hands: Robert Houle, Ojibwa Tableaux Vivants, and Transcultural Materialism  152Epilogue: Traveligng with Stones  184Notes  197Bibliography  249Index  283