Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2023 -

The fifth title in the "Studies on Latin American Art" series, Nelson's meticulously documented Forming Abstraction reconsiders the history of nonobjective abstraction in post-WW II Brazil and reassesses previous accounts of its rise. Often characterized as an assimilation of European concrete art, Brazilian nonobjective abstraction proves more varied in inspiration and motivation. Nelson (Univ. of Texas, Austin) likewise refines the standard accounts of a "hard," dogmatic, and industrial form in Sao Paulo versus a "soft," intuitive, and affective iteration in Rio de Janeiro, both of which reacted against the social realist and nationalist art of the 1930s and early 1940s. By tracing the range of significance artists and critics attributed to form (forma), Nelson brings to light the theoretical nuances and exchanges overlooked in earlier scholarship. Forming Abstraction deftly balances the ideas and practices of individual artists and critics with the motivations of corporate and state patrons and institutions, especially the newly founded modern art museums in Rio and Sao Paulo and their public programming. Nelson's study is necessary reading for students and scholars of modern art in Latin America.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.

In their foreword to this volume, museum directors Max Hollein (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Eric Lee (Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas) write that the exhibition it catalogues addresses a universal question: "How do [artists] give shape to divine power?" Focusing on ancient Maya art from southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize, seven insightful essays by distinguished scholars synthesize research on Maya religion, exploring concepts of godliness and cosmology. The exploration of Maya iconography is especially strong, in particular the significance of major deities--the celestial bird, the rain god Chahk, the lightning god K'awiil, the Maize God, the Moon God/Goddess, and the Sun God. The contributors also explain the importance of sacred natural phenomena and materials, such as rain, lighting, day, night, landscapes, maize, rebirth, wood, shell, and stone. The colonial history of this region and the blending of Indigenous beliefs with Christianity are acknowledged. The exhibition drew on the collections of some 25 major museums, and this catalogue reflects the exhibition in including many of the best sculptures, ceramics, and paintings from Maya culture. The volume is lavishly illustrated with conventional photographs, rollout photographs, and X-rays. Artwork from the major archaeological sites Calakmul, Copan, Palenque, Piedras Negras, Bonampak, San Bartolo, Tikal, Tonina, and Yaxchilan is included.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.