Art Effects: Image, Agency, and Ritual in Amazonia

Carlos Fausto explores the relationship between indigenous material culture and ontology in ritual contexts, analyzing the agency of artifacts and indigenous presences, and comparing Amerindian visual regimes with the Christian imagistic tradition. He offers inductive theorizing on praxis, materiality, ontology, the power of images, anthropomorphism, zoomorphism, and animism, and compares South American and North American indigenous masks.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 424 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2024
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Carlos Fausto delves into the intricate interplay between indigenous material culture and ontology in the context of ritual practices, offering a profound interpretation of the agency of artifacts and indigenous presences. Through a comprehensive analysis of various elements such as the body, aerophones, ritual masks, and anthropomorphic effigies, Fausto explores the rich tapestry of Amerindian visual regimes and compares them to the Christian imagistic tradition.

Drawing on his extensive fieldwork in Amazonia, Fausto presents a rich tapestry of inductive theorizing that delves into the most complex subjects of anthropological analysis, including praxis, materiality, ontology, belief, the power of images and mimesis, anthropomorphism and zoomorphism, and animism and posthumanism. Art Effects also offers insightful and provocative hemispheric comparisons of South American and North American indigenous masks, raising thought-provoking questions about the efficacy and impact of objects and ritual images on human beings.

This interdisciplinary work, reminiscent of the influences of Franz Boas, Pierre Clastres, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, invites readers to explore the multifaceted dimensions of human experience and the profound ways in which objects and ritual images shape our understanding of the world. By examining the complex relationships between culture, materiality, and the supernatural, Fausto offers a thought-provoking exploration of the human condition and the enduring power of art to convey meaning and significance.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496238740