Image Encounters: Moche Murals and Archaeo Art History

Lisa Trever's book "Image Encounters" is a groundbreaking study of ancient Peruvian Moche mural art that challenges traditional interpretations and explores the origins of figuration in the Pacific coast of South America. It uses an interdisciplinary methodology of "archaeo art history" to examine how ancient histories of art can be written without texts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 08 February 2022
Publisher: University of Texas Press

A groundbreaking exploration into the ancient Peruvian Moche mural art, the 2022 Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Book Prize, awarded by the Bard Graduate Center, delves into the enigmatic and largely unexplored artistic heritage of the ancient Americas. These captivating murals, created during a time before written scripts, hold the key to unraveling the rich history, society, and culture of the Moche civilization. In her pioneering work, Lisa Trever employs an interdisciplinary approach known as "archaeo art history" to challenge the conventional relationship between art and archaeology. Trever argues that early coastal artistic traditions should not be simplistically reduced to interpretations based solely on later Inca accounts of the Andean highlands. Instead, she embarks on a quest to trace the origins of Moche mural art, emphasizing its distinctive focus on figuration, back to the distant past of the Pacific coast of South America.

Through the lens of Image Encounters, Trever unveils how formal transformations in Moche mural art occurred before and after the seventh century, coinciding with broader shifts in the purpose and function of images in Huacas de Moche, El Brujo, Pañamarca, and other significant sites. This insightful book offers an alternative framework for understanding the history of art and visual experience, shedding light on previously overlooked evidence and challenging established narratives. By delving into the intricate details of Moche mural art, Image Encounters provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the ancient world and its rich artistic traditions.

Dimension: 254 x 203 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477324271