Aleut Art

Unangam Aguqaadangin

Black Lydia

Now in a second edition, "Aleut Ar" is a landmark work that provides a comprehensive picture of the Unangas, or Aleut people, and the place of art in their lives, both past and present.

Full of extraordinary color plates representing collections from museums throughout Europe and the United States, "Aleut Art "showcases wood, bone, and ivory work, as well as the famous kamleikas (waterproof parkas made of gut) for which the Aleut are known. A chapter on masks reproduces extraordinary wooden examples from the 19th century and situates them in their cultural context. Other topics include Aleut hunting visors, weaving, embroidery, and tattoo. Black covers both works recovered from archaeological sites and modern Aleut artists whose work now resides in museums worldwide.

Contents:

Foreword by Dimitri Philemonof
Preface by Alice Petrivelli
Acknowledgements
Introduction

PART I
PREHISTORIC TRADITIONS: A Cord of Many Strands
IN THE EAST
THE ISLANDS OF THE FOUR MOUNTAINS
IN THE WEST
MASKS

PART II
HISTORIC PERIOD
Ethnographic Art
THE ARTS OF MEN
THE ARTS OF WOMEN

PART III
NEW HORIZONS

Endnotes
Selected Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Lydia T. Black immigrated to the United States in 1950. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In 2000, she was awarded The Order of Friendship by the Russian Federation for fostering cooperation between the Russian and American scholarly communities. Dr. Black has published extensively on Russian and Alaskan history and anthropology, including a biography of St. Innocent entitled "A Good and Faithful Servant" (University of Alaska Press, 1997). She is also the author of "Aleut Art" (2003).

Back to the list of books