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Exhibitions: Catalogs/Publications

Folk Art of the Andes
By Barbara Mauldin
The creative accomplishments of the Andean people of the highland region of South America are prominent among the folk art legacies of the world. This wide-ranging publication, examining over 850 works, is the first to present an overview of the religious, textile, costume, utilitarian, and festival folk arts made in the Andes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, after the Andeans were free from Spanish colonial rule. Published by Museum of New Mexico Press»
Clothbound; $50.00
978-089013-527-3

Inside the Puppet Box:
A Performance Collection of Wayang Kulit at the Museum of International Folk Art.
By Felicia Katz-Harris.
Indonesian wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performance is one of the oldest and greatest storytelling traditions in the world and lies close to the heart of Javanese culture. These flat puppets, made from water buffalo hide, are elaborately decorated and perforated to cast spectacular shadows when used in performances that are usually based on classical literature with contemporary issues incorporated into particular scenes, and are always accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. An art of and for the people, wayang kulit remains a popular and significant form of cultural expression to this day. This book describes a collection of gold and bronze leaf Surakarta-style wayang kulit including over 200 wayang characters, which are identified by name and briefly introduced, providing a glimpse inside the puppet box. Published in conjunction with the exhibition Dancing Shadows, Epic Tales: Wayang Kulit of Indonesia» by the Museum of International Folk Art in association with the University of Washington Press»

Textiles Collection
of the Museum of International Folk Art

By Bobbie Sumberg, Ph.D.
Curator of Textiles and Costume Companion catalogue to the exhibition Material World: Textiles and Dress from the Collection», exploring the cultural meaning and exquisite workmanship found in the Museum of International Folk Art’s vast collection that spans centuries and includes pieces from seventy countries around the world. Handcrafted work in beautiful, vivid colors typifies the clothing, hats, robes, bedding, and shoes that represent the lives and passions of the people who created and used them.
PRICE: $60.00 Hardback,
ISBN: 978-1-4236-0650-5

On Collecting: From Private to Public, Featuring Folk and Tribal Art from the Diane & Sandy Besser Collection
Edited by Joyce Ice
This collection of essays illuminates the journey of artwork from its place of origin to a private collection, and finally to a museum that conserves, presents, and interprets its collections for the benefit of the public. Each essay examines the collecting process from a different perspective: collector, dealer, artist, curator, museum director, or lawyer. Writing from these varied viewpoints, the authors share their experiences, using examples drawn from their personal and professional lives. The volume's contributors offer readers a glimpse behind the scenes into the roles and relationships that influence the transfer of private collections. The book contributes to a greater understanding of the collecting process and the convoluted courtship rituals involving collectors, donors, museum staff, and board members. These essays illuminate the challenges faced by museums of all sizes that engage in the complex ethical, legal, emotional, and intellectual process by which privately held collections are transferred to the public trust. Soft cover PRICE: $35.00
ISBN:978-0-295-98888-7

Faith & transformationFaith and Transformation:
Votive Offerings and Amulets from the Alexander Girard Collection
Edited By Doris Francis
Amulets are objects of supranormal potency that safeguard the wearer during critical periods of life passage and transformation. Ex-votos, small metal objects often in the shapes of human figures or specific parts of the body, are presented as gifts to supernatural beings in thankful reciprocation for favors received. Drawing on examples from the Alexander Girard Collection» at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, this book describes the uses of these objects by people around the world who embrace different systems of faith and follow distinct cultural and ritual practices. Soft cover, 158 pages, numerous color photographs. PRICE: $29.95


Village of Painters:
Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal
Village of Painters
By Frank J. Korom;
Photographs by Paul Smutko
Village of Painters profiles a unique caste of itinerant artists from Naya, a West Bengali village. These patuas paint narrative scrolls and perform songs to accompany their unrolling, and have been plying their trade as picture showmen since the thirteenth century. Colorfully reproduced in the book are field photographs and over one hundred scrolls of sacred and secular themes which address a wide range of socio-religious issues such as global terrorism, legends of gods and goddesses, AIDS and HIV prevention, Hindu-Muslim interaction, and the artists’ relationship to globalization. Featuring an impressive array of contemporary scrolls, and text that is both engaging and rich in ethnographic detail, Village of Painters» celebrates a diverse, evolving art form that has adapted to a rapidly changing cultural landscape. The book is companion to an exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, October 29, 2006 through April 29, 2007. PRICE: $29.95; ISBN: 0-89013-489-8 / 978-0-89013-489-4


Dream On PublicationSleeping Around:
The Bed from Antiquity to Now

By Annie Carlano & Bobbie Sumberg
There's more than one way to make a bed, and humans throughout history have devised every sort they could imagine. From a simple blanket laid on the ground to elaborately carved four-posters hung with sumptuous draperies, from a hammock swinging under the stars to a stifling cupboard bed built into a wall, the ways in which humans have gone about trying to get a good night's sleep are myriad. This book complements the exhibition Dream on Beds From Asia to Europe» and is illustrated with some 140 images, taking readers on a lively tour of beds and sleeping customs over time and around the world. Softcover, 164 pages. PRICE: $35.00

Cerámica y Cultura:
The Story of Spanish & Mexican Mayólica

Edited by Robin Farwell Gavin,mayolica plateDonna Pierce and Alfonso Pleguezuelo
Brought to Spain in the 13th century by Islamic artisans, the enameled earthenware known as mayólica is decorated with a lead glaze to which tin oxide is added to create an opaque white surface. By the 15th century, several areas of Spain were well known throughout Europe for the quality of these ceramics, and with Spain's expansion into the New World the mayólica tradition came into Mexico. There it underwent further changes, notable the use of indigenous design motifs and patterns inspired by Chinese porcelain. Over the next 3 centuries, the potters of New Spain produced ceramics characterized by a distinctive mestizo aesthetic. This tradition continues today in both Mexico and Spain. Robin Farwell Gavin is the former curator of Spanish Colonial Collections at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Donna Piece is curator of Spanish Colonial Art in the New World Department of the Denver Art Museum. Alfonso Pleguezuelo is professor of art history at the University of Seville. University of New Mexico Press 49.95 hardcover 29.95 paperbound. See more on line: www.mayolica.org».


Folk Art journey book coverFolk Art Journey:
Florence D. Bartlett & the Museum of International Folk Art

Florence Dibell Bartlett (1881-1953) founded the world's first international folk art museum, today the world's largest. The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe is where this cultural leader form Chicago made manifest her belief that folk art is a bond between the people of the world. The Bartlett collection and vision still guide the Museum of International Folk Art, and this biography of a significant cultural leader and her times is balanced with fine examples of the costumes, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, furniture and painting she collected from all over the world. Edited by Laurel Seth and Ree Mobley. Clothbound $40.00; Paperbound: 27.50


100 Aspects of the Moon Book CoverOne Hundred Aspects of the Moon:
Japanese Woodblock Prints by Yoshitoshi

Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) was one of the last great woodblock print masters of the Ukiyo-e tradition, and One Hundred Aspects of the Moon is regarded as his most popular achievement. The series provides for the exquisite reproductions in this popular book on 19th century Japan's mainstream art amusement. Yoshitoshi was born in the city of Edo (Tokyo) shortly before Japan's violent transformation from a medieval to a modern society. He was keenly interested in preserving traditional Japanese culture against the incursions of modernism, and his prints celebrate the glory of Japan in its mythology, literature, history, and warrior culture, and fine woodblock tradition. By Tamara Tjardes, Former Curator of Asian and Middle Eastern Collections, Paperbound with flaps $29.95. See all 100 aspects »

Maiolica Ole book coverMaiolica Olé: Spanish & Mexican Decorative Traditions
By Florence C. Lister and Robert H. Lister.
This book is the first to examine the growth of Spanish maiolica and its subsequent transfer to and florescence in colonial Mexico. The 145 examples of maiolica from the collection at the Museum of International Folk Art are photographed in full color and include vibrant samples of Spanish and Mexican wares made between the 17th and 19th centuries. 176 pages, 160 color plates. Museum of New Mexico Press, Clothbound $50.00; Paperbound $32.50

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