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ACADEMY,
ACADEMIC TRADITION
A body of established opinion in any particular field,
widely accepted as authoritative; a society of learned
individuals united for the advancement of the arts.
ACLLAS,
OR "VIRGINS OF THE
SUN"
In the Inca culture, these were young women who were offered
as tribute to the empire. Some were given as wives to high
officials and others lived and served in the Temple of the
Sun in Cuzco or other temples which were dedicated to the
solar deity. These "Virgins of the Sun" were sworn to
celibacy, performed religious rites, and served the state by
weaving ceremonial cloth and brewing chicha beer. Although
their lives were tightly controlled, they lived in relative
luxury and enjoyed deep respect as symbolic wives of the
sun.
ADOBE
Bricks of sundried earth and straw; a building made of adobe
bricks.
AGROPASTORALISM
Complementary farming and herding.
ALPACA
An animal like a llama, with fine, long woolly hair,
domesticated in Peru; a fine lightweight yarn or cloth of
alpaca hair
ANTHROPOMORPHIC
Resembling human form
AQUEDUCT,
ACEQUIA
An artificial channel for carrying water.
ARCHULETA,
FELIPE
New Mexican woodcarver (1910-1991).
ART
NOUVEAU
A decorative art style of the last two decades of the 19th
century and the first decade of the 20th which featured
curvilinear shapes based on plant forms.
ATLANTEANS
Named for Atlas, a Titan of Greek mythology who bore the
heavens on his shoulders, atlanteans are male figures used
as columns to support an architectural structure, such as a
roof or altar.
ATAHUALPA
Inca ruler at the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru (c.
1498-1533).
AVANT-GARDE
Those who create, produce, or apply new and original ideas,
designs, and techniques.
AYLLU
Community organizations based on kin collectives that could
trace their roots to a common ancestor and that made up the
basic social unit of Andean society.
AZTEC
Late postclassic (c. 1300-1521) peoples of central Mexico.
In the Nahuatl language, the word Azteca means "Those of
Aztlan." Aztlan was the name for the Aztecs' mythological
place of origin.
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BACKSTRAP
LOOM
Also called a belt loom, the backstrap loom has been used in
the Americas since pre-Columbian times. It consists of five
sticks and a belt which passes behind the weaver when the
loom is in use. Warp threads are strung on the sticks, and
one end of the loom is attached by rope to a house post or
tree. With the backstrap held around her hips, the weaver is
able to maintain tension on warp threads as she weaves in
the weft. The backstrap loom is simple to construct and very
portable. When the weaver wishes to stop weaving, she merely
rolls up the loom and puts it aside.
BAR
AND DOT NUMERICAL SYSTEM
The numbering system of the ancient Maya used bars to denote
the number five and a dot for a single number. For instance,
the number 9 would be represented by a bar and four dots; a
maltese cross was used to denote "0."
BAROQUE
The dominant style of European art from 1600-1750, Baroque
art was a continuation of the ideals of the Renaissance and
was often characterized by its tendency to stir the emotions
by the use of strong colors and value contrasts, bold scale,
dramatic use of light, and elaborate ornamentation.
BASILICA
An oblong church consisting of a broad nave flanked by
aisles, and ending in a transept from which a semicircular
apse projects. In early churches the vaulted apse held the
bishop's throne. The lay-out of a basilica resembles a
cross; the transept crosses the greatest length between the
nave and the apse.
BATIK
Process of dying fabric which uses a form of resist, such as
wax, to keep selected areas from accepting the dye in order
to create designs.
BLANCO,
TEODORO
Mexican ceramic artist (1928-1980).
BOLIVAR,
SIMON
The hero of the 1824 South American revolution against the
Viceroyalty of Peru.
BORGES,
JORGE LUIS
Argentine writer and poet (1899-1986).
BORGES,
JOSE FRANCISCO
20th century Brazilian folk poet and graphic artist.
BRANCUSI,
CONSTANTIN
Romanian sculptor (1876-1957).
BRETON,
ANDRE
Founder of the European surrealist movement. French
(1896-1966). Breton wrote his first "Manifesto of
Surrealism" in 1924.
BULLION
Uncoined gold or silver in the shape of bars or other masses
measurable by weight.
BURNISH
Polish by rubbing.
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CACAO/CHOCOLATE
In an ancient Toltec myth, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered
serpent god also known as "the giver of the drink of the
gods, chocolate," is credited with planting
cacao trees
in the tropics of southern Mexico. "Cacao" is an Aztec word,
which refers to the tree and the seeds, or beans, from which
chocolate is made. "Chocolate" is also an Aztec word, which
means "bitter water" and refers to the unsweetened drink
which was popularly consumed at the time of the arrival of
Cortés in Mexico. It was considered a refreshing stimulant
and, after arriving in Spain, chocolate was sweetened with
sugar and flavored with cinnamon.
CACIQUE
Native Indian chief or local political leader around whom
religion and power was centered in Lower Central American
communities.
CAJAMARCA
A town in northern Peru where Pizarro made contact with the
Inca Atahualpa in 1532. The name of the town is derived from
a Quechua word that means "place or town of cold."
CALABAZA/CALABASH
Squash or pumpkin. The seeds and flesh are edible.
CALAVERAS
Skeletons, often shown engaged in everyday-life activities in
Mexican popular art.
CALENDA
A religious standard carried in procession. A
calenda is
also a procession held on Christmas Eve in the region of
Oaxaca. The artists who make
calendas
generally own the standards and rent them annually to
religious brotherhoods for use in ceremonies honoring
various patron saints.
CALMECAC
An Aztec school that prepared the sons of nobles for the
duties of the priesthood or high offices of state.
CANARY
ISLANDS
Islands in Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Spain and off the
coast of Africa.
CAPACOCHA
An Inca celebration which took place every four years in
honor of the sun.
CARRANZA,
VENUSTIANO
Revolutionary leader in Mexico's struggle against
dictatorship in the Revolution of 1910, he was recognized as
president "de facto" by the United States.
CASASOLA,
AGUSTIN VICTOR
Mexican photographer, who was a newspaper reporter for
El Imparcial,
the semiofficial publication of the Diaz government. He
became a photographer in 1900 in order to accompany his
stories with pictures. He documented the pre-Revolutionary
and Revolutionary years.
CAST
The process of making an object by pouring liquid material
such as clay or molten metal into a mold and allowing it to
harden.
CASTANON,
JOAQUIN
Bolivian painter of the 19th century.
CASTAS
Racial mixtures that resulted from intermarriages in the
Spanish Americas, including mulattos (children of black and
white parents), mestizos (children of white and Indian
parents), and children of black and Indian parents, as well
as additional racial intermingling, such as moriscos
(children of a Spanish father and a mulatto mother).
CASTELLANOS,
JULIO
Mexican artist (1905-1947).
"CATHOLIC
KINGS, THE"
Popular name for Ferdinand V and Isabella of Castile, the
King and Queen of Spain during the late 15th century who
helped to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors and also
financed Columbus' searches for a new route to India that
led to the Spanish discovery of the New World
CHAGALL,
MARC
Russian artist (1887-1985).
CHARLES
V
(1500-1558) As the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, he
became the King of Spain as Charles I (1516-1556), and as
the grandson of the Emperor Maximilian of the Austrian
Hapsburgs, he was Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
(1519-1556).
CHARRO
OUTFITS
Charros are
skillful horseback riders who perform on equally skillful
horses. Both riders and horses wear outfits that are
elaborately decorated with silver ornaments.
CHAVIN
DE HUANTAR
An archaeological site in the Mosna Valley in Peru's
northern highlands; from 900-200 B.C., an important
religious and economic center in Andean culture.
CHIA
SEED OIL
Oil made from the edible seeds of several plants of the
genus Salvia
in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.
CHICHA
BEER
A beverage made chiefly from fermented maize in Central and
South America.
CHICOMECOATL
Aztec corn goddess.
CHIMU
Between 900 and 1460, the north coast of Peru was controlled
by the empire of the Chimu culture, which was conquered by
the Incas c. 1460-1470.
CHIPPENDALE,
THOMAS
English furniture designer (c.1718-1779).
CHUSPA
A small textile bag used to carry belongings by native
peoples in South America.
COCA/COCA
LEAF
The dried leaves of a South American shrub that have a
narcotic effect when chewed.
CODEX/CODICES
A painted or inscribed book on long sheets of fig-bark paper
or deerskin coated with plaster and folded into
accordion-like sheets.
COLUNGA,
ALEJANDRO
Mexican artist (born 1948).
CONCEPTUAL
ART
In conceptual art the idea or thought is more important than
the object. Conceptual works of art provide a document of
the artists' thinking. Thus, any activity or thought is a
potential work of art, without necessarily being translated
into pictorial or sculptural form. For example, a conceptual
work of art might consist of words written on a wall that
emphasize the artist's thinking rather than his or her
manipulation of materials. Conceptual art arose in the
mid-1960s through 1970s in reaction against the
commercialized art world of the 1960s. Conceptual artists
draw on semiotics (signs and symbols used in languages),
feminism, story telling, and images from both art history
and popular culture to create non-traditional works.
CONQUISTADOR
A Spanish conqueror of Mexico and Peru in the 16th
century.
CORTES,
HERNAN
Born in Estremedura, Spain (1485-1542), Cortés landed
near the present-day site of the city of Veracruz in 1519
and is credited with the conquest of Mexico. The Aztec
leader Moctezuma mistook Cortés for the legendary
Toltec deity Quetzalcoatl.
COSTUMBRISTA
Concerned with customs and manners; this term is often
applied to novels and paintings of the 19th century.
COUNTER-REFORMATION
The reaction of the Roman Catholic Church against the
Protestant Reformation of Northern Europe, dating from about
the middle of the 16th century and continuing into the
17th.
COVARRUBIAS,
MIGUEL
Mexican artist (1904-1957).
CRANIAL
DEFORMATION
The Olmec practice of shaping the soft skulls of infants as
marks of beauty or distinction.
CREOLES
Persons of European descent born in the New World.
CUBISM
An art form pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in
the early 20th century. These artists experimented with
breaking down their subject matter into geometric planes,
which they rearranged to create new pictorial realities that
might show more than one side of an object simultaneously
for instance, the front, back, and side views all at
once.
CUIDADELAS
Vast palace compounds where the ruling elite classes of the
Chimu culture in the Andes lived.
CUICACALLI
Aztec school, where song, poetry, dance, and oratory skills
were taught.
CURING
STICKS
(ORSUALAS)
Staffs carried by important Kuna men in Panama as symbols of
authority.
CUZCO
Inca capital which, according to legend, was founded by
Manco Capac around the year A.D. 1200.
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DAY
OF THE DEAD/EL DIA DE
LOS MUERTOS
Celebrated from October 31 through November 2, this Mexican
fiesta honors ancestors and combines the ancient Indian
festival of Death and Flowers with the European Spanish
festival of All Souls' Day.
DE
HERRERA, FR. ALONSO LOPEZ
Spanish member of the Dominican Order who became one of
Mexico's leading painters during the colonial period, known
as "El
Divino."
DE
LA CRUZ, SOR JUANA INES
Mexican poet (1651/1648-1695). A major poet of the Spanish
colonies.
DE
SAHAGUN, FATHER BERNARDINO
Spain (1499/1500-1590); a Franciscan friar who went to New
Spain in 1529 and became one of the key interpretors of the
Nahuatl (Aztec) language and Nahua culture. He produced the
12 part Historia general de las cosas
de Nueva Espana (Florentine Codex)
based on testimony and codices made by people prior to
European contact.
DIAZ,
BERNAL
Bernal Díaz de Castillo, one of the men in
Cortés' group of conquistadors who wrote an account
of the meeting between Cortés and Moctezuma.
DIAZ,
PORFIRIO
19th century president/dictator of Mexico from 1876-1911, he
did much to modernize Mexico but little for the common
man.
DOLOMITE
A limestone mineral consisting of a calcium magnesium
carbonate, often crystalline granular and either white or
clouded.
DOWRY
CHEST
A wooden chest that held the goods that a wife would bring
to her marriage.
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EARTHENWARE
Ceramic ware, usually coarse and reddish in color, fired in
the lowest temperature ranges.
EFFIGY
A figure representing a person.
EL
NINO
A warm inshore air current annually flowing south along the
coast of Ecuador. Every 7 to 10 years it extends down the
coast of Peru, where it has a devastating effect on weather,
crops, fish, etc. It is so-named because of its occurrence
near Christmas, when the Christ child,
El
Niño, was born.
EL
TAJIN
Archaeological site in northeastern Mexico dating from
around A.D. 250-1100, located in the present-day state of
Veracruz.
ENCARNACION
A process for painting wooden statues in multiple layers to
create realistic-looking faces and hands.
ENCOMIENDA
Land or office held from the King of Spain.
ESTOFADO
A process in which a wooden statue is gilded and then
covered with colored paint; the final surface is incised to
reveal the gold leaf below and to create the impression of a
richly patterned surface.
EX-VOTO
Votive offering that acknowledges favors received from
spirits or saints.
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FELINE
CULT
Worshippers of the jaguar god.
FERDINAND
Ferdinand V (1452-1516); as Isabella's consort, he was one
of "The Catholic Kings" of Spain. He was King of Castile
(1474-1516) and King of Aragon (1479-1516).
FIERRO,
MARTIN
The white gaucho hero of the 19th century narrative poem by
José Hernandez, Fierro is the Argentinian equivalent
of the idealized North American cowboy.
FLEMISH
Although Flanders is only one principality of the
Netherlands, much of Netherlandish art is generically
referred to as "Flemish." A distinctive feature of Flemish
art is the use of translucent oil glazes, gradually applied
in layers over an underpainting, which gives a glowing
quality to the rich colors as light actually passes through
the layers of glazes. Another important feature of this art
is its tendency toward naturalism and genre scenes, that is,
scenes of everyday life that appealed to the growing middle
class of well-to-do merchants who could afford to buy
paintings.
FRESCO
A method of applying color directly into wet plaster,
especially used in mural painting.
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GAUCHO
A cowboy of the South American pampas.
GAUDI,
ANTONIO
Spanish-Catalonian architect (1852-1926).
GLAZE
A glassy coating bonded by heat onto a ceramic surface.
GOTHIC
European art and architecture of 12th through 15th centuries
were mistakenly named after the Goths by later generations
of art critics during the Renaissance, critics who felt that
the style fell short of the standards of classical Greece
and Rome. Gothic architecture is especially notable in many
fine cathedrals that generally feature pointed arches and
ribbed vaults, as well as large windows of stained
glass.
GRAPHIC
ARTS
Any of the two dimensional visual arts, such as painting,
drawing, photography, etc., sometimes used specifically to
refer to the art of printmaking.
GUAYASAMIN,
OSWALDO
Ecuadorian painter (born 1919).
GUILD
An association of craftsmen or merchants.
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HACIENDA
A large piece of land used for farming or ranching; a landed
estate; a country house.
HIDALGO,
FATHER MIGUEL
Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1733-1811); "The Father of
Mexican Independence." On September 16, 1810, Father Hidalgo
issued the Grito de
Dolores, calling for freedom and
justice for the common man, and for land, liberty, justice,
and equality for the mestizos and Indians.
HEMATITE
A stone of iron ore often used decoratively.
HEMISFAIR
1968 world trade and culture fair held in San Antonio,
Texas.
HIEROGLYPH/GLYPH
A character or symbol used in picture writing.
HORIZONS
In the reckoning of
pre-Columbian
Andean history, horizons refer to eras during which several
cultures were united by a common government, religion,
and/or art style.
HUACAS
ADORATORIOS
Sacred places to worship supernatural forces such as the
sun, thunder, and earth.
HUACAS
SEPULTURAS
Places where ancestors and the ruling elite were buried and
their mummies venerated.
HUARI
The earliest recognized
pre-Columbian
empire in Peru and the name applied to a large middle
horizon (c. 650-1000) city located in the eastern Ayacuche
Valley.
HUIPIL/HUIPIL
GRANDE
A blouse or upper body covering worn by women, made of one,
two, or more rectangles sewn together, with a hole for the
head. It may be woven on either a backstrap or a foot loom.
A huipil
grande, worn by Tehuana women on
special occasions, is a jacket of silk mesh or lace with
lace ruffled collar and sleeves, worn in various ways,
depending on the occasion.
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ICHPOCHALLI
Aztec schools for girls.
ICON/ICONOGRAPHY/ICONOGRAPHIC
A symbol or the story depicted in a work of art; people,
places, events, and other images in a work, as well as the
symbolism and conventions attached to those images by a
particular religion or culture.
IMPRESSIONISM
An art style of the late 19th century, practiced originally
in France by artists who sought to capture in paint the
quickly changing effects of light, shade, and color on
natural forms, especially out of doors.
INCA
Ethnic group that ruled the major part of Andean South
America at the time of Pizarro's arrival in 1532. Their
empire was Tahuantinsuyu, the "Land of the Four
Quarters."
INLAY/INLAID
A technique in which small pieces of material, such as wood,
stone, or shell, are attached together to make a pattern on
another object.
INSTALLATIONS
In everyday use, the hanging of pictures or arrangement of
separate objects in an art exhibition. More recently,
installation refers to a work created specifically for a
particular gallery or outdoor site that creates an entire
environment. Installation art provides viewers with a sense
of being surrounded by art, or of being within the art work
themselves. Installations are usually exhibited for a short
period of time and then dismantled, leaving only
documentation.
ISABELLA
(1451-1504) Married to Ferdinand V, she was one of "The
Catholic Kings" of Spain; Queen of Castile (1474-1504).
Isabella financed the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
IZQUIERDO,
MARIA
Mexican painter (19021955).
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JAGUAR
The jaguar was considered a noble hunter and the lord of the
animals and was used as an important symbol in many
pre-Columbian cultures.
JUAREZ,
BENITO
(1806-1872) Zapotec Indian who rose to the Presidency of
Mexico and fought to preserve the country united under
principles of justice and freedom for all.
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KAHLO,
FRIDA
Mexican artist (1907-1954).
KARAKAS
In Andean society, kings or rulers.
KILN
A large stove or oven in which pottery is fired.
KLEE,
PAUL
Swiss-German artist (1879-1940).
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LABYRINTH
A confusing, winding network of passages or paths.
LACQUER
A hard glossy varnish.
LENERO,
FRANCISCO CASTRO
Mexican artist (born 1954).
LIBATION
VESSEL
A container for a liquid offering to a god.
LLAMA
A South American woolly-haired, humpless animal related to
the camel, used in the Andes as a beast of burden and as a
source of wool and milk.
LOTERIA
A bingo game played on feast days and during regional fairs
since the colonial period.
LOZA
DEL OLOR
Ceramic ware made from aromatic clay native to
Tonalá, Jalisco, which imparts its flavor to the
water stored within it.
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