Images at War: Mexico From Columbus to Blade Runner (1492–2019)DIV“If colonial America was the melting pot of modernity, it was because it was also a fabulous laboratory of images. . . . Just as much as speech and writing, the image can be a vehicle for all sorts of power and resistance.” So writes Serge Gruzinski in the introduction to Images at War, his striking reinterpretation of the Spanish colonization of Mexico. Concentrating on the political meaning of the baroque image and its function within a multicultural society, Gruzinski compares its ubiquity in Mexico to our modern fascination with images and their meaning. Although the baroque image played a decisive role in many arenas, especially that of conquest and New World colonization, its powerful resonance in the sphere of religion is a focal point of Gruzinski’s study. In his analysis of how images conveyed meaning across linguistic barriers, he uncovers recurring themes of false images, less-than-perfect replicas, the uprooting of peoples and cultural memories, and the violence of iconoclastic destruction. He shows how various ethnic groups—Indians, blacks, Europeans—left their distinct marks on images of colonialism and religion, coopting them into expressions of identity or instruments of rebellion. As Gruzinski’s story unfolds, he tells of Aztec idols, the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe, conquistadors, Franciscans, and neoclassical attempts to repress the baroque. In the final chapter he discusses the political and religious implications of contemporary imagery—such as that in Mexican soap operas—and speculates about the future of images in Latin America. Originally written in French, this work makes available to an English audience a seminal study of Mexico and the role of the image in the New World. /div |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 Points of Reference | 7 |
2 War | 30 |
3 The Walls of Images | 61 |
4 The Admirable Effects of the Baroque Image | 96 |
5 Image Consumers | 161 |
From the Enlightenment to Televisa | 208 |
Notes | 229 |
269 | |
281 | |
Other editions - View all
Images at War: Mexico From Columbus to Blade Runner (1492–2019) Serge Gruzinski Limited preview - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
Altamirano Andrés de Tapia Anghiera apparition Arróniz baroque baroque image became Blessed Virgin Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin Christ Christian image chronicler Church Colección colonial Columbus Conquest conquistadors Cortés cult cultural Décadas decorated demonic Destierro devotion Díaz del Castillo divine effigies engravings evangelizers figurative Florencia Franciscan frescos García Icazbalceta gaze gods Gruzinski Guadalupe Virgin Hernán Cortés Historia verdadera Holy Huitzilopochtli iconoclasm idolatry idols imagen imaginaire Indians Inquisición ixiptla Juan Lady María Memoriales mestizo Mexican Mexico City Miguel miraculous image Monarquía Montufar Motolinía Nahua náhuatl native Navarro de Anda Nueva España O'Gorman objects pagan painted painters Pané Peter Martyr Pintura political pre-Hispanic priests Primera Procesos de Indios profane Puebla Quetzalcoatl religious representation saints Sánchez sanctuary seventeenth century siglo sixteenth century Spain Spanish statues Teatro Televisa temples Templo Mayor Tepeyac Testimonios tion Tlaxcala Torquemada Torre Villar Tovar de Teresa UNAM Villar and Navarro visual worship of images zemis