Resilient Memories by Arij Ouweneel

Ohio State University Press
Resilient Memories by Arij Ouweneel
Product Specifications
  • Title: Resilient Memories by Arij Ouweneel
  • Author: Arij Ouweneel
  • Publisher: Ohio State University Press
  • Binding: Hardback
  • History of art art & design styles
  • No. of pages: 332
  • Dimensions (approx. mm): 234 x 157 x 25

Product Description

Arij Ouweneel's Resilient Memories: Amerindian Cognitive Schemas in Latin American Art takes a cognitive approach to the mediation of collective memory by works of art. In looking at cultural production of Amerindians-the transnational mnemonic community comprised of ind�genas  originarios  mestizos  and cholos-Ouweneel argues that cultural memories and identity are not simply the sum total of individuals' expressions of self but that some cultural artifacts become privileged to inform the heart of the mnemonic community. Ouweneel seeks to identify a series of cognitive schemas as the foundation of an Amerindian Cognitive Unconsciousness as a viable alternative to the Freudian Dynamic Unconscious. Art then serves to trigger the cognitive schemas embedded within the Amerindian community and act as the mediator of collective memory. 
 
Exploring works ranging in popularity from Alfonso Cuar�n's Y Tu Mam� Tambi�n to the paintings of Peruvian artists Claudia Coca and Jorge Miyagui and from Mexican Zapatistas to hip-hop Ouweneel details the ways in which artists interact with the embodied memory of the community but also assert their own place within it as crucial furthering their audiences' understanding of and interaction with existing cultural schemas. In this way Ouweneel shows that memories must serve the present or they will be forgotten.