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Collection Guide

Collection Guide

Abstraction in Art of the Indigenous Americas

Hear from artists, curators, and scholars about the rich histories of abstraction in art of the Indigenous Americas.

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    AUDIO GUIDE TRANSCRIPT

    The transcript for each audio track is available in expandable sections of individual object pages.

Museum Floorplan

Introduction

  • Speaker 
     
    Nichole Bridges 
    Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas 
    Saint Louis Art Museum 

    Hello, my name is Nichole Bridges, and I am the Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

    Thank you for joining us in this Collection Guide of abstract works made by Indigenous artists across the Americas.

    Abstraction has always been central to art in the Americas. Across regions and time periods, the use of nonillusionistic form varies considerably. Through this tour, artists, curators, and scholars will describe highly stylized human figures, animals, and plants, as well as decorative and painterly geometric shapes. This guide will take us to diverse settings, such as a domestic courtyard in West Mexico at the end of the first millennium, newly formed reservations on the Great Plains at the close of the 19th century, and a painter’s studio in New York City in the 1970s.

    Please join us to learn more about the rich histories of abstraction in art of the Indigenous Americas.

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