Over the course of several millennia, textiles were the primary form of aesthetic expression and communication for the diverse cultures that developed throughout the desert coasts and mountain highlands of the Andean region. Worn as garments, suspended on walls of temples and homes, and used in ritual settings, ancient Andean textiles functioned in multiple contexts, yet, within each culture, the techniques, motifs, and messages remained consistent. A new exhibition - Super/Natural: Textiles of the Andes - at The Art Institute of Chicago, showcases the beauty and importance of these ancient textiles. In this exclusive interview with co-curators Elizabeth Pope (Arts of Africa and the Americas) and Erica Warren (Textiles) from The Art Institute of Chicago, James Blake Wiener of Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE) learns more about the prominent position of textiles within pre-Columbian Andean cultures.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1347/interview-supernatural-textiles-of-the-andes/.