Yana Raymi Album Cover Art as an Expression of Peruvian Neobaroque: The Graphic Resistance of the Wanka Warriors

Abstract

 In this paper, I argue that the demon warriors portrayed on the album cover art of Yana Raymi are a Peruvian neo-baroque representation, since they are an echo of the demons represented in some of the Cuzco School paintings. Hence, Yana Raymi’s demon warriors are a visual criticism of both Spanish colonial domination and an assessment of Andean culture. To reach this conclusion, I follow Art Historian Ananda Cohen’s interpretation of the Cuzco School paintings as visual archives that display experiences and ideas from indigenous people during the colonial period, and not only religious expressions. Furthermore, I use the concept of Peruvian neo-baroque of Ramón Mujica and Gustavo Buntinx who understand this style as a reappropriation and violent reconstruction of the colonial religious imaginary.