Beyond Aesthetics: Art And The Technologies Of Enchantment; Editor: Pinney, Christopher; Editor: Thomas, Nicholas; Hardback; Book

Editor: Pinney, Christopher; Editor: Thomas, Nicholas
Hardback; Book; Bibliography, Index
294 pages
Published: September 2001
Berg Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1859734596

The anthropology of art is currently at a crossroads. Although well versed in the meaning of art in small-scale tribal societies, anthropologists are still wrestling with the question of how to interpret art in a complex, postcolonial environment. Alfred Gell argued in his posthumous book Art and Agency that art objects could be seen as forms mediating social action. His provocative book proposed a novel perspective on the roles of art in political practice and made fresh links between analyses of style, tradition and society.Offering a new overview of the anthropology of art, this book begins where Gell left off. Distinguished contributors present wide-ranging critiques of the limits of aesthetic interpretation, the workings of objects in practice, the relations between meaniAnthropologists have to wrestle with the question of how to interpret art in a complex, post-colonial environment. This book furthers the view which links analyses of style, tradition and society proposed by Alfred Gell, both elaborating on and dissenting from Gell's interpretation.