 |


|
 |
Item Details
Title:
|
ART AND AGENCY
AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY |
By: |
Alfred Gell |
Format: |
Paperback |

List price:
|
£132.50 |
Our price: |
£115.94 |
Discount: |
|
You save:
|
£16.56 |
|
|
|
|
ISBN 10: |
0198280149 |
ISBN 13: |
9780198280149 |
Availability: |
Usually dispatched within 3-5 days.
Delivery
rates
|
Stock: |
Currently 2 available |
Publisher: |
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS |
Pub. date: |
9 July, 1998 |
Pages: |
296 |
Description: |
Alfred Gell puts forward a new anthropological theory of visual art, seen as a form of instrumental action: the making of things as a means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. He shows how art objects embody complex intentionalities and mediate social agency, and he explores the psychology of patterns and perceptions, art and personhood, the control of knowledge, and the interpretation of meaning, drawing upon a diversity of artistictraditions-European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian. Art and Agency was completed just before Alfred Gell's death at the age of 51 in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigour, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of themost gifted anthropologists of his generation. |
Synopsis: |
Alfred Gell puts forward a new anthropological theory of visual art, seen as a form of instrumental action: the making of things as a means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. He argues that existing anthropological and aesthetic theories take an overwhelmingly passive point of view, and questions the criteria that accord art status only to a certain class of objects and not to others. The anthropology of art is here reformulated as the anthropology of a category of action: Gell shows how art objects embody complex intentionalities and mediate social agency. He explores the psychology of patterns and perceptions, art and personhood, the control of knowledge, and the interpretation of meaning, drawing upon a diversity of artistic traditions-European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian. Art and Agency was completed just before Alfred Gell's death at the age of 51 in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigour, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of the most gifted anthropologists of his generation. |
Illustrations: |
numerous black and white halftones and line drawings |
Publication: |
UK |
Imprint: |
Clarendon Press |
Returns: |
Returnable |
|
|
|
 |


|

|

|

|

|
Little Worried Caterpillar (PB)
Little Green knows she''s about to make a big change - transformingfrom a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Everyone is VERYexcited! But Little Green is VERY worried. What if being a butterflyisn''t as brilliant as everyone says?Join Little Green as she finds her own path ... with just a littlehelp from her friends.

|

|
All the Things We Carry PB
What can you carry?A pebble? A teddy? A bright red balloon? A painting you''ve made?A hope or a dream?This gorgeous, reassuring picture book celebrates all the preciousthings we can carry, from toys and treasures to love and hope. With comforting rhymes and fabulous illustrations, this is a warmhug of a picture book.

|

|
|
 |