Art and agency : an anthropological theory / Alfred Gell.

Main entry:

Gell, Alfred.

Title & Author:

Art and agency : an anthropological theory / Alfred Gell.

Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Clarendon Press, 1998.

Description:

xxiii, 271 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-264) and index.
The problem defined: The need for an anthropology of art -- The theory of the art nexus -- The art nexus and the index -- The involution of the index in the art nexus -- The origination of the index -- The critique of the index -- The distributed person -- Style and culture -- Conclusion: The extended mind.

Summary:

In Art and Agency, Alfred Gell formulates an anthropological theory of visual art that focuses on the social context of art production, circulation, and reception. As a theory of the nexus of social relations involving works of art, this work suggests that in certain contexts, art-objects substitute for persons and thus mediate social agency. Diversely illustrated and based on European, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian sources, Art and Agency was completed just before Gell's death at the age of fifty-one in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigor, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of the most gifted anthropologists of his generation.

Resources:
Table of contents
Publisher description

ISBN:

0198280149 (hbk.)
9780198280149 (hbk.)
0198280130 (pbk.)
9780198280132 (pbk.)

Subject:

Art and anthropology.
Art and society.
Art et anthropologie.
Art et société.
73.62 art (ethnology)
Kunst.
Culturele antropologie.
Theorie.
Arte e sociedade.
Antropologia cult social.
Art Aspect social.
Art Polynésie Marquises (Polynésie française ; îles)
kunst
arts
antropologie
anthropology
samenleving
ethnography
etnografie
society
Arts (General)
Customs
Kunst (algemeen)
Gewoonten

Holdings:

Location: Library main 282497
Call No.: BIB 220109
Status: Available

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