Art and agency : an anthropological theory /
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...
Saved in:
| Author / Contributor: | |
|---|---|
| Imprint: |
Oxford ; New York :
Clarendon Press,
1998.
|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: |
| 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. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | xxiii, 271 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-264) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0198280149 9780198280149 0198280130 9780198280132 |