Looking at Laughter: Humor, Power, and Transgression in Roman Visual Culture, 100 B.C.- A.D. 250 - Hardcover

Clarke, John R.

4.56

9 ratings by Goodreads

9780520237339: Looking at Laughter: Humor, Power, and Transgression in Roman Visual Culture, 100 B.C.- A.D. 250

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520237331 ISBN 13: 9780520237339

Publisher: University of California Press, 2007

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In this fresh, accessible, and beautifully illustrated book, his third to examine an aspect of Roman visual culture, John R. Clarke explores the question, "What made Romans laugh?" Looking at Laughter examines a heterogeneous corpus of visual material, from the crudely obscene to the exquisitely sophisticated and from the playful to the deadly serious—everything from street theater to erudite paintings parodying the emperor. Nine chapters, organized under the rubrics of Visual Humor, Social Humor, and Sexual Humor, analyze a wide range of visual art, including wall painting, sculpture, mosaics, and ceramics. Archaeological sites, as well as a range of ancient texts, inscriptions, and graffiti, provide the background for understanding the how and why of humorous imagery. This entertaining study offers fascinating insights into the mentality of Roman patrons and viewers who enjoyed laughing at the gods, the powers-that-be, and themselves.

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From the Inside Flap:

"With Looking at Laughter, Clarke continues his project of viewing art through the eyes of contemporary Romans, by shedding modern prejudices and preconceptions as much as possible. Clarke uses material evidence not as a mere illustration of what our texts tell us, but as an independent indication that both supplements and contradicts what elite sources chose to discuss. Consistently engaging and convincing, the text is accompanied by illustrative material that is always of the highest quality."—Anthony Corbeill, author of Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome

"John Clarke capitalizes on the success of his widely admired and enjoyable books on aspects of Roman visual and material culture: after sexuality and housing, the topic is now humor. This books offers a detailed overview of how visual evidence can be used to recuperate a specifically Roman culture of laughter, fun, and burlesque."—Alessandro Barchiesi, general editor of The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies

"From giggles to belly-laughs, sniggers to guffaws, John Clarke's new book artfully exposes an unexpected side of Roman visual culture. In an intriguing journey through images high and low, there are all kinds of surprises in store. He leaves you with the sense that you may often have missed the joke in Roman art."—Mary Beard, author of The Roman Triumph

About the Author:

John R. Clarke is Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor of History of Art at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans (UC Press, 2003), Roman Sex (2003), Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art,100 B.C.– A.D. 250 (UC Press, 1998), and The Houses of Roman Italy: 100 B.C.– A.D. 250: Ritual, Space, and Decoration (UC Press, 1991).

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