Synopsis
Imagine a world without things. There would be nothing to describe, explain, remark on, interpret, or complain about. Without things, we would, in short, stop speaking; we would become as mute as objects are alleged to be. In nine original essays, internationally renowned historians of art and of science seek to understand how objects become charged with significance without losing their gritty materiality. Things That Talk aims to escape the opposition between positivist facts and cultural readings that bifurcates the current historiography of both art and science.
Confronting this impasse from an interdisciplinary perspective, each author singles out one object for close attention: a Bosch drawing, the freestanding column, a Prussian island, soap bubbles, early photographs, glass flowers, Rorschach blots, newspaper clippings, paintings by Jackson Pollock. Each object is revealed to be a node around which meanings accrete thickly.
But not just any meanings: what these things are made of and how they are made shape what they can mean. Neither the pure texts of semiotics nor the brute objects of positivism, these things are saturated with cultural significance. Things become talkative when they fuse matter and meaning; they lapse into speechlessness when their matter and meanings no longer mesh.
Each of the nine evocative objects examined in this book had its historical moment, when the match of this thing to that thought seemed irresistible. At such junctures, certain things become objects of fascination, association, and endless consideration. Things That Talk fleetingly realizes the dream of a perfect language, in which words and world merge.
Essays by Lorraine Daston, Peter Galison, Anke te Heesen, Caroline A. Jones, Joseph Leo Koerner, Antoine Picon, Simon Schaffer, Joel Snyder, and M. Norton and Elaine M. Wise.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Lorraine Daston is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and Visiting Professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. She is the coauthor (with Katharine Park) of Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750 and (with Peter Galison) Objectivity and the editor of Things that Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science, all three published by Zone Books.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science...
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science (Mit Press)
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00096899922
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science
Seller: FITZ BOOKS AND WAFFLES, Buffalo, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Fine. Art Writing. First Paperback Edition. This is a clean, unmarked, undamaged copy. Seller Inventory # ABE-1756059081107
Seller Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science
Seller: Kenneth Mallory Bookseller ABAA, Decatur, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very good. Paperback. 431pp+ index. Very good in publisher's wraps. Seller Inventory # 62887
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science (Zone Books)
Seller: Lakeside Books, Benton Harbor, MI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books! Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9781890951443
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science Format: Paperback
Seller: INDOO, Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: As New. Unread copy in mint condition. Seller Inventory # PG9781890951443
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science Format: Paperback
Seller: INDOO, Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 9781890951443
Seller Image
THINGS THAT TALK Object Lessons from Art and Science
Seller: Easton's Books, Inc., Mount Vernon, WA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: VG+. Paperback in Very Good++ condition. Mit Press. 6 X 1.5 X 8.75 inches. 448 pages. Clean, unmarked interior. Very slight wrinkle (or wave) to pages 47 - 62 - otherwise, book is Fine . Quick shipping, excellent customer service. All books carefully packaged in boxes and ship with tracking information. Seller Inventory # 68618
Stock Image
Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science (Mit Press)
Seller: Browsers' Bookstore, CBA, Albany, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
paperback. Condition: Very Good. A nice copy. Clean text, solid binding. Scuff to front of binding. Seller Inventory # mon0000186321
Seller Image
Things That Talk : Object Lessons from Art and Science
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 5164305-n
Stock Image
Things that Talk (Paperback)
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Essays examine nine intriguing objects made eloquent when matter and meaning converge.Imagine a world without things. There would be nothing to describe, nothing to explain, remark, interpret, or complain about. Without things, we would stop speaking; we would become as mute as things are alleged to be. In nine original essays, internationally renowned historians of art and of science seek to understand how objects become charged with significance without losing their gritty materiality. True to the particularity of things, each of the essays singles out one object for close attention: a Bosch drawing, the freestanding column, a Prussian island, soap bubbles, early photographs, glass flowers, Rorschach blots, newspaper clippings, paintings by Jackson Pollock. Each is revealed to be a node around which meanings accrete thickly. But not just any meanings: what these things are made of and how they are made shape what they can mean. Neither the pure texts of semiotics nor the brute objects of positivism, these things are saturated with cultural significance. Things become talkative when they fuse matter and meaning; they lapse into speechlessness when their matter and meanings no longer mesh. Each of the nine objects examined in this book had its historical moment, when the match of this thing to that thought seemed irresistible. At these junctures, certain things become objects of fascination, association, and endless consideration; they begin to talk. Things that talk fleetingly realize the dream of a perfect language, in which words and world merge.Essays Lorraine Daston, Peter Galison, Anke te Heesen, Caroline A. Jones, Joseph Leo Koerner, Antoine Picon, Simon Schaffer, Joel Snyder, and M. Norton and Elaine M. Wise. Lorraine Daston is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany. She is the coauthor of Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750 (Zone Books). Essays examine nine intriguing objects made eloquent when matter and meaning converge. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781890951443