Contesting Art: Art, Politics and Identity in the Modern World

Jeremy Macclancy

ISBN 10: 1859731392 / ISBN 13: 9781859731390

Published by Routledge, 1997

About this Item

Art is a major political weapon of our times. Today, peoples around the world use art to boost their own identity and to attack the ways others represent them. At a time of increasing intercultural exchange, art has become a primary means through which groups reinforce their challenged sense of culture.This pioneering book breaks with the tradition of the anthropology of art as the depoliticized study of aesthetics in exotic settings. Transcending artificial distinctions between the West and the Rest, it examines the increasingly significant relations among art, identity and politics in the modern world.Among the themes investigated by the contributors: - how African painters undermine racist stereotypes yet remain dominated by the Western art market - the role of anthropology museums in the perpetuation of the Western market in 'tribal art' - the internal and external political disputes underlying the 'repatriation' of cultural property.

Seller Inventory # CIN1859731392G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Contesting Art: Art, Politics and Identity in the Modern World
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1859731392
• ISBN 13: 9781859731390
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Art is a major political weapon of our times. Today, peoples around the world use art to boost their own identity and to attack the ways others represent them. At a time of increasing intercultural exchange, art has become a primary means through which groups reinforce their challenged sense of culture.This pioneering book breaks with the tradition of the anthropology of art as the depoliticized study of aesthetics in exotic settings. Transcending artificial distinctions between the West and the Rest, it examines the increasingly significant relations among art, identity and politics in the modern world.Among the themes investigated by the contributors: - how African painters undermine racist stereotypes yet remain dominated by the Western art market - the role of anthropology museums in the perpetuation of the Western market in 'tribal art' - the internal and external political disputes underlying the 'repatriation' of cultural property.

About the Author

Jeremy MacClancy Oxford Brookes University