ART HISTORY AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE: ALFRED GELL'S ANTHROPOLOGY OF ART

Author: Rampley, Matthew

Source: Art History, Volume 28, Number 4, September 2005 , pp. 524-551(28)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content

Abstract:

The problems presented by recognition of cultural difference and alterity have long been recognized as presenting substantial challenges to traditional assumptions about the scope and limits of art history. This article examines some of the arguments that have emerged in relation to this issue, focusing in particular on ways in which anthropology and, specifically, the work of Alfred Gell, might contribute to debates. It argues that Gell's theory of the art nexus offers new possibilities for the cross-cultural study of art, which can be applied not only to the art of small-scale oral societies but also to Western art history. In so doing, it suggests that the art-historical engagement with anthropology should imply more than the promotion of difference as a value; rather, it suggests alternative methods of analysis that examine the role of art within social transactions.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.2005.00475.x

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$41.72 plus tax      Refund Policy

 

OR

Back to top

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Page Help Click here for Page Help
Shopping cart
Tools
Sign in






Need to register?
Sign up here
Text size: A | A | A | A