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The Anthropology of Art
A Reader

Howard Morphy (Edited by), H Morphy (Author), Morgan Perkins (Edited by)

9781405105620, Wiley

Paperback / softback, published 22 December 2005

576 pages
24.6 x 17.3 x 3.1 cm, 0.989 kg

“The Anthropology of Art is a superb compilation that enables both scholar and student to have in one volume the major studies and debates in this discipline. In the insightful introduction, the editors survey the history of the field and tackle the vexing problem of defining art in cross-cultural perspective.”
Ivan Karp, Emory University


“An excellent, near-perfect book that demonstrates the centrality of the anthropology of art in both anthropology and art history debates. The essential reader for anyone who wants a broad, stimulating introduction to the field.”
Jeremy MacClancy, Oxford Brookes University“Addresses significant debates … .Seems[s] to provide an understanding of the often subtle but underlying discourse on contemporary African art.” H-Net Reviews

"A unique and timely manual that serves to connect the student with the creative impulse of man."
The Electric Review

This anthology provides a single-volume overview of the essential theoretical debates in the anthropology of art. Drawing together significant work in the field from the second half of the twentieth century, it enables readers to appreciate the art of different cultures at different times.


  • Advances a cross-cultural concept of art that moves beyond traditional distinctions between Western and non-Western art.
  • Provides the basis for the appreciation of art of different cultures and times.
  • Enhances readers’ appreciation of the aesthetics of art and of the important role it plays in human society.

Acknowledgments viii

About the Editors x

The Anthropology of Art: A Reflection on its History and Contemporary Practice 1
Howard Morphy and Morgan Perkins

Part I Foundations and Framing the Discipline 33

1 Primitive Art 39
Franz Boas

2 Split Representation in the Art of Asia and America 56
Claude Le´vi-Strauss

3 Introduction to Tribes and Forms in African Art 74
William Fagg

4 Style, Grace, and Information in Primitive Art 78
Gregory Bateson

5 Tikopia Art and Society 91
Raymond Firth

6 The Abelam Artist 109
Anthony Forge

Part II Primitivism, Art, and Artifacts 123

7 Modernist Primitivism: An Introduction 129
William Rubin

8 Defective Affinities: ‘‘Primitivism’’ in 20th Century Art 147
Arthur C. Danto

9 Histories of the Tribal and the Modern 150
James Clifford

10 A Case in Point and Afterwords to Primitive Art in Civilized Places 167
Sally Price

11 Oriental Antiquities/Far Eastern Art 186
Craig Clunas

12 Introduction to Art/Artifact: African Art in Anthropology Collections 209
Susan Vogel

13 Vogel’s Net: Traps as Artworks and Artworks as Traps 219
Alfred Gell

Part III Aesthetics across Cultures 237

14 Yoruba Artistic Criticism 242
Robert Farris Thompson

15 Style in Technology: Some Early Thoughts 270
Heather Lechtman

16 ‘‘Marvels of Everyday Vision’’: The Anthropology of Aesthetics and the Cattle-keeping Nilotes 281
Jeremy Coote

17 From Dull to Brilliant: The Aesthetics of Spiritual Power Among the Yolngu 302
Howard Morphy

Part IV Form, Style, and Meaning 321

18 Visual Categories: An Approach to the Study of Representational Systems 326
Nancy D. Munn

19 Structural Patterning in Kwakiutl Art and Ritual 339
Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel

20 Sacred Art and Spiritual Power: An Analysis of Tlingit Shamans’ Masks 358
Aldona Jonaitis

21 All Things Made 374
David M. Guss

22 Modernity and the ‘‘Graphicalization’’ of Meaning: New Guinea Highland Shield Design in Historical Perspective 387
Michael O’Hanlon

Part V Marketing Culture 407

23 Arts of the Fourth World 412
Nelson H. H. Graburn

24 The Collecting and Display of Souvenir Arts: Authenticity and the ‘‘Strictly Commercial’’ 431
Ruth B. Phillips

25 The Art of the Trade: On the Creation of Value and Authenticity in the African Art Market 454
Christopher B. Steiner

Part VI Contemporary Artists 467

26 A Second Reflection: Presence and Opposition in Contemporary Maori Art 472
Nicholas Thomas

27 Representing Culture: The Production of Discourse(s) for Aboriginal Acrylic Paintings 495
Fred Myers

28 Aesthetics and Iconography: An Artist’s Approach 513
Gordon Bennett

29 Kinds of Knowing 520
Charlotte Townsend-Gault

30 Cew Ete Haw I Tih: The Bird That Carries Language Back to Another 544
Jolene Rickard

Index 549

Subject Areas: Sociology & anthropology [JH]
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