Object Biographies

Object Biographies PDF

Author: Menil Collection (Houston, Tex.)

Publisher: Menil Foundation

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780300250879

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A revealing look at ancient art in the Menil Collection that addresses the problem of objects lacking archaeological context This innovative anthology discusses a diversity of ancient Mediterranean objects--a Mesopotamian votive figure, a Egyptian relief from the New Kingdom, and a Greek Geometric fawn among them--in the Menil Collection and three other US museums. It offers new models for understanding works from antiquity that lack archaeological context. Essays by 13 authors written with the layperson in mind employ a creative mixture of iconography, technical studies, and modern provenance research to gain insight into the meaning of the objects themselves and what they can teach us more broadly aboutarchaeology, art history, and collecting practices. They take on complex issues of cultural heritage, legality, and taste to bring to life works that are often consigned to either the imperial past or a conceptual limbo. Essays on related groups or single objects introduce fresh frameworks to engage with the multilayered history these objects represent. The eight object biographies on ancient artifacts in the Menil are the first in-depth studies published on the collection. Essays by seven university professors probe works in their areas of expertise, while those by seven curators lay bare one object biography; frame provenance studies at the San Antonio Museum of Art, Getty Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and survey war's effect on ancient works. The editors' introduction and an epilogue responding to the other 13 texts review theoretical and practical issues in the study of artifacts lacking archaeological findspots (provenience). Recommended for programs and libraries in museum studies, archaeology, and art history; art and heritage law programs; and readers fascinated by cold-case detective work on the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean. Distributed for the Menil Collection

Biographies of Scientific Objects

Biographies of Scientific Objects PDF

Author: Lorraine Daston

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2000-06-15

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780226136721

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Looks at how whole domains of phenomena come into being and sometimes pass away as objects of scientific study. With examples from the natural and social sciences, ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries, this book explores the ways in which scientific objects are both real and historical.

Museums and Biographies

Museums and Biographies PDF

Author: Kate Hill

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 184383961X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Exploring the relationship between museums and biographies, this collection of essays examines examples from the early 19th century to the present day.

Biographical Objects

Biographical Objects PDF

Author: Janet Hoskins

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1136678646

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this innovative study, six women and men from Eastern Indonesia narrate their own lives by talking about their possessions--domestic objects used to construct a coherent identity through a process of identification and self-historicizing. Janet Hoskins explores how things are given biographical significance and entangled in sexual politics, expressed in dualistic metaphors where the familiar distinctions between person and object and female and male are drawn in unfamiliar ways. Biographical Objects is an ethnography of persons which takes the form of a study of things, showing how the object is not only a metaphor for the self but a pivot for reflexivity and introspection, a tool for autobiographic elaboration, a way of knowing oneself through things.

Object Worlds in Ancient Egypt

Object Worlds in Ancient Egypt PDF

Author: Lynn Meskell

Publisher: Berg Publishers

Published: 2004-07-02

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

From the Valley of the Kings to Las Vegas, Egypt looms large in the Western imagination. So why are we intrigued by pyramids and practices of mummification? Is it because the ancient Egyptians fetishized material objects? And what do Egyptian remains tell us about biography, embodiment, memory, materiality, the self, and, indeed, ourselves? This book considers how excavated objects reveal ancient Egyptians' experiences of their material world. It also explores existential questions that not only preoccupied ancient Egyptians, but continue to fascinate people today. What is the essence of persons and things? How might we understand the situated experiences of material life? How might objects successfully mediate between worlds? Meskell ultimately moves forward through time and examines the consumption of Egyptian material objects in the contemporary world, including Las Vegas. Meskell provides an elegant analysis of the aesthetics of ancient Egyptian material culture and insights into its mysteries, including our own ongoing fascination.

The Biography of the Object in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy

The Biography of the Object in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy PDF

Author: Roberta J. M. Olson

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 2006-06-05

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9781405139557

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Material culture is not static: objects are created, used and re-used, sometimes for centuries, and their lives interact with those of the people who made and used them. The essays in this book discuss the ‘social lives’ of objects in late-medieval and renaissance Italy, ranging from maiolica, through sculpture and prostitutes’ jewellery, to miraculous painted images. Demonstrates the continued life of these objects well past the deaths of their creators and patrons. Contains a series of original contributions by young scholars, representing a broad range of approaches.

Between Nature And Society: Biographies Of Materials

Between Nature And Society: Biographies Of Materials PDF

Author: Bernadette Bensaude-vincent

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2022-04-14

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 9811251762

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume opens the readers' eyes to the central role of materials in human societies and in the environment by telling the life stories of fifteen materials. In this rich collection of stories, materials are found at the complex interface between nature and society. They are not just atomic structures with a set of properties and behaviors. They capture the attention of nations worldwide because materials have major impacts on our welfare and can affect international peace and security.Part of A World Scientific Encyclopedia of the Development and History of Materials Science

Biographies in the History of Physics

Biographies in the History of Physics PDF

Author: Christian Forstner

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-07-22

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 3030485099

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book sheds new light on the biographical approach in the history of physics by including the biographies of scientific objects, institutions, and concepts. What is a biography? Can biographies also be written for non-human subjects like scientific instruments, institutions or concepts? The respective chapters of this book discuss these controversial questions using examples from the history of physics. By approaching biography as metaphor, it transcends the boundaries between various perspectives on the history of physics, and enriches our grasp of the past.

Maturity and Innovation in Digital Libraries

Maturity and Innovation in Digital Libraries PDF

Author: Milena Dobreva

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-11-14

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 303004257X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Asia-Pacific Digital Libraries, ICADL 2018, held in Hamilton, New Zealand, in November 2018. The 20 full, 6 short, and 11 work in progress papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 77 submissions. The papers were organized in topical sections named: topic modeling and semantic analysis; social media, web, and news; heritage and localization; user experience; digital library technology; and use cases and digital librarianship.

New and Experimental Approaches to Writing Lives

New and Experimental Approaches to Writing Lives PDF

Author: Jo Parnell

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-08-01

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1352007193

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

With recent advances in digital technology, a number of exciting and innovative approaches to writing lives have emerged, from graphic memoirs to blogs and other visual-verbal-virtual texts. This edited collection is a timely study of new approaches to writing lives, including literary docu-memoir, autobiographical cartography, social media life writing and autobiographical writing for children. Combining literary theory with insightful critical approaches, each essay offers a serious study of innovative forms of life writing, with a view to reflecting on best practice and offering the reader practical guidance on methods and techniques. Offering a range of practical exercises and an insight into cutting-edge literary methodologies, this is an inspiring and thought-provoking companion for students of literature and creative writing studying courses on life writing, memoir or creative non-fiction.