Sign-In
Cart
Museum Memories: History, Technology, Art
Hardcover
Series: Cultural Memory in the Present
ISBN13: 9780804732024
Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr
Published: Apr 1 1999
Pages: 344
Weight: 1.26
Height: 0.94 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
From its inception in the early nineteenth century, the museum has been more than a mere historical object; it has manufactured an image of history. In collecting past artifacts, the museum gives shape and presence to history, defining the space of a ritual encounter with the past. The museum believes in history, yet it behaves as though history could be summarized and completed. By building a monument to the end of history and lifting art out of the turmoil of historical survival, the museum is said to dehistoricize the artwork. It replaces historicity with historiography, and living history turns into timelessness.
This twofold process explains the paradoxical character of museums. They have been accused of being both too heavy with historical dust and too historically spotless, excessively historicizing artworks while cutting them off from the historical life in which artworks are born. Thus the museum seems contradictory because it lectures about the historical nature of its objects while denying the same objects the living historical connection about which it purports to educate.
The contradictory character of museums leads the author to a philosophical reflection on history, one that reconsiders the concept of culture and the historical value of art in light of the philosophers, artists, and writers who are captivated by the museum. Together, their voices prompt a reevaluation of the concepts of historical consciousness, artistic identity, and the culture of objects in the modern period. The author shows how museum culture offers a unique vantage point on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries' preoccupation with history and subjectivity, and he demonstrates how the constitution of the aesthetic provides insight into the realms of technology, industrial culture, architecture, and ethics.
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Art History
The Secrets of Art: Uncovering the Mysteries and Messages of Great Works of Art
Mancoff, Debra N.
Hardcover
Progressive Design in the Midwest: The Purcell-Cutts House and the Prairie School Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Olivarez, Jennifer Komar
Paperback
Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
Paint by Sticker (Official): Works of Art: Re-Create 12 Iconic Masterpieces One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
Paint by Sticker (Official): Masterpieces: Re-Create 12 Iconic Artworks One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
Stupid Faces in Stunning Paintings: A Serious Exploration of Art History's Silliest Expressions
Mierlo, Matthijs Van
Hardcover
Oliver Byrne's Elements of Euclid: The First Six Books with Coloured Diagrams and Symbols (Art Meets Science Edition)
Art Meets Science
Hardcover
Bohemians on the Breadline: The Radical Women Artists of Roosevelt's New Deal
Arrington, Lauren
Hardcover
Paint by Sticker (Official): Portraits: Re-Create 12 Historic Paintings One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland
Young, Michelle
Hardcover
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Paperback
The Art of the Unknown: A Visual Treasury of the Esoteric, Uncanny and Unexplained
Elizabeth, S.
Hardcover
The Secrets of Painting: The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today
Goudie, Lachlan
Hardcover
Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum
Sciolino, Elaine
Paperback
AP Art History Premium, Sixth Edition: Prep Book with 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Nici, John B., M. a.
Paperback
The Short Story of Queer Art: A Pocket Guide to Key Movements, Works, Themes & Breakthroughs
Hoskin, Dawn
Paperback
Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us about the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive
Ramsey, Russ
Hardcover
The Annotated Mona Lisa, Third Edition: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to the Present
Strickland, Carol
Paperback
The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript
Díaz, Gisele
Rodgers, Alan
Paperback
The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece
Dolnick, Edward
Paperback
Weaving at Black Mountain College: Anni Albers, Trude Guermonprez, and Their Students
Beggs, Michael
Thomson, Julie J.
Hardcover
Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History
Burgess, Anika
Hardcover