
The Cultures of Collecting
Reaktion Books (Publisher)
Published on 10. March 1994
Book
Hardback
312 pages
978-0-948462-50-4 (ISBN)
Description
with essays by Jean Baudrillard, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Nicholas Thomas, Mieke Bal, John Forrester, John Windsor, Naomi Schor, Susan Stewart, Anthony Alan Shelton, Jas Elsner, Roger Cardinal and an interview with Robert Opie.
This book traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing not just on the normative collections of the Western canon, but also on collections that reflect a fascination with the 'Other' and the marginal - the ephemeral, exotic, or just plain curious.
There are essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage. Others examine imperialist encounters with remote cultures - the conquistadors in America in the sixteenth century, and the British in the Pacific in the eighteenth - and the more recent collectors of popular culture, be they of Swatch watches, Elvis Presley memorabilia or of packaging and advertising.
This book traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing not just on the normative collections of the Western canon, but also on collections that reflect a fascination with the 'Other' and the marginal - the ephemeral, exotic, or just plain curious.
There are essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage. Others examine imperialist encounters with remote cultures - the conquistadors in America in the sixteenth century, and the British in the Pacific in the eighteenth - and the more recent collectors of popular culture, be they of Swatch watches, Elvis Presley memorabilia or of packaging and advertising.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
60 illustrations
ISBN-13
978-0-948462-50-4 (9780948462504)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Roger Cardinal (Anthology Editor)
Roger Cardinal is Emeritus Professor of Literary and Visual Studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury. The author of many books and articles, he has written extensively on Surrealism and is an international authority on Art Brut.
John Elsner (Anthology Editor)
John Elsner is Humfrey Payne Senior Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology and Art at Corpus Christi College Oxford.
Roger Cardinal is Emeritus Professor of Literary and Visual Studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury. The author of many books and articles, he has written extensively on Surrealism and is an international authority on Art Brut.
John Elsner (Anthology Editor)
John Elsner is Humfrey Payne Senior Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology and Art at Corpus Christi College Oxford.