Stone
A Cultural Interpretation
Will be published approx. on 11. January 2027
Book
Paperback/Softback
414 pages
978-1-83595-321-1 (ISBN)
Description
From a physical point of view, stone is the oldest and most persistent material and support of information in the history of humanity.
This volume of collected essays, theoretical articles, case-studies, artistic texts and artwork portfolios aims to open a field of thought in which stone is not questioned as a materia prima of artistic work, but rather as a carrier of information.
Stone explores stone as more than a material, presenting it as a carrier of meaning and information across cultures and historical periods. It examines how contemporary artists decode, interpret, and creatively engage with stone, blending artistic practice, cultural studies, and experimental approaches. Highlighting the intersections between art and anthropology, contributions consider how human interaction with natural materials has evolved over time. It investigates the dynamic, almost living presence of stone in art, illuminating the rich interpretive potential of natural materials and the ways our current era reimagines and engages with them.
This volume of collected essays, theoretical articles, case-studies, artistic texts and artwork portfolios aims to open a field of thought in which stone is not questioned as a materia prima of artistic work, but rather as a carrier of information.
Stone explores stone as more than a material, presenting it as a carrier of meaning and information across cultures and historical periods. It examines how contemporary artists decode, interpret, and creatively engage with stone, blending artistic practice, cultural studies, and experimental approaches. Highlighting the intersections between art and anthropology, contributions consider how human interaction with natural materials has evolved over time. It investigates the dynamic, almost living presence of stone in art, illuminating the rich interpretive potential of natural materials and the ways our current era reimagines and engages with them.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Intellect
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
230 Halftones, color
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 229 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
830 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83595-321-1 (9781835953211)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Marta Jecu is researcher and professor at Universidade Lusofona, Lisbon, Portugal and independent curator.
Content
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Marta Jecu
PART 1: Through the Lens of Cultural History
1. Fossils and Totems as Fossils and Vice Versa
J. T. Mitchell
2. Materials Against Materiality
Tim Ingold
3. Alongside the Stones
Clara Poirier
4. For an Ontology of Stone
Paolo Nardon
5. A Stroll in the Collections of the Musee de Mineralogie Paris: Exploring the History of Humanity Through 'Stones'
Interview with the Musee Director Didier Nectoux
6. Exhibition
Part I: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part II: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part III: Stone Alive: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part IV: PIERRES VIVANTES. Une interpretation culturelle des pierres
7. Artistic Portfolios Part 1
I. David Casini
II. Gabriel Leger
III. Raphael Denis
IV. Jorge Santos
V. Cyprien Rials
VI. Martinho Mendes
PART 2: Built Matter
8. Fractured Stone and the Rhetoric of the Rustic
Jonathan Foote
9. Written in Stone: Geological Eco-Fictions from the Fields of Architecture
Pedro Gadanho
10. Talking to Stones in Prison and in a Prison Museum: "All the Earth in Every Grain of Mine"
OEzge Kelekci and Meral Akbas
11. Stone Books
A Conversation with Fernanda Fragateiro, Arthur Larrue and Marta Jecu
12. Pierres Sans Repit/Unrelenting Stones: A Lithic Exploration in Clichy-sous-Bois / Montfermeil
A Conversation with Luise Schroeder, Chedly Atallah and Marta Jecu
13. On Stones, Architecture, Nature and Love
Goncalo M. Tavares
14. Artistic Portfolios Part 2
I. Fernanda Fragateiro
II. Rita Gaspar Vieira
III. Pedro Sequeira
IV. Claire de Santa Coloma
PART 3: Non-Human Life and Temporalities
15. Deep Life
Giovanbattista Tusa
16. Renewed Perspectives on the Material Nature of Museums, Starting from Stone and Brazil's Native Peoples
Roberta Fagundes Goncalves
17. From the Ground
Patricia Domingues
18.
Manuel Perreira
19. To Lick a Stone or About Poetic Intentions
Patricia Morosan
20. Dance and Performance as Forms of Listening to the Stones
Arantxa Ciafrino
21. Seeking Silence and Ancient Stones: A Conversation with Sergio Carronha
Mattia Tosti
22. Artistic Portfolios Part 3
I. Gilles Zark
II. Sergio Carronha
III. Stephane Raynal
IV. Marta Alvim
V. Rosell Meseguer
VI. Patricia Morosan
PART 4: Future Stone
23. Becoming Stone: Posthumanism in Ben River's Look Then Below
Matilda Holloway
24. Block-chain : Some Reflections on Life in the Work of Vincent Voillat
Jean-Christophe Arcos
25. Of curved Rocks and a Crack
Vincent Voillat
26. In Between Two Renaissance Paintings
Q&A with Luca Pozzi
27. Petrified Traumas: Marina Abramovic, Massimiliano Pelletti and J.G. Ballard's The Crystal World
Laura Colombino
28. Exhibition Parts III and IV
29. Artistic Portfolios Part 4
I. Ludovic Sauvage
II. Vincent Pajot
III. Vincent Voillat
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Marta Jecu
PART 1: Through the Lens of Cultural History
1. Fossils and Totems as Fossils and Vice Versa
J. T. Mitchell
2. Materials Against Materiality
Tim Ingold
3. Alongside the Stones
Clara Poirier
4. For an Ontology of Stone
Paolo Nardon
5. A Stroll in the Collections of the Musee de Mineralogie Paris: Exploring the History of Humanity Through 'Stones'
Interview with the Musee Director Didier Nectoux
6. Exhibition
Part I: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part II: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part III: Stone Alive: A Cultural Interpretation of Stone
Part IV: PIERRES VIVANTES. Une interpretation culturelle des pierres
7. Artistic Portfolios Part 1
I. David Casini
II. Gabriel Leger
III. Raphael Denis
IV. Jorge Santos
V. Cyprien Rials
VI. Martinho Mendes
PART 2: Built Matter
8. Fractured Stone and the Rhetoric of the Rustic
Jonathan Foote
9. Written in Stone: Geological Eco-Fictions from the Fields of Architecture
Pedro Gadanho
10. Talking to Stones in Prison and in a Prison Museum: "All the Earth in Every Grain of Mine"
OEzge Kelekci and Meral Akbas
11. Stone Books
A Conversation with Fernanda Fragateiro, Arthur Larrue and Marta Jecu
12. Pierres Sans Repit/Unrelenting Stones: A Lithic Exploration in Clichy-sous-Bois / Montfermeil
A Conversation with Luise Schroeder, Chedly Atallah and Marta Jecu
13. On Stones, Architecture, Nature and Love
Goncalo M. Tavares
14. Artistic Portfolios Part 2
I. Fernanda Fragateiro
II. Rita Gaspar Vieira
III. Pedro Sequeira
IV. Claire de Santa Coloma
PART 3: Non-Human Life and Temporalities
15. Deep Life
Giovanbattista Tusa
16. Renewed Perspectives on the Material Nature of Museums, Starting from Stone and Brazil's Native Peoples
Roberta Fagundes Goncalves
17. From the Ground
Patricia Domingues
18.
Manuel Perreira
19. To Lick a Stone or About Poetic Intentions
Patricia Morosan
20. Dance and Performance as Forms of Listening to the Stones
Arantxa Ciafrino
21. Seeking Silence and Ancient Stones: A Conversation with Sergio Carronha
Mattia Tosti
22. Artistic Portfolios Part 3
I. Gilles Zark
II. Sergio Carronha
III. Stephane Raynal
IV. Marta Alvim
V. Rosell Meseguer
VI. Patricia Morosan
PART 4: Future Stone
23. Becoming Stone: Posthumanism in Ben River's Look Then Below
Matilda Holloway
24. Block-chain : Some Reflections on Life in the Work of Vincent Voillat
Jean-Christophe Arcos
25. Of curved Rocks and a Crack
Vincent Voillat
26. In Between Two Renaissance Paintings
Q&A with Luca Pozzi
27. Petrified Traumas: Marina Abramovic, Massimiliano Pelletti and J.G. Ballard's The Crystal World
Laura Colombino
28. Exhibition Parts III and IV
29. Artistic Portfolios Part 4
I. Ludovic Sauvage
II. Vincent Pajot
III. Vincent Voillat