Rhapsodic Objects: Art, Agency and Materiality (1700–2000)

Circulation and imitation are key factors in shaping the material world. The authors in this volume explore how technical knowledge, immaterial desires and political agendas impact the production and consumption of visual and material culture across times and places. The 'Rhapsodic' concept further underlines the potential to express creativity, generate emotion and reveal histories that are often tainted with violence. The essays map multidirectional transactions for cultural goods in which source countries can be positioned at the centre. Rhapsodic – literally to stitch or weave songs – paired with objects – from thrown against – intertwines complexity and action. Rhapsodic objects thus beckons to the layered narratives of the objects themselves, their making and their reception over time.
ISBN 9783110656640. Birkhauser Verlag. hb. 236 pages. 88 colour ills. 24 x 17 cm.