Publication
Title
Franz Boas and the primacy of form
Author
Abstract
There is systematic epistemic asymmetry between different centers of art production: we know far more about some (e.g. fifteenth-century Italian paintings) than about others (e.g. fifteenth-century Inca textiles). As long as we are focusing on the social context of the artworks or the artist's intention, this epistemic asymmetry remains, given that we have vastly more information about the social context of the artworks or the artist's intention when it comes to 'Western' art-again, because of the historically contingent differences in record-keeping and the survival rate of such records. If we want to overcome the epistemic asymmetry between 'Western' and 'Non-Western' art, we need to look elsewhere. I will argue, using Franz Boas's work, that we should look for formal features. In order to avoid the epistemic asymmetry that follows from the historically contingent fact that we have more information about some cultures than about others, we need to start our analysis with formal categories.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The British journal of aesthetics. - London, 1960, currens
Publication
Oxford : Oxford univ press , 2024
ISSN
0007-0904 [print]
1468-2842 [online]
DOI
10.1093/AESTHJ/AYAD029
Volume/pages
64 :3 (2024) , p. 381-395
ISI
001163697700001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Emotion and mental imagery.
Publication type
Subject
Art 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 04.03.2024
Last edited 21.08.2024
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