Description:
This book explores the attribution and local negotiation of cultural valuations of artistic and art-institutional practices around the world, and considers the diverse ways in which these value attributions intersect with claims of universality and cosmopolitanism.
Review Quotes:
"This timely and fascinating collection asks whether we have reached an important juncture in those all-important, yet rarely revealed, hierarchies of value that shape global discourses of art, culture and heritage. Going beyond decolonisation debates that privilege Europe and America, the essays here richly analyse other geographies, other institutional histories and practices, against a shifting global economy and geopolitics. Accessible and interdisciplinary, the book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in international trends in the politics and policy of heritage, museums, and market circulations of art." - Tim Winter, National University of Singapore
"Artists and anthropologists have long been stimulated by each others' methods and work. It's therefore paradoxical that contemporary anthropology has shied away from interpreting or theorising the increasingly dynamic and prominent worlds of contemporary art. This book, which interweaves deeply researched case studies with reflections by some of the most eminent ethnographers and theorists working today reveals how fertile and exciting the field could be." - Nicholas Thomas, University of Cambridge, UK