Oaxaca is internationally renowned for its marketplaces and archaeological sites where tourists can buy inexpensive folk art, including replicas of archaeological treasures. Archaeologists, art historians, and museum professionals sometimes discredit this trade in “fakes” that occasionally make their way to the auction block as antiquities. Others argue that these souvenirs represent a long cultural tradition of woodcarving or clay sculpting and are “genuine” artifacts of artisanal practices that have been passed from generation to generation, allowing community members to preserve their cultural practices and make a living. Exploring the intriguing question of authenticity and its relationship to cultural forms in Oaxaca and throughout southern Mexico, Between Art and Artifact confronts an important issue that has implications well beyond the commercial realm. Demonstrating that identity politics lies at the heart of the controversy, Ronda Brulotte provides a nuanced inquiry into what it means to present “authentic” cultural production in a state where indigenous ethnicity is part of an awkward social and racial classification system. Emphasizing the world-famous woodcarvers of Arrazola and the replica purveyors who come from the same community, Brulotte presents the ironies of an ideology that extols regional identity but shuns its artifacts as “forgeries.” Her work makes us question the authority of archaeological discourse in the face of local communities who may often see things differently. A departure from the dialogue that seeks to prove or disprove “authenticity,” Between Art and Artifact reveals itself as a commentary on the arguments themselves, and what the controversy can teach us about our shifting definitions of authority and authorship.

Breaking new ground as the first ever extensive survey of one of the most important and intriguing themes in art today, this book examines the phenomenon of the ideological exchange and often obsessive relationship between artist and museum." "The works chosen for inclusion here, as well as direct quotations from the writings of individual artists, offer a wide-ranging coverage of projects by established and emerging figures alike. The artists featured include such names as Tracey Emin, Hans Haacke, Christian Boltanski, Fred Wilson and Ilya Kabakov. Art and Artifact will serve as an indispensable guide to the position and likely future role of the museum at the beginning of the 21st century, whether within the walls of an institutional building or in the broader context of the urban environment."--BOOK JACKET.

Jane Austen distinguished herself with genius in literature, but she was immersed in all of the arts. Austen loved dancing, played the piano proficiently, meticulously transcribed piano scores, attended concerts and art exhibits, read broadly, wrote poems, sat for portraits by her sister Cassandra, and performed in theatricals. For her, art functioned as a social bond, solidifying her engagement with community and offering order. And yet Austen’s hold on readers’ imaginations owes a debt to the omnipresent threat of disorder that often stems—ironically—from her characters’ socially disruptive artistic sensibilities and skill. Drawing from a wealth of recent historicist and materialist Austen scholarship, this timely work explores Austen’s ironic use of art and artifact to probe selfhood, alienation, isolation, and community in ways that defy simple labels and acknowledge the complexity of Austen’s thought.

Make sure to check out the other installments in this unparalleled collection of historical information on The Legend of Zelda franchise with the New York Times best selling The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia and The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia. Also look for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Creating a Champion for an indepth look at the art, lore, and making of the best selling video game! The Legend of Zelda™: Art and Artifacts contains over four hundred pages of fully realized illustrations from the entire thirty-year history of The Legend of Zelda™ including artwork from the upcoming The Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild! Every masterwork is printed on high-quality paper in an oversized format so you can immerse yourself in the fine details of each piece. This book includes rare promotional pieces, game box art, instruction booklet illustrations, official character illustrations, sprite art, interviews with the artists, and much, much more! The Legend of Zelda™: Art and Artifacts collects many of your favorite masterpieces from the storied franchise, as well as rare and never before seen content, presented in one handsome hardcover. Select artwork from the entirety of the franchise! A nostalgic look at the past! An exciting look at the future! Interviews with some of the artists behind The Legend of Zelda™ series!

Works by Prosek and others are juxtaposed with natural objects in an illuminating interrogation of the artificial boundaries we create between art and nature Award-winning artist, writer, and naturalist James Prosek (b. 1975) has gained a worldwide following for his deep connection with the natural world, which serves as the basis for his art and numerous popular books. In this cross-disciplinary catalogue, Prosek poses the question, What is art and what is artifact—and to what extent do these distinctions matter? Drawing on the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Prosek places man- and nature-made objects on equal footing aesthetically, suggesting that the distinction between them is not as vast as we may believe. In more than 150 full-color plates, objects such as a bird’s nest, dinosaur head, and cuneiform tablet are juxtaposed with Asian handscrolls, an African headdress, modern masterpieces, and more. Artists featured include Albrecht Dürer, Helen Frankenthaler, Vincent van Gogh, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso, and Jackson Pollack, as well as Prosek himself, whose works depict fish, birds, and endangered wildlife. Also included are an incisive essay by Edith Devaney and texts by Prosek that explore the magnificent productions of our wondrous interconnected world.

This catalogue presents 160 objects of art and ethnography selected from the distinguished African collections of the Buffalo museum of science, the Hampton university museum (Virginia) and the American museum of natural history (New York City). The essays examine the shifting definitions of art and artifact, and deal with the question of how we look at objects from cultures whose classification systems differ from our own.

Written by the prominent art and artifacts scholar Cycleback, this book is a primer and survey of standard methods and issues in the identification, authentication, fake and forgery detection of art, artifacts and collectibles, from ancient artifacts and famous paintings to antique toys and trading cards. Topics include stylistic and historical analysis, scientific testing (including radiometric dating, thermoluminescence testing, spectroscopy, microscopy and artificial intelligence analysis), basic research methods, material and process identification, provenance, altered forgeries, the limits of science and analysis, and more. Authentication involves many aspects and perspectives working together, from nuclear physics to art history, and this book is written for all those invested or interested in the topic, including museum workers, scientists, historians, students, appraisers, lawyers, collectors and those simply interested in how famous artworks and relics are authenticated and forgeries identified.