Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.63 (586 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1621389855 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 154 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-07-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The nine essays in this book are among his most stimulating. Coomaraswamy, curator of Indian art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, uniquely combined art historian, philosopher, orientalist, linguist, and expositor in his person. They discuss such matters as the true function of aesthetics in art, the importance of symbolism, and the importance of intellectual and philosophical background to the artists; they demonstrate that abstract art and primitive art, despite superficial resemblances, are
The nine essays in this book are among Coomaraswamy’s most accessible and rewarding. “The contentment of innumerable people can be destroyed in a generation by the withering touch of our civilization; the local market is flooded by a production in quantity with which the responsible maker of art cannot complete; the vocational structure of society, with all its guild organization and standards of workmanship, is undermined; the artist is robbed of his art and forced to find himself a ‘job’; until finally the ancient society is industrialised and reduced to the level of
Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art. New Age of Barbarism _Christian & Oriental Philosophy of Art_ (1956, reprinted by Dover) by traditionalist author and philosopher Ananda K. Coomaraswamy is a fascinating series of essays and lectures which explain such issues as the role and importance of art as it relates to Christian and Oriental traditional culture. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877 - 1947) was an Indian philosopher, orientalist, and art historian who served as curator of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Coomaraswamy was also active as one of the founders of the Traditionalist School (along with Rene Guenon) and in promoting the Perennial Philosophy that underlies the world's mystical . This is worth more stars than five! P. Hines Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was really somebody. I've owned and eventually given away at least half a dozen copies of this book over the years. I mean, I tend to force it on people. It changed my life.The writer I'd compare him to, perhaps weirdly, is Joseph Conrad - if the young Conrad had, instead of going to sea, run away to join a museum and become an art historian, curator, philosopher and intellectual bridge between worlds. Certainly both men have a similar way of making you pay attention to every single word, and - this is so rare - repaying that attention with insight, not only into what the author means by w. "How to understand a traditional work of art" according to lorenzo. Definitely one of the most accessible works by A.K. Coomaraswamy and a good introduction to his oeuvre, of which the present book is somehow the sinthesis. Themes such as the meaning of art in its universality, the relationship between beauty and truth, and utility of art are developped to their maximum extent. The strenght of the thesis of the author, the almost perfect rigour of his analisys, the impressive richness of documentation provided, are such as to strike one's knowledge on the matter to the point of being able to change reader's relationship to the present reality.