The mediation of ornament / Oleg Grabar.
1992
N6260 .G692 1992 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
The mediation of ornament / Oleg Grabar.
Author
Grabar, Oleg.
ISBN
0691040990
9780691040998
0691001561 (pbk.)
9780691001562 (pbk.)
0091001561
9780691040998
0691001561 (pbk.)
9780691001562 (pbk.)
0091001561
Publication Details
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©1992.
Language
English
Description
xxv, 284 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 27 cm.
Call Number
N6260 .G692 1992
Summary
"In this richly illustratcd book Oleg Grabar not only shares a veteran art historian's love for the sheer sensuality of Islamic ornamentation, but also uses this art to show how ornament in general enables a direct, immediate encounter between viewers and art objects from any culture and time period. Based on universal motifs, ornamentation occurs in many artistic traditions, although it seems to reach its most expressive, tangible, and unique form in the art of the Islamic world. Grabar analyzes early and medieval Islamic objects, ranging from recently discovered frontispieces in Yemen to tilework in the Alhambra, and compares them to Western examples, treating all pieces as testimony of the work, life, thought, and emotion experienced in one society. From this discussion ornament emerges as a consistent intermediary between viewers and artistic works throughout time." "Grabar defines ornaments as agents that are not logically necessary to the perception of a visual message but without which the process of understanding would be more difficult - they in fact often draw us into a work by strengthening the pleasure derived from looking at it. A major portion of this book explores four particularly influential forces on the development of ornament: writing (calligraphy), geometry, architecture, and nature. Throughout Grabar seeks to serve admirers of Islamic art as well as readers interested in the ways of perceiving and understanding the arts in general."--Jacket.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-279) and index.
Series
A.W. Mellon lectures in the fine arts ; 1989.
Bollingen series ; 35, 38.
Bollingen series ; 35, 38.
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Table of Contents
A Theory of Intermediaries in Art
The Intermediary of Writing
The Intermediary of Geometry
The Intermediary of Architecture
The Intermediary of Nature.
The Intermediary of Writing
The Intermediary of Geometry
The Intermediary of Architecture
The Intermediary of Nature.