Fearful symmetry

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3918968
AutoresPaul Graves‐brown (University of Southampton, autor de correspondencia), P M Graves‐brown
Año1995
Volumen27
Número1
Páginas88-99
Fecha de publicación1995-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWorld Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00438243.1995.9980294
OpenAlexW4252643319
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas13

In opposition to the fashion for semiotic analyses of material culture, I argue that the meaning of artefacts is not necessarily ‘symbolic’ ‐ that this term applies only to a particular class of meaning. In my view the development of industrial cultures has created a false duality between the aesthetic and the functional which in turn has allowed a mistaken distinction between objects and their meanings. Meaning has become reified. On the contrary, I argue, meaning exists in the dynamic relationship between actors and material culture, and is not exclusively the preserve of one or the other. In turn, this relationship constitutes the basis of exploration and understanding; both the mundane implement and the work of art should guide us to extend our comprehension of the world

Aesthetics · Comprehension · Epistemology · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Opposition (politics · Semiotics · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Public Spaces through Art · Semiotics and Representation Studies · Visual Culture and Art Theory