Destroy the Copy – Plaster Cast Collections in the 19th–20th Centuries: Demolition, Defacement, Disposal in Europe and Beyond - Hardcover

Winkler-Horaček; Lorenz; Alexandridis; Annetta

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3110751313 ISBN 13: 9783110751314

Publisher: De Gruyter, 2022

Synopsis

Based on two international conferences held at Cornell University and the Freie Universität of Berlin in 2010 and 2015, this volume is the first ever to explicitly address the destruction of plaster cast collections of ancient Mediterranean and Western sculpture. Focusing on Europe, the Americas, and Japan, art historians, archaeologists and a literary scholar discuss how different museum and academic traditions – national as well as disciplinary –, notions of value and authenticity, or colonialism impacted the fate of collections. The texts offer detailed documentation of degrees of destruction by spectacular acts of defacement, demolition, discarding, or neglect. They also shed light on the accompanying discourses regarding aesthetic ideals, political ideologies, educational and scholarly practices, or race. With destruction being understood as a critical part of reception, the histories of cast collections defy the traditional, homogenous narrative of rise and decline. Their diverse histories provide critical evidence for rethinking the use and display of plaster cast collections in the contemporary moment.

About this title

About the Authors

Annetta Alexandridis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Lorenz Winkler-Horaček, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

Annetta Alexandridis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Lorenz Winkler-Horaček, Freie Universität Berlin.

From the Back Cover

This volume, consisting of contributions by art historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists discusses how various museum and academic traditions, notions of value and authenticity, and developments related to colonialism affected the fate of plaster cast collections across four continents. The contributions analyze spectacular acts of casts' defacement, their demolition, discarding, and neglect. They shed light on the accompanying discourses surrounding aesthetic ideals, political ideologies, educational and scholarly practices, and race. With destruction being a critical part of their reception, plaster casts defy the traditional narrative of rise and decline. The histories revealed in this volume provide critical evidence for rethinking the use and display of plaster cast collections in the contemporary moment.

Edition details

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3110751313
• ISBN 13: 9783110751314
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 600