World Art History and Its Objects

Is writing a world art history possible? Does the history of art as such even exist outside the Western tradition? Is it possible to consider the history of art in a way that is not fundamentally Eurocentric? In this highly readable and provocative book, David Carrier, a philosopher and art historian, does not attempt to write a world art history himself. Rather, he asks the question of how an art history of all cultures could be written—or whether it is even possible to do so. He also engages the political and moral issues raised by the idea of a multicultural art history. Focusing on a consideration of intersecting artistic traditions, Carrier negotiates the way meaning and understanding shift or are altered when a visual object from one culture, for example, is inserted into the visual tradition of another culture. A World Art History and Its Objects proposes the use of temporal narrative as a way to begin to understand a multicultural art history.

“Intriguing, provocative, and informative.”—John Onians, University of East Anglia, “The book is a well-structured and thoroughly comprehensible work as well as being a surprisingly inspiring read and one open to many legitimate interpretations.”—Giulia Savio, Sixteenth Century Journal

David Carrier is Champney Family Professor at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Art. He is the author of the Penn State titles The Aesthetics of Comics (2000), High Art: Charles Baudelaire and the Origins of Modernist Painting (1996), The Aesthete in the City (1994), Poussin’s Paintings: A Study in Art-Historical Methodology (1993), and Principles of Art History Writing (1990).