Levi-Strauss, Anthropology, and Aesthetics PDF
Preview Levi-Strauss, Anthropology, and Aesthetics
´ LEVI-STRAUSS, ANTHROPOLOGY AND AESTHETICS In a wide-ranging and original study of Claude Le´vi-Strauss’s aes- thetic thought, Boris Wiseman demonstrates not only its centrality within his oeuvre but also the importance of Le´vi-Strauss for con- temporary aesthetic enquiry. Reconstructing the internal logic of Le´vi-Strauss’sthinkingonaesthetics,andshowinghowanthropolog- icalandaestheticideasintertwineatthemostelementallevelsinthe elaboration of his system of thought, Wiseman demonstrates that Le´vi-Strauss’saesthetictheoryformsanintegralpartofhisapproach to Amerindian masks, body decoration and mythology. He reveals the significance of Le´vi-Strauss’s anthropological analysis of an ‘untamed’ mode of thinking (pens´ee sauvage) at work in totemism, classificationandmythmakingforhisconceptionofartandaesthetic experience.In this way, structuralanthropology isshownto lead to ethno-aesthetics. L´evi-Strauss, Anthropology and Aesthetics adopts a broad-ranging approach that combines the different perspectives of anthropology,philosophy,aesthetictheoryandliterarycriticisminto anunusualandimaginativewhole. BORIS WISEMAN is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Durham.HispreviouspublicationsincludeIntroducingClaudeL´evi- Strauss and Structural Anthropology (second edition, Icon Books, 2000) and he is currently editing The Cambridge Companion to L´evi-Strauss(forthcoming,2008). 85 IDEAS IN CONTEXT Le´vi-Strauss, Anthropology and Aesthetics IDEAS IN CONTEXT EditedbyQuentinSkinnerandJamesTully Thebooksinthisserieswilldiscusstheemergenceofintellectualtraditionsandof related new disciplines. The procedures, aims and vocabularies that were gener- atedwillbesetinthecontextofthealternativesavailablewithinthecontemporary frameworksofideasandinstitutions.Throughdetailedstudiesoftheevolutionof suchtraditions,andtheirmodification bydifferent audiences,itishopedthata newpicturewillformofthedevelopmentofideasintheirconcretecontexts.By thismeans,artificialdistinctionsbetweenthehistoryofphilosophy,ofthevarious sciences,ofsocietyandpolitics,andofliteraturemaybeseentodissolve. TheseriesispublishedwiththesupportoftheExxonFoundation. Alistofbooksintheserieswillbefoundattheendofthevolume. ´ LEVI-STRAUSS, ANTHROPOLOGY AND AESTHETICS BORIS WISEMAN UniversityofDurham CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo CambridgeUniversityPress TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521875295 #BorisWiseman2007 Thisbookisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2007 PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN978-0-521-87529-5hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor thepersistenceoraccuracyofURLsforexternalor third-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhisbook, anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. To my father and mother In memory of John Taylor Contents Listofillustrations pagex Acknowledgements xi Introduction:ethno-aesthetics 1 1 Thereconciliation 33 2 Artandthelogicofsensiblequalities 58 3 Theworkofartasasystemofsigns 80 4 Structuralism,Symbolistpoeticsandabstractart 100 5 Theanthropologistasartcritic 119 6 Nature,culture,chance 135 7 Frommythtomusic 167 8 Le´vi-Strauss’smytho-poem 196 Conclusion:betweenconceptandmetaphor 217 References 230 Index 241 ix Illustrations 1 Totemicoperator page84 2 Caduveowoman 137 3 ‘Bearsmeeting’,aTsimshiandesign 139 4 Caduveodesign 141 5 Periodicity 212 IllustrationsreproducedbypermissionofClaudeLe´vi-Strauss x
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