Anne D'Alleva t 5 ri• es f LAURENCE KING rt istor Published in 2005 by Laurence King PUblishing Ltd 361-373 City Road London EC1 v 1L R United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7841 6900 Fax:+442078416910 email: enquiries@laurenceking.com www.laurenceking.com copyright© 2005 Anne D'Alieva. previously published in the United States as look! Again, Art Historu and eritical Theoru. All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing trom the publisher. Ac atalogue record forthis book is available trom the British Library. ISBN 978-1-85669-417-9 Printed in China Editor Elisabeth Ingles Picture Research sally Nicholls Design Andrew Lindesay Frontcover:Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres, Oedipus and the Sphinx (detail), 1808, Laurence I 4a: a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action b: an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, song, apoern, a novel, a dance performance. For such prompts to principles, or circumstances--often used in the phrase in theory truly work as theory, I would argue that a sustained line ofq uestion ing, a coherent perspective on your subject, must develop out of 5: a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or them. Theory isn't just what gives you an idea, but what gives you body ofp rinciples offered to explain phenomena For example, I have used a rather unconventional approach to 6a: a hypo thesis assumed for the sake ofa rgument or investiga theory in my writing ab out a particular cultural practice in early tion b: an unproved assumption: CONJECTURE c: a body of nineteenth-century Tahiti, where judicial courts were established theorems presenting a concise systematic view ofa subject tattoo a crime, but, paradoxically, they also used tattoo as a punish So theory is a basis for action, but also an explanation of how ment for the crime of getting tattoos, as weIl as for other trans phenomena work. In art history, we could say that theory helps us to gressions (Figure 1.I).1 I was particularly interested in the dass aud develop precise and penetrating lines of questioning to guide our gender dimensions of this set of practices: the elite didn't typically research. Certain modes ofinquiry, or theories, are recognized as receive these punishments, and, among commoners, only women valuable across a variety of disciplines: among these are semiotics, were marked on their faces for crimes (induding adultery). The Marxism, queer theory, and psychoanalysis. Others are more "theory" that helped me think about this situation was not, as one specific to their disciplines-like iconography in art history. might expect, the wor!e of the French philosopher and historian The range of theories most commonly employed today in the Michel Foucault (1926-I984) (see Chapter 5). His famous book social sciences and humanities is often called critical theory. The term about prisons and corporal punishment, Discipline and Punish (1977), originated in the mid-twentieth centurywith the Frankfurt School, a deals with the ways in which European societies punished criminals group ofMarxist scholars based at the University ofFrankfurtwho and changed behavior using the body. As useful as Foucault was in critiqued capitalism and consumer culture (see Chapter 3). The tracing the social construction of power and the development of term is used more broadly now to indicate contemporary theories useful in the investigation of his tory, culture, and society across a range ofd isciplines. These include, for example, feminism, psycho 1.1 Henry Byam Martin, watercolorofTahitian analysis, serniotics, and structuralism. However, I thinkit's important to woman, 1847. Peabody Essex Museum, avoid creating a canon ofc ritical theory, as ifthere are certain works Salem, MA. to be considered theory and others to be excluded. Engaging with According to Martin, a loeal court condemned theory is notaboutwhat's trendy orwhatother people are doing; it's this woman to death tor murdering her husband. about your own intellectual, political, and creative commitrnents Instead, the local missionary argued that her face should be tattooed with the word and endeavors, and about searching out and developing the tools "murderess"-the marI< o{Cain to marI< her you need to expand your thinking and do this worle. crirne. Under the inßuence of euangelieal In a broader way, you could also say that "theory" is anything missionaries, Tahitian courts {requently that helps you think better about a subject, enlarges your perspec punished wornen (or adultery-only defined as a crime with the coming o(Christianity-by tive, and helps you formulate new questions. The source may not be tattooing their fa ces. a text widely used and labeled as "critical theory." I induded the famous passage from Proust at the beginning of this chapter as a reminder ofthe potentially broad nature of"theory." For the main ,//;., '.~.~,." ~/".:/:f. character in Proust's novel, the taste of a cake unexpectedly lets ..... .::,. .,.i ., .!. .• ../ ,. ".".t,,<,;' :, .,j loose powerful memories. Similarly, it's hard to saywhat is going to >r. ,~. I".'" " .~. 17.. , .-. .' ~ ',~: .. r .J..~ •• ~~ free your ideas and give you new perspectives on your wor!e-a , :.'-:. ,: .;- 61 CHAPTER 1 THINI

Methods and Theories of Art History

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