Anne D’Alleva Methods & Theories o vans Art History 71 Great Russell street london WC1B 38P United kingdom Tel: +44 20 74308850 Fax: +44 20 7430 8880 e-mail:enquiries@laurenceking co.uk www.laurenceking.co.uk Copyright 2005 Anne D’Alleva. Allrights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1-85669-417-8 Printedin china Editor: Elisabeth ingles Picture Researcher: Sally Nicholls Design: Andrew Lindesay Front cover: jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Oedipus and the sphinx (detail), 1808, reworked c. 1827. 7 Fehi oil on canvas, 6 ft 2inx 4 ft 9 in (1.89 x 1.44 m). Louvre. Patis. Laurence King PublishingContents Introduction Howto use this book Chapter1 Thinking about theory What makes theory “theory”? Is theory pure, universal, and impartial? anti-theoretical positions Positivism, or the theory ot ‘Thinking through theory Conclusion W Jargon i What's the difference between theory and methodology? Aplace to start Chapter2 Theanalysis ofform, symbol, and sign m in art history Iconography and iconology Forma Panofiky's iconography and iconology | Iconography and iconology since Panaféky | Practicing iconography and iconology Semiotics The founding semioticians: Saussure and Peirce | Systems and codes | Interpreting codes and signs | Semiotics and art history | Practicing semiotic art history Word and image Conclusion @ Are works of art puzzles? Are art historians detectives? @ Dowe “read” works of art? A place to start Chapter3 Art's contexts ‘The history of ideas Marxist and materialist perspectives on art The critique of capitalism and historical materialism | Ideology and cultural hegemony | Marxism and art | Materialist and Manvist art history | Practicing Marxist art history IV CONTENTS 10 41 16 28 3 44 39, 45 46 40 48 Feminisms A brief history of the women’s movement | The beginnings of feminist art history | Current issues in feminist art history | Essentialism and feminist art history | Practicing feminist art history , LGBTT Studies, and Queer Theory LGBTI Studies | Queer'Theory | Gender performativity, a key queer idea | LGBT1Queer art history | Practicing Queer/I.GBTI art history Cultural Studies and postcolonial theory Sexualiti Race and postcolonial theory | Subaltern Studies | Art history, Cultural Studies, and Visual Culture | Practicing art history informed by Cultural Studies|postcolonialism Conclusion @ So what’s normal—or normative? A place to start Chapter4 Psychology and perception in art Art history and psychoanalysis Basic Freud | Freud on art | Freud’s critics | Basic Lacan | Lacan on art | Lacan's critics | Psychoanalysis and contemporary arthistory | The, Reception theory I: the psychology of art Reception theory II: reader response theory and s of reception Practicing reception theory/psychoanalytic art history the aestheti Conclusion Jungian archetypes B Object relations theory and the nature of creativity @ The anxiety of influence Aplace to start Chapter5 Taking a stance toward knowledge Hermeneutics ‘The hermeneutic trio | The hermeneutic circle | Hermeneutics and arthistory | Practicing hermeneutic art history V/ CONTENTS 60 70 76 88 88 109 113 120 03 96 110 121Structuralism and post-structuralism 131 Introduction Culture as structure | Binary oppositions | Intertextuality and How e this book the death of the author | Post-structuralism | Foucault's history: ow to us s b 10 knowledge is power | Structuralism, post-structuralism, and art history | Practicing structuralist and post-structuralist art history Deconstruction 143 I want to suggest a different metaphor for theoretical work: Arthistory and deconstruction | Practicing deconstructive art the metaphor of struggle, of wrestling with the angels. The history only theory worth having is that which you have to fight Postmodernism as condition and practice 149 off, not that which you speak with profound fluency. Defining madernism(s) | Adding the “post” to modernism | Challenging master narratives | Fragmentation, pastiche, and the Stuart Hall, Cultural Studies and L ¥ etical Legacies 2 simulacrum | Modernism, postmodernism, and art history | Its Theoretical Legacies (1992) Practicing postmodemist art history Conclusion 157 A place to start 158 s book gives you a starting point, no more and no less, in approaching theories of art historical practice. It is neither encyclo- Chapter 6 writing with theory 159 pedie nor exhaustive—I don’t know how it could be and not lose he kind of paper you're probably writing now 159 its usefulness as a reference, the kind of dog-eared book that you Learning how to write with theory 163 keep in a pile next to the computer. The place of theory in research 165 This hook provides signposts, a set of possible orientations Which comes first? | How do you know which theory (or theories) toward the field of art history, by presenting some of the theoretical 108e perspectives most widely used in the discipline today. | have done Writing the paper 169 my best not to over-synthesize, but to present individual Crafting a theoretically driven argument | Integrating theory | arguments, controversies, and divergent perspectives whenever Supporting your points|providing evidence possible. Arthistorical theory is a forum of intense, often passionate debate. These ideas it embraces aren't ever a “done deal,” but are always under development and constantly changing. For that matter, art history itself, as an academic discipline, isn’t a Notes 173 “done deal”: it has changed enormously Creativity, imagination, and truth 172 nce | was an undergraduate—twenty years ago as I write this—and it will Acknowledgments 182 change justas much over the next twenty years. Index 183 Sowho, do | imagine, is going to be looking for the signposts | Photo credits 186 present here? My imagined readers are undergraduate students of art history. They are people seriously interested in the practice of art history, even if they are new to it and even if they are not intend- sional careers as art historians. ing to make profe They are people who are interested in the world of ideas, who engage in intellec- tual, political, and artistic pursuits outside their coursework. They are people who are not content simply to memorize slides—in fact, I sometimes hope that they are people who actively resist Vi] CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION: HOW TO USE THIS BOOKmemorizing slides! They are people whose professors may be assigning readings in critical theory, or referring to critical theories in class, and who, therefore, want background information or sug- gestions for pursuing these ideas further. These descriptions may or may not fityou, but, regardless, I welcome you to the intellectual forum to which this book is a contribution. Bewamed, however, thatthis book is nota historiography of art history, nor is it an explanation of theories of art. [nstead it addresses the multiple intersections of art history and critical theary, since some of the latter ha s been generated through the practice of art history and some not, over the past thirty years or so. Because this book is nota historiography, it sometimes gives litle emphasis to key figures in the history of art. For example, the Swiss scholar Heinrich Wolfflin (1864-1945) may not bea central figure in current theoretical debates within art history, but if you're studying historiography then he's critically important and I would certainly hope that, in other contexts, art-history students are reading his work and grappling with the issues it presents.! Because of the range of approaches to be covered here, I've tried to give this book a simple, rational plan. The core of the book is chapters two through five, which present detailed discussions of Each chapter different theoretical approaches to art history presents a group of related approaches: for example, Chapter 3, Art’s contexts, discus: Marxist and materialist, feminist, queer, and postcolonial theory together, because, as | see it, all of thes approaches address the contextual history of art in fundamental ways. OF course, many such groupings are possible, as. the numerous cross-references clearly demonstrate, and the selection of theories presented here reflects my sense of the field. In no way do I sce this bookas reflecting or contributing to the formation ofa canon of critical theory, a set lis of the most important work Instead, it’s more like a family album—a collection of snapshots that document the field. This book is subject to change, and is written from an individual perspective, just as a family album may be put together by someone who hasa particular perspective on the events depicted and may add and remove photographs atwill. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction explaining the range of theories it presents, then separ ate sections discuss each of them in turn. The explanation of each approach starts with a broad overview. Then, especially ifthis body of theory did notemerge fiom within art history, I discuss art historians who have taken it up 2 | INTRODUCTION: HOWTO USE THIS BOOK Finally I take a work of art, or two, and develop a line of questioning according to that particular theoretical model. This helps you understand how to generate research questions and how the ideas of particular scholars and theorists might be employed in art- historical analysis. A brief conclusion sums up each chapter and adds any final thoughts ‘Two additional chapters frame this core. Chapter 1: Thinking about theory introduces the concept of theory and explains why theory is important to the practice of art history, Chapter 6: Work- ing with theory presents some practical ideas about writing theoretically driven a history papers. It focuses on the ten- to twenty-page research paper, as this is the format undergraduate art history students confront most often. ‘There are many ways to read this book, depending on your level of expertise, time constraints, and goals. There’s always that mythic reader who devours the book from cover to cover. On the other hand (and, perhaps, more realistically) you may read a partic- tion to get a basic orientation to a set of ideas say, feminism or reception theory—and then ular chapter or s that interests you use that to put together a reading list that will help you delve fur- ther into the field. Or you may just be looking for some ideas to traight to the sample works of art and browse the research questions for inspiration. If frame a research topic, and so you may go you're working on a paper, you may turn to Chapter 6 to get help in developing your argument. Iwantto emphasize that the nextstep fora student interested in seriously engaging with any of the theoretical perspectives presented here is to read primary texts. If, for example, you've read ism in Chapter 3: Art’s contexts, you should start reading works by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the relevant section on Mary Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, and other important theorists. There are many field-specific anthologies sto help you get started, and ultimately you will want to read the full-length works themselves. You should also start reading works by Marxist art historians. The works listed at the end of the chapter under A place to start will help you, as will the endnotes, but there’s no of such tex substitute for getting out there and digging into the literature. ‘The act of reading itself becomes somewhat different when engaging with challenging theoretical texts, and you may find that the reading techniques you've been using in your studies aren’t very helpful. To enhance active reading and critical thinking, many 3 | INTRODUCTION: HOWTO USETHIS BOOK