Art and the human adventure [electronic resource] : André Malraux's theory of art / Derek Allan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allan, Derek.

Series:

Faux titre ; no. 341.

Faux titre ; 341

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art--Philosophy.

Art.

Malraux, André, 1901-1976--Aesthetics.

Malraux, André.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (341 p.)

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Rodopi, 2009.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

André Malraux was a major figure in French intellectual life in the twentieth century. A key component of his thought is his theory of art which presents a series of fundamental challenges to traditional explanations of the nature and purpose of art developed by post-Enlightenment aesthetics. For Malraux, art – whether visual art, literature or music – is much more than a locus of beauty or a source of “aesthetic pleasure”; it is one of the ways humanity defends itself against its fundamental sense of meaninglessness – one of the ways the “human adventure” is affirmed. Here for the first time is a comprehensive, step by step exposition, supported by illustrations, of Malraux’s theory of art as presented in major works such as The Voices of Silence and The Metamorphosis of the Gods . Suitable for both newcomers to Malraux and more advanced students, the study also examines critical responses to these works by figures such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Maurice Blanchot, Pierre Bourdieu, and E. H. Gombrich, and compares Malraux’s thinking with aspects of contemporary Anglo-American aesthetics. The study reveals that an account of art which Gombrich once dismissed as “sophisticated double-talk” is in reality a thoroughly coherent and highly enlightening system of thought, with revolutionary implications for the way we think about art.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

English translations of titles of Malraux’s works

Introduction

The Years before 1934

The Human Adventure

Art: A Rival World

Art and Creation

The Emergence and Transformation of “Art”

Art and Time

The First Universal World of Art

The Anti-Arts

Art, History, and the Human Adventure

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-329) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-88213-9

9786612882135

90-420-2750-9

OCLC:

559994037

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789042027503 DOI