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The impossible nude : Chinese art and western aesthetics / by François Jullien ; translated by Maev de la Guardia ; with photographs by Ralph Gibson.

By: Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: French Publisher: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2007Copyright date: ©2007Description: vii, 136 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0226415325
  • 9780226415321
Uniform titles:
  • De l'essence ou du nu. English
Subject(s): Additional physical formats: Online version:: Impossible nude.DDC classification:
  • 704.9421 22
LOC classification:
  • BJ1500.N8 J8513 2007
Online resources:
Contents:
Preface -- A history of being : for an ontology of the photographic nude -- The impossible nude.
Summary: The undraped human form is ubiquitous in Western art and even appears in the art of India and Japan. Only in China, François Jullien argues, is the nude completely absent. In this enthralling extended essay, he explores the different conceptions of the human body that underlie this provocative disparity. Contrasting nakedness (which implies a diminished state) with nudity (which represents a complete presence), Jullien explores the traditional European vision of the nude as a fixed point of fusion where form joins truth. He then shows that the absence of the nude in Chinese art evinces an understanding of the human body as changeable and transitory. Viewed in light of each other, these differing concepts allow for a new way of thinking about form, the ideal, and beauty, enabling us to delve deeper into the relationship between art and the ideas that lie at its roots. Beautifully illustrated and gracefully translated into English for the first time, The Impossible Nude will fascinate anyone interested in art history, Chinese art, or aesthetics.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book City Campus City Campus Main Collection 704.9421 JUL (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available A480145B

Translated from the French.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-134).

Preface -- A history of being : for an ontology of the photographic nude -- The impossible nude.

The undraped human form is ubiquitous in Western art and even appears in the art of India and Japan. Only in China, François Jullien argues, is the nude completely absent. In this enthralling extended essay, he explores the different conceptions of the human body that underlie this provocative disparity. Contrasting nakedness (which implies a diminished state) with nudity (which represents a complete presence), Jullien explores the traditional European vision of the nude as a fixed point of fusion where form joins truth. He then shows that the absence of the nude in Chinese art evinces an understanding of the human body as changeable and transitory. Viewed in light of each other, these differing concepts allow for a new way of thinking about form, the ideal, and beauty, enabling us to delve deeper into the relationship between art and the ideas that lie at its roots. Beautifully illustrated and gracefully translated into English for the first time, The Impossible Nude will fascinate anyone interested in art history, Chinese art, or aesthetics.

Translated from the French.

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