Arts

In his monumental history of ruins, Alain Schnapp gives an account of the multiple ways to resist oblivion, both material and immaterial. Ruins are not so much objects as processes implemented by societies in order to contemplate their place in history.

In her latest book, Viccy Coltman explores the evolution of Scottish identity in the long 18^th century through the lens of its artistic representations both in Scotland and abroad, thus revealing that it was much more multifaceted and complex than previously thought.

The art of English gardens in the eighteenth century opens up new ground that nurtures the invention of different forms of community life. Jacques Rancière untangles the threads of this complex genealogy.

Literature and cinema have long played with the idea of the end of the world. As Jean-Paul Engélibert explains, these narratives, which imagine the forms of life or society that will emerge from the apocalypse, must be seen primarily as a critique of the present.

In a wide-ranging essay on the construction of race in Enlightenment art, Anne Lafont tracks down the responsibility of images in the naturalization of racial difference and the justification of colonialism.

Though primarily a visual experience, the museum nonetheless depends on a number of invisible tasks. V.A. Lépinay’s book uses the Hermitage Museum as a field of investigation and reveals the scientific work done on the collections, their composition and their presentation to the public

In order to understand the aesthetic experience, do we need to use the natural sciences as our model? Based on protocols and tests, experimental philosophy seeks to fill a gap between conceptualisation and empirical data. These methods are now entering the field of aesthetics.

In this new biography of Susan Sontag, Benjamin Moser draws on hundreds of interviews and on the writer’s restricted archives to offer a fascinating portrait of a woman driven to extremities both personal and intellectual.

Being the capital of the arts in western Europe in the 18^th century, Rome was also an important centre for art dealing. An innovative, interdisciplinary approach allows to investigate different aspects of this particular art market in the age of the Grand Tour.

Our interest in celebrities is a major structuring element of contemporary societies. According to Sharon Marcus “stars” appeared in the 19^th century in theatre, and the case of Sarah Bernhardt allows us to characterise the type of interaction that arises between the media, publics and celebrities.

Photography, both an art form and a tool for documentation, can bear witness to the history of a city. “Classical Edinburgh” celebrates Edinburgh’s neo-classical architecture as seen through the lens of photographers Edwin Smith and Colin McLean, and invites reflection on the conservation of architectural heritage.

What effects do works of art have on consciousness and society? Ecological art asks this question in a new and urgent way, by calling upon us to befriend endangered nature.

Artists make a name for themselves thanks to their works. But what name? During the Renaissance, artists are usually designated by their first name or by a patronym. But to become famous, painters have often endeavoured to invent the names with which they wanted to achieve fame.

Mountaineering combines surpassing oneself, taking things to excess, and achieving practical wisdom. The philosopher P.-H. Frangne explains that this activity is an important exercise in the decentering of the self, which allows for the perception of the incomparably sublime landscapes provided by mountain peaks.

How can architectural styles reflect political shifts? Scotch Baronial analyses many of Scotland’s most important buildings through the lens of political history, presenting architecture as the consequence or invigorator of mainstream history.

Flames, disbelief, dread. A cathedral burns and tears flow. But why does our architectural heritage and its disappearance move us so greatly? The sociologist Nathalie Heinich offers some answers.

The Grand Tour was a journey on the European continent undertaken by 17^th and 18^th-century British aristocrats to perfect their education. This book reveals the importance, within this trip, of a city until now overlooked by scholarship: Turin, a political and cultural crossroad.

‘Let’s be creative!’ Andreas Reckwitz traces the genealogy of this word, joyfully exploring its successive historic circumvolutions. A stimulating work that has not relinquished a certain philosophy of history.

Music naturally conveys emotion but, over the course of the 20^th century, it has also become a tool of manipulation and perhaps even a weapon of control. Juliette Volcler describes this process in her book devoted to the career and research of little-known sound engineer Harold Burris-Meyer.

A new exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh explores the changes undergone in Scotland in the fields of science, technology and literature over a century (1760-1860). It also offers a nuanced narrative of Scotland’s role in the British Empire.

What if the expression “visual culture” were to be taken literally? By retracing two centuries of optical inventions and reflections on the eye as a machine, this richly illustrated anthology shows how Western moderns learned to see.

Luc Boltanski and Arnaud Esquerre invite us to rethink the social mechanisms that produce value and underline the important role collections play in the dynamics of inequalities characterising contemporary societies. By questioning the forms and stakes of commodification and price making in today’s society, they show that inserting goods in a collection increases their value.