Peter France and William St Clair (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263181
- eISBN:
- 9780191734595
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263181.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
Why biography? This collection of chapters on the problems and functions of biography, and particularly the biography of writers, thinkers, and artists, investigates a subject of enduring importance ...
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Why biography? This collection of chapters on the problems and functions of biography, and particularly the biography of writers, thinkers, and artists, investigates a subject of enduring importance for those interested in culture and society. In the last century, it has been a controversial subject, as old models of biographical writing were attacked and superseded, while critics and theorists questioned the once self-evident value of the biography of writers. Yet the genre continues to attract notable authors and is unfailingly popular with readers. The present volume, while containing chapters by practising biographers, is intended primarily as a stimulus to critical thinking. It focuses on the diverse functions assumed by life-writing in different European countries at different periods, challenging both the notion of a genre with constant characteristics and aims and the view of modern biography as the happy culmination of centuries of progress.Less
Why biography? This collection of chapters on the problems and functions of biography, and particularly the biography of writers, thinkers, and artists, investigates a subject of enduring importance for those interested in culture and society. In the last century, it has been a controversial subject, as old models of biographical writing were attacked and superseded, while critics and theorists questioned the once self-evident value of the biography of writers. Yet the genre continues to attract notable authors and is unfailingly popular with readers. The present volume, while containing chapters by practising biographers, is intended primarily as a stimulus to critical thinking. It focuses on the diverse functions assumed by life-writing in different European countries at different periods, challenging both the notion of a genre with constant characteristics and aims and the view of modern biography as the happy culmination of centuries of progress.
Steven Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748640171
- eISBN:
- 9780748670901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748640171.003.0002
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Presenting a survey of the genre of the artist biopic, this chapter investigates which specific artists and art historical eras proved attractive to filmmakers. Favouring the sixteenth and ...
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Presenting a survey of the genre of the artist biopic, this chapter investigates which specific artists and art historical eras proved attractive to filmmakers. Favouring the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the one hand and the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the other, artist biopics heavily depend on the Renaissance notion of the artist as an exceptional individual and the Romantic idea of the artist as a misunderstood genius, who not only rejects artistic conventions but also leads a life determined by poverty, alcohol, pangs of love, venereal diseases, fits of insanity, self-mutilation, crime and suicide. Cinema unmistakably endorses the stereotypical artist's personality, which is the subject of many myths and anecdotes. Reminiscent of the strategies used in the art documentaries discussed in the first chapter, artist biopics mobilize or animate static paintings and sculptures. As a result, artist biopics favour but often also struggle with scenes involving the act of artistic creation. Specifically, this chapter also examines two films, both hovering between documentary and fiction, which focus on the act of creation of a specific painting: Hazan's A Bigger Splash and Erice's Dream of Light (The Quince Tree Sun), featuring David Hockney and Antonio Lopez Garcia respectively.Less
Presenting a survey of the genre of the artist biopic, this chapter investigates which specific artists and art historical eras proved attractive to filmmakers. Favouring the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the one hand and the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the other, artist biopics heavily depend on the Renaissance notion of the artist as an exceptional individual and the Romantic idea of the artist as a misunderstood genius, who not only rejects artistic conventions but also leads a life determined by poverty, alcohol, pangs of love, venereal diseases, fits of insanity, self-mutilation, crime and suicide. Cinema unmistakably endorses the stereotypical artist's personality, which is the subject of many myths and anecdotes. Reminiscent of the strategies used in the art documentaries discussed in the first chapter, artist biopics mobilize or animate static paintings and sculptures. As a result, artist biopics favour but often also struggle with scenes involving the act of artistic creation. Specifically, this chapter also examines two films, both hovering between documentary and fiction, which focus on the act of creation of a specific painting: Hazan's A Bigger Splash and Erice's Dream of Light (The Quince Tree Sun), featuring David Hockney and Antonio Lopez Garcia respectively.
Gore Charles
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748633166
- eISBN:
- 9780748652983
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748633166.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, African Studies
This chapter explores the biographies of some artists working in the different art worlds of Benin City, highlighting some of the forms of patronage, the processes of commissioning at urban shrines, ...
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This chapter explores the biographies of some artists working in the different art worlds of Benin City, highlighting some of the forms of patronage, the processes of commissioning at urban shrines, and the possibilities available to artists. It discusses some of the strategies they use in the production of their work. They are selected to indicate a diversity of production and use of strategies, as well as to situate the role of each individual artist and the artefacts they produce in local conditions at these urban cult shrines.Less
This chapter explores the biographies of some artists working in the different art worlds of Benin City, highlighting some of the forms of patronage, the processes of commissioning at urban shrines, and the possibilities available to artists. It discusses some of the strategies they use in the production of their work. They are selected to indicate a diversity of production and use of strategies, as well as to situate the role of each individual artist and the artefacts they produce in local conditions at these urban cult shrines.
