Landscape Theory (the Art Seminar)

Page 1 Landscape Theory Artistic representations of landscape are studied in a half-dozen disciplines (art history, geography, literature, philosophy, politics, sociology), and there is no master narrative or historiographic genealogy to frame interpretations. Geographers are interested in political formations (and geography, as a discipline, is increasingly non-visual). Art historians have written extensively on landscape, but there have not been any recent synthetic attempts or theoretical overviews. At the same time, painters and other artists often feel they “possess” the landscape of the region in which they live; that ownership takes place at a non-verbal level, and seems incommensurate with the discourses of art history or geography. Landscape Theory, volume 6 in The Art Seminar series, is the first book to bring together different disciplines and practices, in order to undertand how best to conceptualize landscape in art. The volume includes an introduction by Rachael Ziady DeLue and two final, synoptic essays, as well as contributions from some of the most prominent thinkers on landscape and art including Yvonne Scott, Minna Törmä, Denis Cosgrove, Rebecca Solnit, Anne Whiston Spirn, David Hays, Michael Gaudio, Jacob Wamberg, Michael Newman, and Jessica Dubow. Rachael Ziady DeLue is Assistant Professor of Art History at Princeton University. She is author of George Inness and the Science of Landscape (University of Chicago Press, 2004). James Elkins is E.C. Chadbourne Chair in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is general series editor of “The Art Seminar.”His many books include Pictures and Tears, How to Use Your Eyes, What Painting Is, and most recently, The Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art and Master Narratives and Their Discontents, all published by Routledge. 11:20:01:11:07 Page 1 Page 2 The Art Seminar Volume 1 Art History Versus Aesthetics Volume 2 Photography Theory Volume 3 Is Art History Global? Volume 4 The State of Art Criticism Volume 5 The Renaissance Volume 6 Landscape Theory Volume 7 Re-Enchantment Sponsored by the University College Cork, Ireland; the Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Ireland; and the School of the Art Institute, Chicago. 11:20:01:11:07 Page 2 Page 3 Landscape Theory EDITED BY R A C H A E L Z I A D Y D e L U E J A M E S E L K I N S 11:20:01:11:07 Page 3 and Page 4 First published 2008 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2008 Taylor and Francis Group All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are use