Cross-Cultural Issues in Art: Frames for Understanding

Cross-Cultural Issues in Art provides an engaging introduction to aesthetic concepts, expanding the discussion beyond the usual Western theorists and Western examples. Steven Leuthold discusses both contemporary and historical issues and examples, incorporating a range of detailed case studies from African, Asian, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Native American art. Individual chapters address broad intercultural issues in art, including Art and Culture, Primitivism and Otherness, Colonialism, Nationalism, Art and Religion, Symbolism and Interpretation, Style and Ethnicity, A Sense of Place, Art and Social Order, Gender, and the Self, considering these themes as constructs that frame our understanding of art.Cross-Cultural Issues in Art draws upon ideas and case studies from cultural and critical studies, art history, ethno-aesthetics and area studies, visual anthropology, and philosophy, and will be useful for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in these fields.

About the Author

Steven M. Leuthold, PhD, is a professor of art and design history at Northern Michigan University. He previously taught art and design theory at Syracuse University and, as a doctoral candidate, courses in aesthetic and political communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Leuthold's research concerns global art and design history and comparative aesthetics. His most recent book is Beauty and Power: Global Design, 1840-1914 . Leuthold's first book was Indigenous Aesthetics: Native Art, Media, and Identity ; it was followed by Cross-Cultural Issues in Art: Frames for Understanding . He has published in academic journals such as The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Art Criticism, Ethnohistory, Multicultural Education , and Film Criticism . Leuthold is also a practicing artist and musician. Some of his creative work can be viewed at stevenmleuthold.com.