The Politics of Iconoclasm

The Politics of Iconoclasm
Author: James Noyes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2013-09-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0857734318

From false idols and graven images to the tombs of kings and the shrines of capitalism, the targeted destruction of cities, sacred sites and artefacts for religious, political or nationalistic reasons is central to our cultural legacy. This book examines the different traditions of image-breaking in Christianity and Islam as well as their development into nominally secular movements and paints a vivid, scholarly picture of a culture of destruction encompassing Protestantism, Wahhabism, and Nationalism. Beginning with a comparative account of Calvinist Geneva and Wahhabi Mecca, The Politics of Iconoclasm explores the religious and political agendas behind acts of image-breaking and their relation to nationhood and state-building. From sixteenth-century Geneva to urban developments in Mecca today, The Politics of Iconoclasm explores the history of image-breaking, the culture of violence and its paradoxical roots in the desire for renewal. Examining these dynamics of nationhood, technology, destruction and memory, a historical journey is described in which the temple is razed and replaced by the machine.

Iconoclasm, Identity Politics and the Erasure of History

Iconoclasm, Identity Politics and the Erasure of History
Author: Alexander Adams
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2020-12-22
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1788360508

Iconoclasm, Identity Politics and the Erasure of History surveys the origins, uses and manifestations of iconoclasm in history, art and public culture. It examines the various causes and uses of image/property defacement as a tool of political, national, religious and artistic process. This is one of the first books to examine the outbreak of iconoclasm in Europe and North America in the summer of 2020 in the context of previous outbreaks, and it examines the implications of iconoclasm as a form of control, censorship and expression.

Literary Circles in Byzantine Iconoclasm

Literary Circles in Byzantine Iconoclasm
Author: Óscar Prieto Domínguez
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 557
Release: 2021-02-04
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1108491308

Explores the literary texts produced during Byzantine Iconoclasm and their use as ideological tools by the main political circles.

Imagining the Byzantine Past

Imagining the Byzantine Past
Author: Elena N. Boeck
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-07-09
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1107085810

The first comparative, cross-cultural study of medieval illustrated histories that engages in a direct, confrontational dialogue with Byzantine historical memory.

Sabotage Art

Sabotage Art
Author: Sophie Halart
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2016-03-31
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0857727087

Sabotage is the deliberate disruption of a dominant system, be it political, military or economic. Yet in recent decades, sabotage has also become an artistic strategy most notably in Latin America. In Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Argentina, artists are producing radical, unruly or even iconoclastic work that resists state violence, social conformity and the commodification of art. Sabotage Art reveals how contemporary Latin American artists have resorted to sabotage strategies as a means to bridge the gap between aesthetics and politics. The global status of and market for Latin American art is growing rapidly. This book is essential reading for those who want to understand this new, dissident work, as well as its mystification, co-option and commercialisation within current academic historiographies and art-world curatorial initiatives."

The Iconoclast

The Iconoclast
Author: Tobias Harris
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2020-09-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1787385132

Shinzo Abe entered politics burdened by high expectations: that he would change Japan. In 2007, seemingly overwhelmed, he resigned after only a year as prime minister. Yet, following five years of reinvention, he masterfully regained the premiership in 2012, and now dominates Japanese democracy as no leader has done before. Abe has inspired fierce loyalty among his followers, cowing Japan's left with his ambitious economic program and support for the security and armed forces. He has staked a leadership role for Japan in a region being rapidly transformed by the rise of China and India, while carefully preserving an ironclad relationship with Trump's America. The Iconoclast tells the story of Abe's meteoric rise and stunning fall, his remarkable comeback, and his unlikely emergence as a global statesman laying the groundwork for Japan's survival in a turbulent century.

Tolstoy's Political Thought

Tolstoy's Political Thought
Author: Alexandre Christoyannopoulos
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2019-08-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000650987

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), besides writing famous novels such as War and Peace, also wrote on political issues, especially later in his life, putting forward a political philosophy which might be termed 'Christian anarchism'. This book provides a comprehensive overview of Tolstoy’s political thought. It outlines in a systematic way Tolstoy’s thought, which was originally articulated unsystematically in diverse, often informal writing, such as pamphlets, letters, and speeches, as well as books, and in his novels, where Tolstoy’s thinking is put forward implicitly through the novels’ characters. The book sets out the basic themes of Tolstoy’s political thought: his acceptance of the teachings of Jesus, his criticism of the way in which Jesus’ teachings have been relayed by the church through traditional creeds and dogma, his passionate rejection of political violence by both the state and those working for reform, his plea for a nonviolent response to violence and injustice, and his call for society to forego its institutional shackles and enact a community of peace, love, and justice. The book also includes background information on the Russia of Tolstoy’s time, including the religious context, and a discussion of how Tolstoy’s political thought has been received by his admirers, who included Gandhi, and his critics.

The Wake of Iconoclasm

The Wake of Iconoclasm
Author: Angela Vanhaelen
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2012
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0271050616

"Explores the relationship between art and religion after the iconoclasm of the Dutch Reformation. Reassesses Dutch realism and its pictorial strategies in relation to the religious and political diversity of the Dutch cities"--Provided by publisher.

Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm
Author: David Freedberg
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Art
ISBN: 022644550X

With new surges of activity from religious, political, and military extremists, the destruction of images has become increasingly relevant on a global scale. A founder of the study of early modern and contemporary iconoclasm, David Freedberg has addressed this topic for five decades. His work has brought this subject to a central place in art history, critical to the understanding not only of art but of all images in society. This volume collects the most significant of Freedberg’s texts on iconoclasm and censorship, bringing five key works back into print alongside new assessments of contemporary iconoclasm in places ranging from the Near and Middle East to the United States, as well as a fresh survey of the entire subject. The writings in this compact volume explore the dynamics and history of iconoclasm, from the furious battles over images in the Reformation to government repression in modern South Africa, the American culture wars of the early 1990s, and today’s cancel culture. Freedberg combines fresh thinking with deep expertise to address the renewed significance of iconoclasm, its ideologies, and its impact. This volume also provides a supplement to Freedberg’s essay on idolatry and iconoclasm from his pathbreaking book, The Power of Images. Freedberg’s writings are of foundational importance to this discussion, and this volume will be a welcome resource for historians, museum professionals, international law specialists, preservationists, and students.

The Forbidden Image

The Forbidden Image
Author: Alain Besançon
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2000
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0226044130

This book discusses the privileging and prohibition of religious images over two and a half millennia in the West.