Ravaged
Subtitle: art and culture in times of conflict
By: edited by Jo Tollebeek and Eline van Assche
Contributors: M (Museum : Louvain, Belgium)
Publisher: Mercatorfonds
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 303
ISBN-13: 9780300204476
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Buildings; War damage; Cultural property; Exhibitions; Art treasures in war; War in art; Art and war
Description: The year 2014 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and the beginning of the conflict that would become known as World War I. In addition to the devastating loss of human life, the Great War was also responsible for the destruction of historic buildings and monuments, the theft of precious artworks, and the burning of untold numbers of books. Ravaged uses this anniversary as a poignant gateway to a greater discussion of the effect of war on artistic heritage. Beginning with the Trojan War and weaving a compelling cross-cultural narrative that ends in the 21st-century Middle East, this affecting publication explores how cultural treasures often became silent victims of armed conflict. Illustrations highlight over two hundred artworks and relics, which are often featured alongside complementary written reflections from contemporary artists. This thoughtful book is a graceful homage to centuries of lost artistic treasures.
Notes: Catalog of the eponymous exhibition held at the M - Museum Leuven, 20 March-1 September 2014.
Table of contents: title: An allegory. 'Mars and Minerva have never been the best of friends' / Koenraad Brosens ; New mythologies on the eve of the revolution / Goedele Pulinx; title: Echoes of devastated cities. The smoke of Troy / Maarten de Pourcq ; The library of Alexandrea / Monica Berti ; Rome 1527 / Wim Blockmans ; Beirut : 'if time is my problem' / Ghalya Saadawi; title: The shock of the Great War. The burning of Leuven / Mark Derez ; Reims : the bombarded Cathedral / Mark Derez ; 'Kultur', 'Zivilisation' / Christina Kott ; Literary voices on war and culture / Anke Gilleir; title: The visible sign : the ruin. War tourism with and without rubble / Dominiek Dendooven ; The sublime ruin of the city / Steven Jacobs ; Dresden's contradictory modernities / Mark Jarzombek ; Imaging Hiroshima / Yukie Kamiya; title: Iconoclastic traditions. A desire for purity? / Eline van Assche ; The revolt of futurism / Johan de Smet ; Book-burning / Tom Verschaffel ; Goodby Hero! / Marjan Sterckx; title: Emperors and art thieves. The Roman triumph : parading the plunder / Margaret M. Miles ; The invention of the universal museum / Dominique Poulot ; Hitler's 'Füher Museum' / Birgit Schwarz ; The Jewish restitution issue / Bert Demarsin; title: A broader horizon. The conquistadores and Meso-America's pre-Columbian patrimony / César Manrique Figueroa ; The identity of a colonial treasury / Debora Silverman ; China's Cultural Revolution / Rebecca Knuth ; From Abkhazia to Bamiyan : hitting where it hurts / Eva Brems and Yaiza Janssens; title: Stages in the history of monument preservation. Vandalism and conservation in the French Revolution / Wessel Krul ; Nineteenth-century restoration mania / Linda van Santvoort ; Heritage policy during the First World War / Marnix Beyen ; The Haguie Convention, 1954 / Sigrid van der Auwera and Koenraad van Balen; title: Modern propaganda. Death and ruins, but not La fin de la grande guerre / Annette Becker ; The accelerated circulation of images / Peter Weibel; title: List of exhibited works.