Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science

Essays examine nine intriguing objects made eloquent when matter and meaning converge.

Library Journal

Nine authors from several U.S. and European universities, including editor Daston (coauthor, Wonders and the Order of Nature), here work with the concept of approaching objects with hermeneutical awareness. Writing about such disparate but equally rich and intriguing subjects as Harvard's glass flower collection, the newspaper-clipping rage of the early 20th century, the presence and critical reception of the freestanding column in post-Gothic church architecture, and the ever-changing uses made of the landscape of an island in the Lowlands' Havel River, the authors offer inspiring and accessible ideas about humanity's ability to communicate through a vast array of productions other than speech and sign. How these productions are open to interpretation that differs with successive generations is also addressed by essayists Antoine Picon, Joel Snyder, Caroline A. Jones, and others, many of whom include artwork and graphics to illustrate salient points. This collection is a feast for students of art, modern Western history, and philosophy. Recommended for academic and university libraries that serve those audiences.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Lorraine Daston is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany. She is the coauthor of Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750 and the editor of Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science (both Zone Books).