Images in the Making: Art, Process, Archaeology

This innovative collection examines how an appreciation of the practices involved in making images can alter archaeological accounts of societies. Featuring case studies ranging from prehistoric Britain and Scandinavia to Iberia, the Americas and Dynastic Egypt, it makes a novel contribution to current debates over archaeological art and images. At the core of the book is a new materialist analysis that focuses on the material character of images and their making and unfolding. This approach interprets images as processes or events - conditions of possibility that draw together different aspects of the world. The book is divided into three sections: 'Emergent images' looks at practices of making; 'Images as process' considers the making and role of images in prehistoric societies; and 'Unfolding images' examines how images change as they are made and circulated. The contributors, including archaeologists, Egyptologists, anthropologists and artists, highlight the multiple roles of images in both prehistoric and historic societies, demonstrating that archaeologists need to recognise the dynamic and changeable character of images. Images in the making will appeal to students and scholars with an interest in the archaeology of art and images, art history, media studies and the anthropology of art.