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The Great Image Has No Form, or On the Nonobject through Painting

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Great Image Has No Form, or On the Nonobject through Painting explores the concept of the "nonobject" in Eastern art philosophy, contrasting it with Western aesthetics. François Jullien delves into how the absence of a fixed form can enrich artistic expression, offering a profound reflection on how art transcends boundaries and definitions. Through examining Chinese painting and philosophy, the book invites readers to reconsider the relationship between form, emptiness, and perception in the realm of art.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by the intersection of Eastern and Western art philosophies. It offers a thought-provoking exploration of how the concept of the 'nonobject' is expressed through painting, challenging conventional ideas of form and existence in art.

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In premodern China, elite painters used imagery not to mirror the world around them, but to evoke unfathomable experience. Considering their art alongside the philosophical traditions that inform it, this book explores the "nonobject" - a notion exemplified by paintings that do not seek to represent observable surroundings.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In premodern China, elite painters used imagery not to mirror the world around them, but to evoke unfathomable experience. Considering their art alongside the philosophical traditions that inform it, The Great Image Has No Form explores the "nonobject"—a notion exemplified by paintings that do not seek to represent observable surroundings.

François Jullien argues that this nonobjectifying approach stems from the painters’ deeply held belief in a continuum of existence, in which art is not distinct from reality. Contrasting this perspective with the Western notion of art as separate from the world it represents, Jullien investigates the theoretical conditions that allow us to apprehend, isolate, and abstract objects.

His comparative method lays bare the assumptions of Chinese and European thought, revitalising the questions of what painting is, where it comes from, and what it does. Provocative and intellectually vigorous, this sweeping inquiry introduces new ways of thinking about the relationship of art to the ideas in which it is rooted.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780226415314

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 November 2012

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Jane Marie Todd
  • Translated by Jane Marie Todd
  • Translated by Jane Marie Todd

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 2.0mm

Width: 16.0mm

Height: 23.0mm

Weight: 425g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Francois Jullien is professor of Chinese philosophy and literature at the University of Paris VII and director of the Institut Marcel Granet. Jane Marie Todd is a full-time translator and copy editor who has translated some forty books in the fields of art criticism, philosophy, history, biography/autobiography, literary criticism, and women's studies.

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