Levi-Strauss, Anthropology, and Aesthetics

264 Pages·2007·1.36 MB·English

by  Boris Wiseman

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LEVI-STRAUSS, ANTHROPOLOGY
AND AESTHETICS
In a wide-ranging and original study of Claude Le´vi-Strauss’s aes-
thetic thought, Boris Wiseman demonstrates not only its centrality
within his oeuvre but also the importance of Le´vi-Strauss for con-
temporary aesthetic enquiry. Reconstructing the internal logic of
Le´vi-Strauss’sthinkingonaesthetics,andshowinghowanthropolog-
icalandaestheticideasintertwineatthemostelementallevelsinthe
elaboration of his system of thought, Wiseman demonstrates that
Le´vi-Strauss’saesthetictheoryformsanintegralpartofhisapproach
to Amerindian masks, body decoration and mythology. He reveals
the significance of Le´vi-Strauss’s anthropological analysis of an
‘untamed’ mode of thinking (pens´ee sauvage) at work in totemism,
classificationandmythmakingforhisconceptionofartandaesthetic
experience.In this way, structuralanthropology isshownto lead to
ethno-aesthetics. L´evi-Strauss, Anthropology and Aesthetics adopts a
broad-ranging approach that combines the different perspectives of
anthropology,philosophy,aesthetictheoryandliterarycriticisminto
anunusualandimaginativewhole.
BORIS WISEMAN is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of
Durham.HispreviouspublicationsincludeIntroducingClaudeL´evi-
Strauss and Structural Anthropology (second edition, Icon Books,
2000) and he is currently editing The Cambridge Companion to
L´evi-Strauss(forthcoming,2008).
85
IDEAS IN CONTEXT
Le´vi-Strauss, Anthropology and Aesthetics
IDEAS IN CONTEXT
EditedbyQuentinSkinnerandJamesTully
Thebooksinthisserieswilldiscusstheemergenceofintellectualtraditionsandof
related new disciplines. The procedures, aims and vocabularies that were gener-
atedwillbesetinthecontextofthealternativesavailablewithinthecontemporary
frameworksofideasandinstitutions.Throughdetailedstudiesoftheevolutionof
suchtraditions,andtheirmodification bydifferent audiences,itishopedthata
newpicturewillformofthedevelopmentofideasintheirconcretecontexts.By
thismeans,artificialdistinctionsbetweenthehistoryofphilosophy,ofthevarious
sciences,ofsocietyandpolitics,andofliteraturemaybeseentodissolve.
TheseriesispublishedwiththesupportoftheExxonFoundation.
Alistofbooksintheserieswillbefoundattheendofthevolume.

´
LEVI-STRAUSS,
ANTHROPOLOGY
AND AESTHETICS
BORIS WISEMAN
UniversityofDurham
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Firstpublished2007
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ISBN978-0-521-87529-5hardback
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To my father and mother
In memory of John Taylor

Contents
Listofillustrations pagex
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction:ethno-aesthetics 1
1 Thereconciliation 33
2 Artandthelogicofsensiblequalities 58
3 Theworkofartasasystemofsigns 80
4 Structuralism,Symbolistpoeticsandabstractart 100
5 Theanthropologistasartcritic 119
6 Nature,culture,chance 135
7 Frommythtomusic 167
8 Le´vi-Strauss’smytho-poem 196
Conclusion:betweenconceptandmetaphor 217
References 230
Index 241
ix
Illustrations
1 Totemicoperator page84
2 Caduveowoman 137
3 ‘Bearsmeeting’,aTsimshiandesign 139
4 Caduveodesign 141
5 Periodicity 212
IllustrationsreproducedbypermissionofClaudeLe´vi-Strauss
x