The Domain of Images

Inthedomainofvisualimages,thosefromfineartformatinyminority.Thisbrilliantlyoriginalbookcallsuponarthistorianstolookbeyondtheirtraditionalsubjects--painting,drawing,photography,andprintmaking--tostudythevastarrayof"nonart"images,includingthosefromscience,technology,commerce,medicine,music,andarchaeology.Suchimages,JamesElkinsasserts,canbeasrichandexpressiveasthoseinanycanonicalpainting.Providingscoresofillustrationsasexamples,heproposesaradicallynewwayofthinkingaboutvisualanalysis,onethatreliesonanobject'sowninternalsenseoforganization.Elkinsblendsphilosophicinsightwithhistoricaldetailtoproducestartlingnewmeaningsforsuchbasictermsaspictures,writing,andnotation.