Marks of Civilization: Artistic Transformations of the Human Body [Paperback]

Arnold Rubin (Editor), Los Angeles Museum of Cultural History University of California (Corporate Author), Robert S. Bianchi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1988

Body piercing, scarification, tattooing - for thousands of years decorative alteration of the human body has been invested with profound cultural and social meaning. This collection of essays, photographs and drawings focuses on the many and diverse ways that human beings have permanently decorated their bodies. The book grew out of a symposium entitled "Art of the Body" held at the University of California, Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Contributors encompass the fields of anthropology, sociology, art history, archaeology and folklore. The geographical and historical perspectives are from Europe and Euro-America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Basin (Asia, Oceania, and Native America). The book's text and photographs acknowledge body art as a meaningful part of human behaviour. What dominates throughout is the recognition of artistic potency, mysterious or commonplace, that is a part of marking the body.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Arnold Rubin (1937-1988) specialized in the arts of sub-Saharan Africa and was Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Design, and Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr (December 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930741129
• ISBN-13: 978-0930741129
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a thoroughly academic look at body decoration, March 1, 2006

By 

Corinna Guenther (Encinitas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marks of Civilization: Artistic Transformations of the Human Body (Hardcover)

This is a phenomenal book,one of the first of its kind. A collection of essays on body decoration and alteration that is cross-cultural and interdisciplinary, covering tattoo, scarification, painting, etc. I wrote my Master's thesis on tattoo histories and trajectories, and relied on these essays for secondary sources, pictures and illustrations, and for inspiration.