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Das Material der Kunst. Eine andere Geschichte der Moderne.

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This excellently written book by the renowned art history professor Monika Wagner is a true revelation: Unluckily, it still hasn't been published in English but should be on every art student's obligatory reading list. Whether a scholar or teacher of African sculpture, contemporary Italian design or Japanese architecture; you will learn how to investigate the actual material (Werkstoff) of an object. You will begin to understand that a certain use of a specific material can be saturated with historical or polital meaning, you will realise how it influences, moreover, coins our perception and interpretation of it. This richly compiled book is devided into provocative chapters like "The Memory of Material" or "The Body as Material" and examines multifold examples of art work - ranging from the twentieth century to the present day. My own research and papers have been deeply influenced by this scientific approach which has taught me in an exciting way how to study and understand an object or setting beyond it's traditional figurative or abstract shape, pattern or form.