This richly illustrated book explores the large body of sculpture, paintings, and other religious imagery produced for China's common classes from the third to the sixth centuries C.E. In contrast to the works made for imperial patrons, illustrious monastics, or other luminaries, these ordinary images-modest in scale, mass produced, and at times incomplete-were created for those of lesser standing. Because they cannot be related to well-known historical figures or social groups, these images have been considered a largely nebulous, undistinguished mass of works. Situating his study in the gaps between conventional categories such as Buddhism, Daoism, and Chinese popular art, Abe examines works—including some of the earliest known examples of Buddha-like images in China—that were commissioned by patrons of modest standing and produced by nameless artists and artisans. Sophisticated and lucidly written, Ordinary Images offers an unprecedented exploration of the lively and diverse nature of image making and popular practices.

Ordinary Images

Arts & Photography

Abe, Stanley K.

History & Criticism

University of Chicago Press

Treasures Rediscovered focuses on a group of 22 stone devotional objects and architectural fragments that collectively represent major developments in Chinese religion and mortuary culture, from the Han (206 BCE–220 CE) through the Tang dynasty (618–907). The major emphasis is on works from the sixth century, a period of great intellectual ferment and artistic transformation, above all in the Buddhist arts.The sculptures included range from a small personal votive icon to large temple carvings. The majority are Buddhist icons in various formats, objects of devotion that were installed in temples and cave chapels.

Treasures Rediscovered: Chinese Stone Sculpture from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University

Juliano, Annette L.

Swergold, Leopold

Wong, Dorothy C.

Pearlstein, Elinor

Liu, Cary Y.

Rowan, Diana P.

Hsu, Eileen Hsiang-ling

Adamek, Wendi Leigh

The Wallach Art Gallery

Exploring cross-cultural scenarios in 20th-century art, this book introduces fresh perspectives on abstraction as a visual signifier of modernity by revealing the multiple directions that abstract art has taken in different international contexts. This groundbreaking collection shows how the heterogeneous qualities of abstraction have been cross-fertilised, from abstract expressionism onwards, by the creative discrepancies that arise when different cultural identities come face to face in the artistic imagination. Discrepant Abstraction is the second volume in the Annotating Art's Histories series. Contributors: Stanley Abe; David Clarke; Mark Cheetham; David Craven; Wilson Harris; Iftikhar Dadi; Kellie Jones; Nathaniel Mackey; Kobena Mercer and Angeline Morrison. Supported by the Getty Foundation.

Discrepant Abstraction. Edited by Kobena Mercer (Annotating Art's Histories)

Clarke, David

Cheetham, Mark

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Books by Abe, Stanley K.