Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art

Studies of rock art normally depart from a classification of type, style and what the motifs represents or depicts. South Scandinavian rock art, however, is often vague, incomplete and fragmentary. In this chapter, it is argued that certain rock art motifs, mainly boats and anthropomorphs, were deli...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fahlander, Fredrik
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Manchester University Press 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/42649
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1869518862029946880
author Fahlander, Fredrik
author_browse Fahlander, Fredrik
author_facet Fahlander, Fredrik
author_sort Fahlander, Fredrik
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Studies of rock art normally depart from a classification of type, style and what the motifs represents or depicts. South Scandinavian rock art, however, is often vague, incomplete and fragmentary. In this chapter, it is argued that certain rock art motifs, mainly boats and anthropomorphs, were deliberately made incomplete as a part of a vitalist technology with the aim of affecting the world. An important aspect of such visual vagueness, intentional or not, is that it can function as a punctum in Roland Barthes’s terminology and evoke affect among beholders. The incomplete motifs also stress the making of rock art as a continuous process in which details can be added over time to enhance certain aspects or radically alter the motif. The chapter is illustrated with examples of Bronze Age rock art of the Mälaren district in central-eastern Sweden.
format Online
id doab-20.500.12854ir-34204
institution Directory of Open Access Books
language eng
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher Manchester University Press
publisherStr Manchester University Press
record_format ojs
spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-342042025-01-24T05:57:35Z Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art Fahlander, Fredrik Bronze age rock art anthropomorphs vitalist technology Boglösa Sweden thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3B Prehistory thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AB The arts: general topics::ABA Theory of art thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History Studies of rock art normally depart from a classification of type, style and what the motifs represents or depicts. South Scandinavian rock art, however, is often vague, incomplete and fragmentary. In this chapter, it is argued that certain rock art motifs, mainly boats and anthropomorphs, were deliberately made incomplete as a part of a vitalist technology with the aim of affecting the world. An important aspect of such visual vagueness, intentional or not, is that it can function as a punctum in Roland Barthes’s terminology and evoke affect among beholders. The incomplete motifs also stress the making of rock art as a continuous process in which details can be added over time to enhance certain aspects or radically alter the motif. The chapter is illustrated with examples of Bronze Age rock art of the Mälaren district in central-eastern Sweden. 2021-02-10T14:15:03Z 2021-02-10T14:15:03Z 2020-10-20T10:55:01Z 2020 chapter https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/42649 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/34204 eng Social Archaeology and Material Worlds open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42649/1/9781526142856_ch12.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42649/1/9781526142856_ch12.pdf Manchester University Press bcb4ab08-c525-4e6c-88e5-a0cf0a175533 Images in the making Stockholms Universitet b86489d9-6e9f-40f3-ab85-3d7c0f7896fa 14 Manchester open access
spellingShingle Bronze age
rock art
anthropomorphs
vitalist technology
Boglösa Sweden
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3B Prehistory
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AB The arts: general topics::ABA Theory of art
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
Fahlander, Fredrik
Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title_full Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title_fullStr Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title_full_unstemmed Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title_short Chapter 12 The partial and the vague as a visual mode in Bronze Age rock art
title_sort chapter 12 the partial and the vague as a visual mode in bronze age rock art
topic Bronze age
rock art
anthropomorphs
vitalist technology
Boglösa Sweden
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3B Prehistory
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AB The arts: general topics::ABA Theory of art
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
topic_facet Bronze age
rock art
anthropomorphs
vitalist technology
Boglösa Sweden
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3B Prehistory
thema EDItEUR::A The Arts::AB The arts: general topics::ABA Theory of art
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/42649
work_keys_str_mv AT fahlanderfredrik chapter12thepartialandthevagueasavisualmodeinbronzeagerockart