Description
In this interdisciplinary book, renowned cultural theorist Mieke Bal brings a semiotic lens to curatorial practice, presenting curating and art-making as dynamic sites of meaning-making. Grounded in semiotics, the book delves into how signs and their interactions shape not only art but also the processes of curation, teaching, and engagement with culture.
Examining various case studies, including her own filmmaking alongside research by Michael Ann Holly, curatorial work by Kyoo Lee, sculptures by Doris Salcedo, urban art by migrants and refugees, and classroom interactions, the book conceptualises curating as a participatory practice. Whether in museums, classrooms, or other contexts, it demonstrates how curating can facilitate a shift from traditional, passive forms of viewing art to a more immersive, participatory form of “seeing".
Designed for scholars, curators and students, this book extends Bal's influential work on visual culture into the realm of curatorial practice, demonstrating how these practices can transform both the spaces in which art is presented and the way it is experienced.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
1. Entering the European Semiosphere
2. U-topia: Optimism as an Entrance into the Future
3. Curating as Putting Art to Work, with and for Visitors
4. Some Analyses of Relevant Combinations of Works
5. The Urban Environment from Chaotic and Neglecting to Look at Foreigners, to “Visibilisation” with the Help of Video Art
6. Intermediality beyond Media-Essentialism and Semiotics as its Primary Tool
7. How to Make the Classroom Democratic through the Encounter between Literary and Visual Presentations
8. Cultural Analysis as a Way of Life
Conclusion
References
Glossary
Index
Product details
| Published | 15 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 9781350600805 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 30 bw illus |
| Series | Bloomsbury Advances in Semiotics |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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