Reuse Value: Spolia and Appropriation in Art and Architecture, From Constantine to Sherrie Levine

This book offers a range of views on spolia and appropriation in art and architecture from fourth-century Rome to the late twentieth century. Using case studies from different historical moments and cultures, contributors test the limits of spolia as a critical category and seek to define its specific character in relation to other forms of artistic appropriation. Several authors explore the ethical issues raised by spoliation and their implications for the evaluation and interpretation of new work made with spolia. The contemporary fascination with spolia is part of a larger cultural preoccupation with reuse, recycling, appropriation and re-presentation in the Western world. All of these practices speak to a desire to make use of pre-existing artifacts (objects, images, expressions) for contemporary purposes. Several essays in this volume focus on the distinction between spolia and other forms of reused objects. While some authors prefer to elide such distinctions, others insist that spolia entail some form of taking, often violent, and a diminution of the source from which they are removed. The book opens with an essay by the scholar most responsible for the popularity of spolia studies in the later twentieth century, Arnold Esch, whose seminal article "Spolien" was published in 1969. Subsequent essays treat late Roman antiquity, the eastern Mediterranean and the Western middle ages, medieval and modern attitudes to spolia in southern Asia, the Italian Renaissance, the European Enlightenment, modern America, and contemporary architecture and visual culture. Introduction / Dale Kinney On the reuse of antiquity : the perspectives of the archaeologist and of the historian / Arnold Esch Reading spolia in late antiquity and contemporary perception / Paolo Liverani The use of older elements in the architecture of fourth-and fifth-century Rome : a contribution to the evaluation of spolia / Hugo Brandenburg Spolia : a definition in ruins / Michael Greenhalgh Ancient gems in the Middle Ages : riches and ready-mades / Dale Kinney Appropriation as inscription : making history in the first Friday Mosque of Delhi Finbarr / Barry Flood Renaissance spolia and Renaissance antiquity (one neighborhood, three cases) / Michael Koortbojian Authenticity and alienation / Richard Brilliant The building's body : spolia as supplement, substitution, destruction / Annabel J. Wharton A medieval monument and its modern myths of iconoclasm : the enduring contestations over the Qutb Complex in Delhi / Mrinalini Rajagopalan Spolia in contemporary architecture : searching for ornament and place / Hans-Rudolf Meier Some thoughts about the significance of postmodern appropriation art / Donald Kuspit Epilogue / Richard Brilliant. Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- About the Authors -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 On the Reuse of Antiquity: The Perspectives of the Archaeologist and of the Historian -- 2 Reading Spolia in Late Antiquity and Contemporary Perception -- 3 The Use of Older Elements in the Architecture of Fourth-and Fifth-Century Rome: A Contribution to the Evaluation of Spolia -- 4 Spolia: A Definition in Ruins -- 5 Ancient Gems in the Middle Ages: Riches and Ready-mades -- 6 Appropriation as Inscription: Making History in the First Friday Mosque of Delhi -- 7 Renaissance Spolia and Renaissance Antiquity (One Neighborhood, Three Cases) -- 8 Authenticity and Alienation -- 9 The Tribune Tower: Spolia as Despoliation -- 10 A Medieval Monument and its Modern Myths of Iconoclasm: The Enduring Contestations over the Qutb Complex in Delhi, India -- 11 Spolia in Contemporary Architecture: Searching for Ornament and Place -- 12 Some Thoughts About the Significance of Postmodern Appropriation Art -- Epilogue: Open Sesame: The Art Treasures of the World on Call The common building practice of re-using perfectly good pieces of marble and other fitted and often carved pieces of stone is the subject of this fascinating group of 12 essays by an international group of art and architectural historians. The volume opens with an essay by Arnold Esch (emeritus, Deutsches Historsches Institut, Rome), who was the first to draw attention to the use of spolia as a worthwhile topic of study. Other essay topics include the complex symbolism of reused Hindu temple carvings in the Qutb mosque in Delhi, by Finbarr Barry Flood (New York U.); the current clashes over the religious meaning of the same mosque, by Mrinalini Rajagopalan (U. of Pittsburgh); the reuse of classical gems in the Middle Ages, by Dale Kinney (emeritus, Bryn Mawr College); appropriation as an art form in postmodernism, by Donald Kuspit (emeritus, Stony Brook U.); and a refreshingly frank essay by Michael Greenhalgh (emeritus, Australian National U., Canberra) on the glib tendency of art historians to ascribe meaning to the use of spolia absent supporting evidence