To Scale

Scale, or the relative dimension of an object, has long been one of the most crucial elements in the creation, circulation, and reception of art. Often mistaken as size, scale is the impetus behind the profoundly visceral ways in which we perceive and interpret works of art, calling into question the role of the viewer, the restrictions of the medium, and the impact of cultural narratives. This innovative new collection provides a comparative survey of issues of scale in a variety of artistic forms, from Islamic architecture to modern photography. Featuring an international array of case studies, with examples from ancient Egypt, eighteenth century Korea, and contemporary Europe, this volume offers a uniquely global history of artistic scale. Each of the essays interrogates questions of scale as they relate to the perception and creation of specific works of art, illustrating the role that scale plays in determining how and why art matters.

Joan Kee is Associate Professor of History of Art at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The author of Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of Method (2013), she has published articles in an array of journals, including Artforum, Art Bulletin, Oxford Art Journal, Third Text, Art Margins and The Journal of Law, Culture and Humanities.

Emanuele Lugli is Lecturer in History of Art and Architecture at the University of York, UK. With articles published in Art History, Gesta and Word & Image, his first book, Unità di Misura: Breve Storia del Metro in Italia (2014) reconstructs the cultural revolution sparked by the arrival of the metric system in nineteenth–century Italy.