Plastics - (Art/Work) by Anne Gunnison & David Joselit (Paperback)
$35.00 when purchased online
Target Online store #3991
About this item
Highlights
- Why modern and contemporary art--and art conservation--can't be understood without taking account of the revolutionary impact of plastics Modern and contemporary art wouldn't exist without the invention of plastics.
- About the Author: Anne Gunnison is the Alan J. Dworsky Senior Associate Conservator of Objects at the Yale University Art Gallery.
- 160 Pages
- Art, Conservation & Preservation
- Series Name: Art/Work
Description
Book Synopsis
Why modern and contemporary art--and art conservation--can't be understood without taking account of the revolutionary impact of plastics
Modern and contemporary art wouldn't exist without the invention of plastics. From sculpture to paint, and photography to film, plastics have shaped every major medium of art. In turn, plastics have revolutionized art conservation, transforming the possibilities of preservation but also producing new challenges for conservators struggling to preserve toxic and degrading material. Hailed as utopian in the twentieth century, plastics today are often understood as pollution and waste--a central cause of ecological crisis. Plastics is the first book to address the multifaceted history of plastics from the perspective of artists, art historians, conservators, and environmental scientists. Plastics demonstrates that this material cannot easily be summarized as toxic or utopian, catastrophic or necessary. Instead, plastics define the modern world in both its possibility and failures. The book also reveals how artists have been a critical overlooked voice in debates about plastics, and how they have offered theories of the material through works that explore its potential and harmfulness. Presenting a variety of perspectives on the world of plastics through the lens of art, artmaking, art history, and art conservation, Plastics shows why and how coming to terms with this material is critical to understanding not only modern and contemporary art and art conservation but also the crises of the twenty-first century.About the Author
Anne Gunnison is the Alan J. Dworsky Senior Associate Conservator of Objects at the Yale University Art Gallery. David Joselit is the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University and the author of, among other books, Art's Properties and After Art (both Princeton).Dimensions (Overall): 9.0 Inches (H) x 7.0 Inches (W)
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 160
Genre: Art
Sub-Genre: Conservation & Preservation
Series Title: Art/Work
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Format: Paperback
Author: Anne Gunnison & David Joselit
Language: English
Street Date: November 11, 2025
TCIN: 1002064647
UPC: 9780691238821
Item Number (DPCI): 247-23-6277
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 1 inches length x 7 inches width x 9 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO
Return details
This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.
This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, shipped, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or made ready for pickup.
See the return policy for complete information.