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Genuine fakes : how phony things teach us about real stuff / Lydia Pyne.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Bloomsbury sigma series ; bk. 47.Publisher: London : Bloomsbury Sigma, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Description: 304 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781472961839
  • 1472961838
  • 9781472961822
  • 147296182X
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: Warhols without Warhol -- The solemn mockery -- The truth about lying stones -- Carbon copy -- A fake of a different flavour -- Taking a look through Walrus Cam -- The great blue whale -- And now it's the real deal -- The art of making the palaeolithic come to life -- Conclusion: As seen in the British Museum.
Summary: The world is full of genuine fakes--the objects that fall into the space between things that are real and those that are not. Whether or not we think things are authentic is a matter of perspective. From stories of audacious forgeries to feats of technological innovation, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes--art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas--depends on their unique combination of history, science and culture.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 364.1635 P997 Available 33111009561016
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Why do audiences feel outraged when they find out that scenes from their beloved blockbuster documentaries are staged? Can people move past assuming that a diamond grown in a lab is a fake? What happens when a forged painting or manuscript becomes more valuable than its original?This is a book about genuine fakes - the curious and complex objects that provoke these very sorts of questions. Genuine fakes fall into the space between things that are real and things that are not; whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes - full of things that defy simple categorisation.From stories of audacious forgeries to feats of technological innovation, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes depends on their unique combinations of history, science and culture. The stories of art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavours, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Palaeolithic replicas show that genuine fakes are both complicated and change over time.Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits and science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories. Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things they encounter in their daily lives, and why they invoke the reactions - surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance - that they do.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-293) and index.

Introduction: Warhols without Warhol -- The solemn mockery -- The truth about lying stones -- Carbon copy -- A fake of a different flavour -- Taking a look through Walrus Cam -- The great blue whale -- And now it's the real deal -- The art of making the palaeolithic come to life -- Conclusion: As seen in the British Museum.

The world is full of genuine fakes--the objects that fall into the space between things that are real and those that are not. Whether or not we think things are authentic is a matter of perspective. From stories of audacious forgeries to feats of technological innovation, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes--art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas--depends on their unique combination of history, science and culture.

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