RDS Library & Archives

Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

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

By: Publisher: London : Bloomsbury Sigma, 2019Description: 304 p. , 8 unnumbered pages of plates : ill. ; 23 cmISBN:
  • 9781472961822 : (hbk.)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 509.01
Contents:
Introduction: Warhols Without Warhol -- This 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: Is the distinction between “real” and “fake” as clear-cut as we think? Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Should we be outraged that some of those famous scenes in Blue Planet were filmed in a lab? Who are the scientists putting ever-more improbable flavors in our Jelly Belly beans? Welcome to the world of “genuine fakes”--the curious objects that fall in between things that are real and things that are not. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes that defy simple categorization. Whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective. In Genuine Fakes, 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 flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas shows that genuine fakes are complicated and change over time. Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits, science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories. 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? Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things that they encounter in their daily lives and why they invoke the reactions--surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance--that they do. -- Publisher
List(s) this item appears in: New acquisitions 2019 | Acquisitions 2019-2020
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Loanable Book Library General Collection 509.01 PYN (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 000438356

Introduction: Warhols Without Warhol -- This 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

Is the distinction between “real” and “fake” as clear-cut as we think?

Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Should we be outraged that some of those famous scenes in Blue Planet were filmed in a lab? Who are the scientists putting ever-more improbable flavors in our Jelly Belly beans? Welcome to the world of “genuine fakes”--the curious objects that fall in between things that are real and things that are not. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes that defy simple categorization. Whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective.

In Genuine Fakes, 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 flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Paleolithic replicas shows that genuine fakes are complicated and change over time. Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits, science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories.

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? Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things that they encounter in their daily lives and why they invoke the reactions--surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance--that they do. -- Publisher

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.

Powered by Koha