Camouflage Cultures: Beyond the Art of Disappearance

Description

Camouflage has been linked with military and natural history contexts, but growing interest in the connections between areas such as ecology, evolution, visual deception and warfare, has taken the concept of camouflage beyond the politics of appearance, the art of disappearance or simple strategies of mimicry. Approaching this subject from the disciplines of art history and theory, art practice, biology, cultural theory, literature and philosophy, this volume greatly expands the reach of camouflage's cultural terrain. The result is a collection that provides a new perspective on the developing discourse of camouflage and contributes to debates about the roles that physical, artistic and social camouflage play in contemporary life.

Ann Elias is an associate professor of critical studies at Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney. Ross Harley is a professor and Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of New South Wales. Nicholas Tsoutas is Zelda Stedman Lecturer in Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts. He was a director of four major art centres in Australia: Artspace, the Institute of Modern Art, the Performance Space and the Casula Powerhouse.

'Camouflage Cultures is a variously stimulating collection, illustrating aspects of critical theory through the extension of camouflage as metaphor into cross- and interdisciplinary areas of historical and current practice and commentary in the arts and sciences.' -- Mike Leggett * Leonardo *