Problematic Perceptions
The Art of the Book includes many examples of complex relationships between two belief systems: that of a text’s intended audience, which is often bound to time and place in ways unfamiliar to our modern experience, and that of our increasingly globalized value structures. Two particular books, the Liber Chronicarum and De gli habiti antichi et moderni di diverse parti del mondo libri due, express a tension between these two belief systems. These early-modern European texts display limited knowledge of various cultures outside of Europe, and demonstrate a lack of equity among peoples. This manifests itself as primitive and/or exoticized depictions of dress, customs, and cultures. We recognize that what may begin as fantastical illustrations of “outsiders,” no matter how attributable to a “period eye,” paves a road to discrimination, racism, violence, and oppression. By highlighting these objects in their own category, we can begin to imagine a more inclusive future.
Daniel Cappello and Ivy D’Agostino
