The Artistic Traditions of Non-European Cultures, vol. 11/12
Art of Communication and Communication through Art in Asia and Africa

In this volume we offer a comprehensive exploration of the interdisciplinary nature of research on art and communication, and communication through art. By examining a wide range of artistic expressions, from ancient artefacts to contemporary art, we explore the complex interplay between form, content and context. Research into communication, as well as that on art and cultures, is interdisciplinary by virtue of being undertaken at the intersection of disciplines, and involves input from specialists from very different fields, including from beyond the humanities. Communication through art in a variety of forms, such as religious paintings, political posters or spectacular architecture, can be studied as media presenting ideology, the history of political though, as propaganda, or as a range of other reflections of human activities. Art conservation, so closely related to art history, requires profound knowledge of science, particularly chemistry and biology, while specialists in rare languages cooperate with art historians in order to interpret manuscripts, while methods used in anthropology are on many occasions included in the workshop of historians. Thus, in order to analyze a wide range of problems related to art and communication, collaborative interpretation by historians, anthropologists, linguists, specialists in literature or political science among many others helps to examine and answer the questions which we, researchers dealing with cultures, constantly pose.