Adornment

The wondrous array of body ornaments pictured here itself adorns a wide-ranging, learned, accessible, and fascinating discussion of aesthetics by distinguished philosopher Stephen Davies. Adornment is not only a feast for the eyes but for the mind. * Ellen Dissanayake, author of What Is Art For? and Homo Aestheticus * Decoration is often dismissed as trivial, but Davies shows how deep-seated and functional the human impulse to decorate is. He argues that it is nothing less than one of our most fundamental modes of communication. This fascinating tour of adornment is bound to transform readers' outlook, drawing attention to the aesthetic embellishments that we add to everything we touch. * Kathleen M. Higgins, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin, USA * This work sets itself as the pinnacle of the philosophical debate on adornment and self-decoration. Holding the key-concept of making special through aesthetic enhancement , Davies enlightens the merging of pleasure, symbolic value and communicative tasks at place in the practice of adorning. The result comforts with sharp analyses and arguments the priority of the aesthetic attitude on any other such as the religious and moral ones. * Fabrizio Desideri, Professor of Aesthetics, Florence University, Italy * [W]ritten from a scholarly perspective, with a clarity of writing and little academic jargon, the book can engage anyone interested in the subject. * The Journal of Dress History *