Offering an overview of the anthropology of art, this book presents critiques of the limits of aesthetic interpretation, the workings of objects in practice, the relations between meaning and efficacy and the politics of postcolonial art. It covers subjects such as music and the internet as well as ethnographic traditions and indigenous art.

Subjects covered include music and the internet as well as ethnographic traditions and contemporary indigenous art. Geographically its case studies range from India to Oceania to North America and Europe.