Really Useful Knowledge (2014)
Filed under catalogue | Tags: · art, conceptual art, critical pedagogy, education, knowledge, pedagogy, politics, sociology of art, theory, useful art
“This catalogue investigates the notion of “really useful knowledge” and its origins. In the 1820s and 1830s, working class organisations in the UK introduced this phrase to describe a body of knowledge that encompassed various “unpractical” disciplines such as politics, economics and philosophy, as opposed to the “useful knowledge” proclaimed by business owners who had previously begun to invest more heavily in their companies’ progress through financing workers’ education in “applicable” disciplines like engineering, physics, chemistry and mathematics. The publication presents texts and conversations that analyse these themes, including philosophy, art, politics and technology.”
With contributions by What, How and for Whom/WHW, Marina Garcés, Raqs Media Collective, Luis Camnitzer, Trevor Paglen and Jacob Appelbaum, Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, and Gáspár M. Tamás.
Curated by What, How and for Whom/WHW
Publisher Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MACBA), Barcelona, 2014
ISBN 9788480264990, 8480264993
285+[10] pages
Discussion: Charles Esche, Manuel Borja-Villel (L’Internationale, 2015).
PDF (14 MB)
Comment (0)Dubravka Djurić, Miško Šuvaković (eds.): Impossible Histories: Historical Avant-gardes, Neo-avant-gardes, and Post-avant-gardes in Yugoslavia, 1918-1991 (2003)
Filed under book | Tags: · architecture, art history, avant-garde, conceptual art, literature, manifesto, music history, neo-avant-garde, post-avant-garde, postmodern, retro-avant-garde, video art, yugoslavia
“Impossible Histories is the first critical survey of the extraordinary experiments in the arts that took place in the former Yugoslavia from the country’s founding in 1918 to its breakup in 1991. The combination of Austro-Hungarian, French, German, Italian, and Turkish influences gave Yugoslavia’s avant-gardes a distinct character unlike those of other Eastern and Central European avant-gardes. The book explores movements such as Belgrade surrealism, signalism, Yugo-Dada, and zenitism; the groups Alfa, Exat 51, Gorgona, OHO, and Scipion Nasice Sisters Theater; or the magazines Danas, Rdeči pilot, Tank, Vecnost, and Zvrk.
The pieces in this collection offer comparative and interpretive accounts of the avant-gardes in the former Yugoslavian countries of Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. The book is divided into four sections: Art and Politics; Literature; Visual Art and Architecture; and Art in Motion (covering theater, dance, music, film, and video). All of the contributors live in the region and many of them participated in the movements discussed. The book also reprints a selection of the most important manifestos generated by all phases of Yugoslav avant-garde activity.”
Publisher MIT Press, 2003
ISBN 0262042169, 9780262042161
xviii+605 pages
via agitprop
Reviews: Suzana Milevska (Springerin, 2004), Matthew S. Witkovsky (caa.reviews, 2004), Yevgeniy Fiks (Art Journal, 2004), Tyrus Miller (Modernism/modernity, 2005), Igor Marjanović (Design Issues, 2007).
PDF (22 MB)
Comment (0)The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now (2008)
Filed under catalogue | Tags: · art history, conceptual art, fluxus, participation, participatory art, performance, performance art
“This volume explores the rich and varied history of participatory art, from early happenings and performances to more recent practices demanding audience interaction. As browsing, sharing, collecting, and producing increasingly permeate every aspect of society, this project reveals the ways in which artists and viewers have approached the creation of open works of art. Featured artists include Abramović/Ulay, Vito Acconci, Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Janet Cardiff, Lygia Clark, Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Allan Kaprow, Antoni Muntadas, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Erwin Wurm.
Essays by Rudolf Frieling, Boris Groys, Robert Atkins, and Lev Manovich identify seminal moments in participatory practice from the 1950s to the present day and are accompanied by color illustrations, including documentation of significant projects by major figures such as Hélio Oiticica, Joan Jonas, Gordon Matta-Clark, Komar & Melamid, and Gabriel Orozco.”
With an Introduction by Rudolf Frieling
Publisher San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, and Thames & Hudson, New York, 2008
ISBN 9780500238585, 0500238588
212 pages
Reviews: Terri Cohn (CAA Reviews, 2009), Art Practical (2009).
PDF (11 MB)
Comment (0)