Katerina Kolozova, Eileen A. Joy (eds.): After the “Speculative Turn”: Realism, Philosophy, and Feminism (2016)

“Recent forms of realism in continental philosophy that are habitually subsumed under the category of “speculative realism,” a denomination referring to rather heterogeneous strands of philosophy, bringing together object-oriented ontology (OOO), non-standard philosophy (or non-philosophy), the speculative realist ideas of Quentin Meillassoux and Marxism, have provided grounds for the much needed critique of culturalism in gender theory, and the authority with which post-structuralism has dominated feminist theory for decades. This publication aims to bring forth some of the feminist debates prompted by the so-called “speculative turn,” while demonstrating that there has never been a niche of “speculative realist feminism.”

Whereas most of the contributions featured in this collection provide a theoretical approach invoking the necessity of foregrounding new forms of realism for a “feminism beyond gender as culture,” some of the essays tackle OOO only to invite a feminist critical challenge to its paradigm, while others refer to some extent to non-philosophy or the new materialisms but are not reducible to either of the two. We have invited essays from intellectual milieus outside the Anglo-Saxon academic center, bringing together authors from Serbia, Slovenia, France, Ireland, the UK, and Canada, aiming to promote feminist internationalism (rather than a “generous act of cultural inclusion”).”

Contributors: Patricia Ticineto Clough, Katherine Behar, Nandita Biswas Mellamphy, Jelisaveta Blagojević, Joan Copjec, Marina Gržinić, Eileen A. Joy, Katerina Kolozova, Frenchy Lunning, Nina Power, Anne-Françoise Schmid.

Publisher Punctum Books, Brooklyn, NY, 2016
Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license
ISBN 9780998237534, 0998237531
197 pages

Review: Stanimir Panayotov (Minnesota Rev, 2017).

Publisher
WorldCat

PDF

Richard J. Powell: Black Art and Culture in the 20th Century (1997)

“The African diaspora—a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade and Western colonialism—has generated a wide array of artistic achievements in our century, from blues to reggae, from the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner to the video installations of Keith Piper. This study of 20th-century black art is the first to concentrate on the art works themselves, and on how these works, created during a major social upheaval and transformation, use black culture both as subject and as context.

From musings on the “the souls of black folk” in early twentieth-century painting, sculpture, and photography to questions of racial and cultural identities in performance, media, and computer-assisted arts in the 1990s, the book draws on the works of hundreds of artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Wifredo Lam, Jacob Lawrence, Spike Lee, Archibald Motley, Jr., Faith Ringgold, and Gerard Sekoto; biographies of more than 160 key artists provide a unique and valuable art historical resource.

Richard Powell discusses the philosophical and social forces that have shaped a black diasporal presence in 20th-century art. Placing its emphasis on black cultural themes rather than on black racial identity, this book is an important exploration of the visual representations of black culture throughout the twentieth century.”

Publisher Thames & Hudson, London, 1997
World of Art series
ISBN 0500202958, 9780500202951
256 pages

Reviews: Deborah Kempe (Art Documentation 1997), Steven Nelson (Art Journal 1998), Kymberly N. Pinder (Art Bulletin 1999), Elizabeth Harney (Nka 1999), Donna Seaman (Booklist).

Author (2nd ed.)
Publisher (2nd ed.)
WorldCat

PDF (59 MB, no OCR)

Harald Szeemann, et al.: Documenta 5, catalogue (1972) [DE]

“Even decades later, Documenta 5, the exhibition that was criticized in 1972 as being “bizarre.. vulgar.. sadistic” by Hilton Kramer (NYT) and “monstrous.. overtly deranged” by Barbara Rose (NYM), resonates today as one of the most important exhibitions in history. Both hailed and derided by artists and critics, the exhibition was the largest, most expensive and most diverse of any exhibition anywhere, and foreshadowed all large-scale, collaboratively curated, comprehensive mega-shows to come.

Chiefly curated by the Swiss curator, Harald Szeemann, it was a pioneering, radically different presentation that was conceived as a 100-day event, with performances and happenings, outsider art, even non-art, as well as repeated Joseph Beuys lectures, and an installation of Claes Oldenburg’s Mouse Museum, among many other atypical inclusions. The show widely promoted awareness of a contract known as The Artist’s Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement, which protects artists’ ongoing intellectual and financial rights with regard to their production.” (Source)

“Featuring the works of over 170 artists and an equally expansive variety of materials and subjects drawn from popular cultural materials such as science fiction publications, kitsch objects, exploitation films, as well as advertising imagery, in addition to the more anticipated painting and sculpture – Documenta 5 valiantly attempted to bridge the gap between art, culture, science and the broader society.

A lasting highlight of the exhibition was the graphic logo for the show designed by Edward Ruscha. Commissioned by Szeeman, Ruscha’s graphic image for the show featured ants arranged in the word ‘Docu / menta’ and the number ‘5.’ The emblem was used on the exhibition’s poster and catalogue cover.” (Source)

Contents of Part B:
1 Hans Heinz Holz: Kritische Theorie des ästhetischen Zeichens (catalogue foreword, 86 pp),
2 Bazon Brock & Karl Heinz Krings: Audiovisuelles Vorwort (audiovisual foreword, 19 pp),
3 Eberhard Roters: Trivialrealismus & Trivialemblematik (16 pp),
4 Ingolf Bauer: Bilderwelt und Froemmigkeit (10 pp),
5 Gesellschaftliche Ikonographie an zwei Beispielen (8 pp),
6 Charles Wilp, Hans Heinz Holz: Werbung (4 pp),
7 Reiner Diederich, Richard Grübling, Klaus Staeck: Politische Propaganda (14 pp),
8 Pierre Versins: Science Fiction/Heute von gestern gesehen (10 pp),
9 François Burkhardt: Utopie/Morgen von gestern gesehen (16 pp),
10 Ursula Barthelmess, Hans-Henning Borgelt, Linde Burkhardt, Wolfgang Hoebig: Spiel und Wirklichkeit (14 pp),
11 Theodor Spoerri: Bildnerei der Giesteskranken (18 pp),
12 Gerhard Buettenbender, Sigurd Hermes: Film (28 pp),
13 Museen von Künstlern (17 pp),
14 Sozialistischer Realismus (1 p),
15 Jean-Christophe Ammann: Realismus (58 pp),
16 Johannes Cladders, Harald Szeemann: Individuelle Mythologien – Selbstdarstellung: a) Performance, b) Film – Prozesse (220 pp),
17 Konrad Fischer, Klaus Honnef, Gisela Kaminski: Idee + Idee / Licht (92 pp),
18 Information + The Artist’s Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement (44 pp),
19 Verzeichnis der ausgestellten Werke
20 Allgemeine Bibliographie
21 Waehrend: Ereigniskalender
22 Nachher 1: Text
23 Nachher 2: Bild
24 Nachher 3: Presse
25 Fotonachweis

documenta 5. Befragung der Realität – Bildwelten heute
Edited by Harald Szeemann, Marlis Grüterich, Katia von den Velden, Jennifer Gough-Cooper
Publisher documenta and Bertelsmann, Kassel, 1972
ISBN 3570028569, 9783570028568
64+80 & 740+ pages
via The DOR (at Archive.org)

Analyses and commentaries:
3sat TV documentary (video, 41 min, 1972, DE)
Der Spiegel (1972, DE)
Klaus Herding & Hans-Ernst Mittig on Holz’s foreword (Kritische Berichte, 1973, DE)
Documenta 5 in Art Since 1900 (2004, EN)
Dirk Schwarze (Documenta Archiv, 2014, DE)
Maria Bremer (Stedelijk Studies, 2015, EN)

documenta Archiv, (2)
Wikipedia (DE)
WorldCat

Part A (144 pp, PDF, 57 MB)
Part B (740+ pp, PDF, 287 MB, sections 19-24 missing; updated on 2023-3-28)