Thinking the phenomenon of image through the poetics of contemporary expanded painting (original) (raw)
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Political Theory of Art. Foundations, Perspectives, Figures
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The book enters the debate on the relationship between aesthetics and politics with an original and comprehensive theory. As Fransoni makes clear, a political theory is not a theory of politics, but a theory that deals with things, in this case art, in order to read them in the light of the political, i.e. in relation to human plurality. In the light of the political, the work of art and other common notions of art criticism find new and surprising definitions. At the same time, it is revealed how the work of art manifests some of the crucial relationships of politics, such as that between freedom and world. A political theory ultimately looks at art from the same perspective of plurality that art, together with other concepts of the political, helps to define.
The relationship between Aesthetics and Politics: about the possibility of Political Art today
In his most recent book Boris Groys brings up the current discussion on Art Activism, that is “the ability of art to function as arena and medium of political protest and social activism”.He considers the critique towards it on the notion of aethetization should be readressed by rethinking its definition. For this purpose he suggests to trace back and to reformulate Walter Benjamin’s concepts of aestheticization of politics - instrumentalization of art at the service of totalitarian powers enhancing the values of ritual, genious, eternity associated to the artwork’s aura- and politization of art -deployment of art in its political dimension, to the service of social transformation through the employment of new reproduction’s techniques that erase the aura-; as well as to take into consideration contemporary technological advances that are transforming works of art’s and image’s reproduction, distribution and reception. It is under the contemporary historical context that I inquire about the possibility and necessity of Political Art, departing from Walter Benjamin’s essay “ The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” and research the problems, risks and critiques it currently faces. First, a clarification of what he meant by aestheticization of politics and politization of art is needed in order to consider those features which could be of help today and to be compared to Groys’ approach and conceptualization of artistic aesthetization. This clarification would lead to the question of whether a new definition of Political Art is needed and what its functions might be, regarding our present time and whether historical circumstances make it necessary or not. At the time of asking which might be Political Art’s functions, I would like to develop this question in relation to my own artwork on the Spanish Civil War - which I consider Political Art- and how this notion could play a role in the remembering of the past, how could it assist us to look the hopes of the past in the present, and thus awakening a political consciousness on the individual. However, I am well aware that if a new definition of Political Art is needed, so too is to draw its boundaries and limitations. It is precisely on this point that Benjamin’s theory, as Adorno criticized him, resulted ambiguous as to the boundary line between aesthetization of politics and politization of art. Consequently and finally, it is of great importance to try to find as unequivocal separation as possible between a political art waking up consciousness and political art as propaganda, if we are going to stand for the claim of the possibility and necessity of Political Art.
Aesthetics and the political turn in art
2015
It was observed as early as the mid-twentieth century that aesthetics as a philosophical theory of art differs from its objects. The products of contemporary artistic practice go beyond the horizon of traditional aesthetics. Artists are involved increasingly often and on a wide scale in the actions aimed at transforming and constructing the common space. In the face of such activities as took place, for example, as part of the 7th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art in 2012, traditional aesthetics seems to be helpless. That is why, if art is to continue to be the focus of aesthetic investigations, it must, as it were, redefine itself. Jacques Rancière is one of the authors who have outlined the new horizon of aesthetics. In my paper I will briefly present his conception. It provides some theoretical tools which I will use for the description and interpretation of some selected examples of contemporary socially engaged artistic practices. I will show that his distinction of the „aes...
THE ETERNAL COEXISTENCE OF ART AND POLITICS
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In this article, the relationship between politics and art is discussed, through a pertinent literature review. Functions of art are described and ways of promoting political ideas are delineated. Art has served regimes from the beginning of the existence of human societies and still does. It facilitates political discourse, but, it also provides us with new interpretations of reality, poses questions, judges and controverts governing ideas. Besides, art suggests solutions for present social troubles like environmental issues or refugee crisis. Art can serve propaganda or even bring communities together. Capitalistic oppression, colonization, human exploitation and expansive policy have been fought through art. Art inspires, leads, guides and supports every novel and radical movement worldwide. In this piece of writing, the contribution of art in political movements and revolutions of 20th and 21st centuries is analytically described. Options that refer to the frame of artistic creations and to the epoch they belong to are considered. Opinions of intellectuals are discussed and contradictions are depicted in order to shape an integrated view about the association among politics and art. Readers will gain knowledge of how to form a critical opinion and to avoid being only customers or consumers of art. But, we should also be co-formulators of social conditions, politics and our life in general, through the art, with the assistant of artists, and with the support of Official State.
Filling in the Blank: Art, Politics, and Phenomenology
Political Phenomenology: Experience, Ontology, Episteme, 2020
While the couplings of art and politics, art and phenomenology, and phe-nomenology and politics seem to make immediate sense, the combination of all three creates a somewhat uneasy impression. Does politics have to come in when phenomenology speaks about art? Is phenomenology the right approach when dealing with the relationship between art and politics? And last, but certainly not least, is art a necessary topic in the phenomenology of the political? In brief, my answers to these questions are as follows: There might be good reason to; yes, with some qualifi ca-tions; and absolutely, yes. It is true that not all art is overtly political. But there is a political dimension to the very act of making art and to the way it articulates the world and our relationship to it: It is part of our political episteme, the way we shape, refl ect, and understand ourselves and our relations to each other and the world. If this is true, any investigation of art should be aware of its object's (and also of its own) political aspect and any theory of the political should throw more than a side-glance at art. But it is the second of our questions that this chapter will be dealing with explicitly; the qualifications I mentioned will be spelled out in the following sections. The fi rst of these will look at the current situation and discussions in contemporary art, focusing on the problem of artistic intervention and on Peter Osborne's concept of the postconceptual. The second will try to sketch a fl exible, open understanding of phenomenology that relies on Husserl and Bruno Latour. The third will apply these ideas to two case studies, namely the controversy on Dana Schutz's painting Open Casket and Christoph Schlingensief's Please love Austria! The fi nal section will return to the opening questions and relate them to Jacques Rancière's idea of the distribution of the sensible, which phenomenology can complement in an important way. While presenting an elaborate theory or engaging in detailed analyses of the works in question are beyond the scope of this chapter, I hope to open some perspectives that can inspire future investigations.
The Politics of Artistic Creation
This is a modified version of of the Introduction to my book The Aesthetics of Self-Becoming: How Art Forms Empower, Routledge, 2019. Starting from the nature of political art in the twentieth-century (and working with important insights from Walter Benjamin) I then argue that, in the postmodern era, political art has been systematically neutralized by the neo-liberal establishment, and that the politics of such art should now take place on a more general level – namely winning back the idea of art as an intrinsically liberating power. I defend this idea from the Left-Trumpist mindset of cultural relativism using further ideas from Theodor Adorno. This sets the scene for a larger project which is the main subject of The Aesthetics of Self-Becoming book.
How the Materiality of Paint is Intrinsic to the Work of Art: An Explanation of the Meaningful Placement of the Medium of Painting in Contemporary Art Theory, 2013
"The material nature of painting is considered as a leading actor throughout art history, as well as the source of its viability as a contemporary medium of artmaking in contemporary art practice. Viewing painting in the context of its art historical present, this manuscript examines painting’s history in art, its death by art theory, and its resurrection in various forms in contemporary art practice. In this context, prevailing art historical theories are examined in order to position painting in contemporary society. The rhizomatic web theorized by DeLeuze is revisited to both explain and expand the material presence of paint in conceptual art practice, as well as to connect art theory, art history and art-making. In this context, painting is considered as a complex mode of thinking and positioned as both a post-modern avant-garde strategy and a medium of artistic significance in a post-medium age. Integral to the discussion is resonance, the quality embodied in a work of art that continues to engage the viewer in visceral communication over time. Resonance is therefore a determining characteristic in the viability of painting in any age. The role of materiality in resonance is explored and identified as the embodiment of painting’s ontology. This is materiality of surface and beyond, distilled from the characteristics of the paint, the painter’s experience with the paint, and its presentation to the viewer in such a way as to evoke a visceral response. Painting is alive; painting has evolved and is yet evolving. Even now, painting is reconfiguring and reinventing itself in the artifacts themselves as well as in the context of contemporary art theory."