Almost nothing
Observations on precarious practices in contemporary art
Series edited by Amelia Jones, Marsha Meskimmon, Anna Dezeuze
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This book presents a new reading of contemporary art between 1958 and 2009 by sketching out a trajectory of 'precarious' art practices. Such practices risk being dismissed as 'almost nothing' because they look like trash, they present objects and events that are so commonplace as to be confused with our ordinary surroundings, or because they are fleeting gestures that vanish into the fabric of everyday life. What is the status of such fragile, nearly invisible, artworks? In what ways do they engage with the precarious modes of existence that have emerged and evolved in the socio-economic context of an increasingly globalised capitalism? Works discussed in this study range from Allan Kaprow's assemblages and happenings, Fluxus event scores and Hélio Oiticica's wearable Parangolé capes in the 1960s, to Thomas Hirschhorn's sprawling environments and participatory projects, Francis Alÿs's filmed performances and Gabriel Orozco's photographs and constructions in the 1990s. Significant similarities among these different practices are drawn out, while crucial shifts are outlined in the evolution of this trajectory from the early 1960s to the turn of the twenty-first century. This study addresses essential questions such as the art object's 'dematerialisation', and relations between art and everyday life, including the three fields of work, labour and action first outlined by Hannah Arendt in 1958. By situating these works within an original set of historical and critical issues, the book provides students and amateurs of contemporary art and culture with new insights into the radical specificities of these practices.
Author Biography
Anna Dezeuze is an Honorary Research Fellow in Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Manchester. Dorothy C. Rowe is Senior Lecturer in History of Art at the University of Bristol
Manchester University Press
Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.
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Bibliographic Information
- Publisher Manchester University Press
- Publication Date December 2016
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9780719088575
- Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
- FormatHardback
- Primary Price 75 GBP
- Pages344
- ReadershipCollege/Tertiary Education
- Publish StatusPublished
- Dimensions234 x 156 mm
- Illustration72 black & white illustrations
- Biblio NotesIntroduction: Almost nothing Part I: 'Dharma bums', 1958-71 1. Junk aesthetics in a throwaway age 2. 'At the point of imperceptibility' 3. The 'good-for-nothing' Part II: The 'light years', 1991-2009 4. Joins in the age of 'liquid modernity' 5. Futility and precarity Postscript: On the humanism of precarious works Index
- SeriesRethinking Art's Histories
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