Overview

An investigation of the absurd as a condition of, a tactic for, and a subject in the contemporary. The absurd is a lens on the disturbances of our moment and a challenge to the propositions about and solutions for the world. The absurd shakes off the paralysis that what we know must be the only thing we (re)produce. Those willing to recognize that truth and confront it, rather than flee from it, are thereby introduced to the political writ large. Critical art allows the absurd a space within which audiences can observe their own tendencies and assumptions. The absurd in art reveals our inculcation into hegemonic belief structures and the necessity to question the systems to which we subscribe. Today we see the absurd in memes, performative politics, and art, expressing the confusion and disorientation wrought by the endless, emerging crises of our 24/7 relations. This edited collection, featuring contributions by well-known artists and scholars, adopts ideas and practices associated with the absurd to explain how the contemporary moment is absurd and how absurdity is a useful, potentially radical tool within the contemporary.

Full Product Details

Author:   Katherine Guinness ,  Charlotte Kent (Montclair State University, USA)
Publisher:   Intellect
Imprint:   Intellect Books
ISBN:  

9781789389067

ISBN 10:   1789389062
Pages:   284
Publication Date:   07 October 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures  Introduction    1. Anatomical Bitransversal Symmetry Axiswerks: Inter-orificial Economics of Evolutionary Body Plan Development Adam Zaretsky 2. Laws of Motion in a Cartoon Landscape: Revised and Redacted Andy Holden 3. Landscape Fictions and Future Realities Aroussiak Gabrielian 4. Why I Should Learn From Our Masters! Bager Akbay 5. The Absurd Isn’t It Ironic? A Vestigial Tale : ‘Vestigial Tale’ About 6740 Google Results Carla Gannis 6. The Absurd and an Agonistic Opportunity Charlotte Kent 7. Eight Variants of Tactical Absurdity in (Post)Conceptual Art: An Overperformance of Typological Exactitude Dave Ball 8. The Weird and the Absurd Graham Harman 9. Absurd Temporalities Grant Bollmer 10. Reflections on Camus’ Absurd Jennifer Lyn Morone 11. Feeling is Funny Katherine Guinness 12. The Eighteenth Brumaire of Amy Coney Barrett Cross-Examined Absurdly by the Medusan French Feminist Philosopher Hélène Cixous Maggie Hennefeld 13. From Planetary Core to the High Seas Mary Mattingly 14. Exulting in the Ab-surd: Artaud to Arp Mary Ann Caws   Appendix: The Janks Collective Archives

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Author Information

Katherine Guinness is assistant professor of critical studies in the Department of Art at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Charlotte Kent is associate professor of visual culture at Montclair State University, editor-at large for The Brooklyn Rail, and an arts writer.

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