Overview

Through a variety of lenses, this book examines contemporary artists' use of the gift - the distribution of goods and services - as a medium for artistic production. Featuring a detailed survey of over fifty artists' projects from fifteen countries, What We Want Is Free explores how these artists use their projects to connect participants to tangible goods and services that they might need, enjoy, and benefit from. Samples of these various projects include the creation of free commuter bus lines and medicinal plant gardens; the distribution of such services as free housework, winter warming centers, or computer programming; and the production of community media projects such as free commuter newspapers and democratic low-wattage radio stations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ted Purves
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.281kg
ISBN:  

9780791462904

ISBN 10:   0791462900
Pages:   196
Publication Date:   16 December 2004
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Ted Purves I. Potlatches and Potlucks: Theories of Art, Gifts, and Communities 1. Reciprocal Generosity Mary Jane Jacob 2. Sure, everyone might be an artist . . . but only one artist gets to be the guy who says that everyone else is an artist Bill Arning 3. Lunch Hour: Art, Community, Administrated Space, and Unproductive Activity Kate Fowle and Lars Bang Larsen 4. Blows Against the Empire Ted Purves II: Exchange and Social Aesthetics in Praxis 5. Four Projects Joergen Svensson 6. A Given Ben Kinmont 7. How Do You Pin a Wave Upon the Sand? An Interview with Cesare Pietroiusti Shane Aslan Selzer 8. A Call for Sociality Jeanne van Heeswijk III: The Handbook for Gift and Exchange-Based Art Introductory Remarks on the Handbook Ted Purves Part One: Project Histories edited by Jessica Ingram, Ted Purves, and Shane Aslan Selzer with written contributions by Stacy Asher, Jessica Ingram, Carolyn Mackin, Francis McIlveen, Jarrett Mitchell, Ted Purves, Shane Aslan Selzer, Susan Sobeloff, and Josho Somine Part Two: Exchange The Other Social Sculpture Francis McIlveen Index

Reviews

What We Want Is Free makes a genuine contribution to current discussions and debates concerning art, politics, and culture. - Ron Scapp, coeditor of Eating Culture

Author Information

Ted Purves is Chair of the Graduate Program in Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts.

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