Re-Reading Bourriaud: Materialism and Immanent Utopia in Relational Aesthetics

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    Abstract

    Nicolas Bourriad's seminal book Relational Aesthetics is crucial for the understanding of contemporary, socially and politically oriented fine art of the mid-1990 and onwards and its challenge of established aesthetic conceptions within art as well as theory. Celebrated widely and attacked by some, its reception is itself worth a study. This paper however seeks to analyse Bourriaud's book itself in order to establish it contribution to aesthetic theory and an aesthetic understanding of artistic projects which by some were first characterised as an "anti-aesthetic re-action" to the art scene of the late 1980ies. Whereas the reception of Bourriaud seems to have focused especially on the political aspect of his work as a critic and curator, I would like to emphasize Bourriaud's materialistic argument and the way it seeks to combine such different theoretical figures as Lucretius, Althusser, and Deleuze. In my presentation I would like to focus especially on Bourriaud's concepts of form, model, and utopia, and how they surprisingly lead to an ideal yet immanent conception of art. To contextualise and examplify my analysis, I shall draw on my collaboration-based study of art collective Superflex as well as Bourriaud's later writings on post-production and alter-modernism.
    OriginalsprogEngelsk
    Publikationsdato2009
    StatusUdgivet - 2009
    BegivenhedThe Future of Aesthetics: The annual conference of The Nordic Society of Aesthetics - Trondheim, Norge
    Varighed: 11 jun. 200914 jun. 2009

    Konference

    KonferenceThe Future of Aesthetics: The annual conference of The Nordic Society of Aesthetics
    Land/OmrådeNorge
    ByTrondheim
    Periode11/06/200914/06/2009

    Kunstnerisk udviklingsvirksomhed (KUV)

    • Nej

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