Art has its own power in the world; and is as much a force in the power play of global politics today as it once was in the arena of cold war politics. Art; argues the distinguished theoretician Boris Groys; is hardly a powerless commodity subject to the art markets fiats of inclusion and exclusion. In Art Power; Groys examines modern and contemporary art according to its ideological function. Art; Groys writes; is produced and brought before the public in two ways -- as a commodity and as a tool of political propaganda. In the contemporary art scene; very little attention is paid to the latter function. Arguing for the inclusion of politically motivated art in contemporary art discourse; Groys considers art produced under totalitarianism; Socialism; and post-Communism. He also considers todays mainstream Western art -- which he finds behaving more and more according the norms of ideological propaganda: produced and exhibited for the masses at international exhibitions; biennials; and festivals. Contemporary art; Groys argues; demonstrates its power by appropriating the iconoclastic gestures directed against itself -- by positioning itself simultaneously as an image and as a critique of the image. In Art Power; Groys examines this fundamental appropriation that produces the paradoxical object of the modern artwork.
#2851955 in eBooks 2009-11-04 2009-11-04File Name: B002TKKC0W
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