Falling for Gravity

Invisible Forces in Contemporary Art

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Art History
Cover of the book Falling for Gravity by Catherine James, Peter Lang
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Catherine James ISBN: 9781787078215
Publisher: Peter Lang Publication: December 5, 2017
Imprint: Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers Language: English
Author: Catherine James
ISBN: 9781787078215
Publisher: Peter Lang
Publication: December 5, 2017
Imprint: Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers
Language: English

This book begins with the observation that contemporary artists have embraced and employed gravity as an immaterial readymade. Necessarily focusing on material practices – chiefly sculpture, installation, performance, and film – this discussion takes account of how and why artists have used gravity and explores the similarities between their work and the popular cultural forms of circus, vaudeville, burlesque, and film.

Works by Rodney Graham, Stan Douglas, and Robert Smithson are mediated through ideas of Gnostic doubt, atomism, and new materialism. In other examples – by John Wood and Paul Harrison, Gordon Matta-Clark, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Trisha Brown, and Bas Jan Ader – mass and momentum, falling objects, and falling bodies are examined in relation to architecture, sculpture, and dance. In performances, projects and events curated by Bruce Nauman, Santiago Sierra, and Catherine Yass, gravity is resisted in Sisyphean ordeals and death-defying stunts.

This account of contemporary art and performance, read through the invisible membrane of gravity, exposes new and distinctive approaches to agency reduction, authorial doubt, and redemptive failure.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book begins with the observation that contemporary artists have embraced and employed gravity as an immaterial readymade. Necessarily focusing on material practices – chiefly sculpture, installation, performance, and film – this discussion takes account of how and why artists have used gravity and explores the similarities between their work and the popular cultural forms of circus, vaudeville, burlesque, and film.

Works by Rodney Graham, Stan Douglas, and Robert Smithson are mediated through ideas of Gnostic doubt, atomism, and new materialism. In other examples – by John Wood and Paul Harrison, Gordon Matta-Clark, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Trisha Brown, and Bas Jan Ader – mass and momentum, falling objects, and falling bodies are examined in relation to architecture, sculpture, and dance. In performances, projects and events curated by Bruce Nauman, Santiago Sierra, and Catherine Yass, gravity is resisted in Sisyphean ordeals and death-defying stunts.

This account of contemporary art and performance, read through the invisible membrane of gravity, exposes new and distinctive approaches to agency reduction, authorial doubt, and redemptive failure.

More books from Peter Lang

Cover of the book James W. Carey and Communication Research by Catherine James
Cover of the book Musica Mathematica by Catherine James
Cover of the book Die Wuerde der Arbeit zwischen Macht, Dichtung und Glauben by Catherine James
Cover of the book George Orwell Now! by Catherine James
Cover of the book Economic Crisis and New Nationalisms by Catherine James
Cover of the book Norman Manea by Catherine James
Cover of the book Translationswissenschaftliches Kolloquium III by Catherine James
Cover of the book Ertragsteuerliche Behandlung von Sanierungsgewinnen by Catherine James
Cover of the book Humanitarianism, Communications and Change by Catherine James
Cover of the book Democratising the Museum by Catherine James
Cover of the book Zur Problematik der Bildung sogenannter schwarzer Kassen in Kapitalgesellschaften by Catherine James
Cover of the book Politicizing Consumer Choice by Catherine James
Cover of the book La pénurie en eau est-elle inéluctable ? by Catherine James
Cover of the book Der Rechtsrahmen fuer Vorstandsverguetungen in Deutschland und Australien by Catherine James
Cover of the book Literalitaet und Partizipation by Catherine James
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy