
Surpassing the Spectacle
Global Transformations and the Changing Politics of Art
Carol Becker(Author)
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published on 17. February 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-0-7425-0920-7 (ISBN)
Description
In her newest book, leading social critic Carol Becker offers a timely analysis of the nature of art and its role in politics and society. Completed just before the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center catastrophe, Surpassing the Spectacle is now especially relevant in its analysis of the spectacle society that was omnipresent before that fatal day. This book is remarkably prescient of the new concerns that have now become foremost in our thoughts since the attack. This collection of essays explores such topics as public memorials, America's attempt to hold onto a sense of security while faced with the reality of international terrorists living within our own cities, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, restorative justice, and issues of freedom of expression as they relate to incidents such as New York Mayor Guiliani's quest to ban Chris Ofili's painting of 'The Holy Virgin Mary' at the Brooklyn Museum. The essays cohere around Becker's central concerns: the education and role of artists in a post post-modern climate, controversies over public space, iconography, memorializing, and the myth of the global citizen. Throughout, Becker works to reconstruct a vision of humanity that incorporates, and hopefully moves us beyond, a dystopian moment when we no longer were able to use words such as humane, accountable, or the public good without seeming nostalgic and romantic. Becker raises the question of the place of art and the function of public intellectuals in a society desperately in need of creativity and leadership. The book is written in clear and accessible prose, which nonetheless looks at the issues philosophically and does not sacrifice any of the subtleties of thought necessary to contextualize and surpass the spectacle of contemporary U.S. society.
Reviews / Votes
As dean of a major art school, Carol Becker speaks with unique authority and competence against a completely studio-based art education that only trains artists to become professionals within the confines of a circumscribed art world, rather than to see themselves as culural leaders and transformers, able to take on serious issues. This book belongs in the library of anyone who believes that art has a crucial and important role to play in the shaping of today's global society. -- Suzi Gablik, author of The Reenchantment of Art and Conversations Before the End of Time This important collection by a leading public intellectual offers innumerable opportunities to think our way out of the paper bag so many Americans live in. With startling prescience, Carol Becker covers many issues that cultural workers need to confront, integrating familiar concepts into the larger picture. This compelling book is also the story of one woman's strength-and success-in the world of ideas. Read it, and think, then act. -- Lucy R. Lippard, author of On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art and Place In this passionate and fiercely engaged book, Carol Becker makes the case that without the ability of artists to speak the unspeakable and find form for the invisible, this country has no chance to resist the infantilizing seductiveness of spectacle and realize the radical potential of freedom. -- Michael Brenson, author, Visionaries and Outcasts: The NEA, Congress, and the Place of the Visual Arts in America of the Visual Artist in AmericMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 147 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
281 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7425-0920-7 (9780742509207)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2001
1st Edition
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€36.99
Available for download
Person
Carol Becker is dean of faculty and vice-president for academic affairs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the author of Zones of Contention: Essays on Art, Institutions, Gender, and Anxiety (New York Press, 1996) and The Subversive Imagination: Artists, Society, and Social Responsibility(Routledge, 1994).
Content
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 The Artist as Public Intellectual Chapter 3 The Nature of the Investigation: Art Making in a Post-Postmodern Era Chapter 4 The Art of Testimony Chapter 5 Brooklyn Museum: Messing with the Sacred Chapter 6 Betrayal Chapter 7 Trial by Fire: A Saga of Gender and Leadership Chapter 8 Reconciling Truth in South Africa Chapter 9 Memory and Monstrosity Chapter 10 The Second Johannesburg Biennale Chapter 11 The Romance of Nomadism Chapter 12 Art and Ecology Chapter 13 GFP Bunny and the Plight of the Posthuman Chapter 14 Surpassing the Spectacle Chapter 15 Index