After Criticism

Reviews / Votes

"After Criticism is crucial to any discussion regarding thestatus of criticism and critical theory after post-structuralismand, equally importantly, is one of few texts that is innovative inits illumination of context, history, aesthetic judgement and, rarefor an academic text, enjoyable to read." Art Monthly "After Criticism is no doubt the most intriguingcollection of performative writing published yet. Being refreshing,entertaining as well as inspiringly confusing, it is essentialreading for anyone writing on art who does not only think ofwhat to write, but also how to write it."Contemporary "Though it seems contradictory to write words of praise for abook that deeply interrogates the marketability of praisefullanguage (in the guise of art criticism), Gavin Butt's collectiondeserves them. Framed by Butt's astute introduction, theseperformative essays pulse with vitality. Food for thought, thisbook makes us think, again, about art and its interpretations in anew way. Critical writing as a kind of performance -delicious." Amelia Jones, University of Manchester "This anthology is an excellent overview of performativecritical discourse edited and introduced by one of its leadingproponents. All the contributions have an experimental orimprovisational edge that preserves a sense of the criticalencounter. The book is at the cutting edge of art theory and willbe read with enthusiasm by a large number of people engaged withcontemporary art practice and criticism." Margaret Iversen,University of Essex