Beyond the Sovereign Self: Aesthetic Autonomy from the Avant-Garde to Socially Engaged Art

Grant H. Kester continues the critique of aesthetic autonomy begun in __The Sovereign Self__, showing how socially engaged art provides an alternative aesthetic with greater possibilities for critical practice. In Beyond the Sovereign Self Grant H. Kester continues the critique of aesthetic autonomy begun in The Sovereign Self , showing how socially engaged art provides an alternative aesthetic with greater possibilities for critical practice. Instead of grounding art in its distance from the social, Kester shows how socially engaged art, developed in conjunction with forms of social or political resistance, encourages the creative capacity required for collective political transformation. Among others, Kester analyzes the work of conceptual artist Adrian Piper, experimental practices associated with the escrache tradition in Argentina, and indigenous Canadian artists such as Nadia Myre and Michèle Taïna Audette, showing how socially engaged art catalyzes forms of resistance that operate beyond the institutional art world. From the Americas and Europe to Iran and South Africa, Kester presents a historical genealogy of recent engaged art practices rooted in a deep history of cultural production, beginning with nineteenth-century political struggles and continuing into contemporary anticolonial resistance and other social movements. In Beyond the Sovereign Self Grant H. Kester continues thecritique of aesthetic autonomy begun in The SovereignSelf, showing how socially engaged art provides an alternativeaesthetic with greater possibilities for critical practice. Insteadof grounding art in its distance from the social, Kester shows howsocially engaged art, developed in conjunction with forms of socialor political resistance, encourages the creative capacity requiredfor collective political transformation. Among others, Kesteranalyzes the work of conceptual artist Adrian Piper, experimentalpractices associated with the escrache tradition in Argentina, andindigenous Canadian artists such as Nadia Myre and Michèle TaïnaAudette, showing how socially engaged art catalyzes forms ofresistance that operate beyond the institutional art world. Fromthe Americas and Europe to Iran and South Africa, Kester presents ahistorical genealogy of recent engaged art practices rooted in adeep history of cultural production, beginning withnineteenth-century political struggles and continuing intocontemporary anticolonial resistance and other social movements CONTENTS Introduction I. WITHIN AND BEYOND THE CANON 1 The Incommensurability of Socially Engaged Art 2 Escrache and Autonomy II. FROM OBJECT TO EVENT 3 Dematerialization and Aesthetics in Real Time 4 The Aesthetics of Answerability III. A DIALOGICAL AESTHETIC 5 Social Labor and Communicative Action 6 Our Pernicious Temporality 7 Being Human as Praxis Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index