The Utopian Globalists : Artists of Worldwide Revolution, 1919 - 2009

An innovative history and critical account mapping the ways artists and their works have engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism over the past ninety years.* Focuses on artists whose work expresses the concept of revolutionary social transformation * Provides a strong historical narrative that adds structure and clarity * Features a cogent and innovative critique of contemporary art and institutions * Covers 100 years of art from Vladimir Tatlin’s constructivist ‘Monument to the Third International’, to Picasso’s late 1940s commitment to Communism, to the Unilever Series sponsored Large Artworks installed at London’s Tate Modern since 2000. * Includes the only substantial account in print of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 Montreal ‘Bed-in’ * Offers an accessible description and interpretation of Debord’s ‘society of the spectacle’ theory Content: Chapter None Introduction (pages 1–33): Chapter 1 Spectacle, Social Transformation and Utopian Globalist Art (pages 34–75): Chapter 2 The Line of Liberation (pages 76–117): Chapter 3 Picasso for the Proletariat (pages 118–164): Chapter 4 Some Kind of Druid Dude (pages 165–210): Chapter 5 ‘Bed?in’ as Gesamtkunstwerk (pages 211–245): Chapter 6 Mother Nature on the Run (pages 246–286): Chapter 7 Nomadic Globalism (pages 287–315): THE UTOPIAN GLOBALISTS “Crossing continents, historical periods and cultural genres, Jonathan Harris skilfully traces the evolution of utopian ideals from early modernism to the spectacularised and biennialised (or banalised as some would say) contemporary art world of today.” Michael Asbury, University of the Arts, London The Utopian Globalists is the second in a trilogy of books by Jonathan Harris examining the contours, forces, materials and meanings of the global art world, along with its contexts of emergence since the early twentieth century. The first of the three studies, Globalization and Contemporary Art (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), anatomized the global art system through an extensive anthology of over 30 essays contextualized through multiple thematic introductions. The final book in the series, Contemporary Art in a Globalized World (forthcoming, Wiley-Blackwell), combines the historical and contemporary perspectives of the first and second books in an account focused on the ‘mediatizations'shaping and representing contemporary art and its circuits of global production, dissemination and consumption. This innovative and revealing history examines artists whose work embodies notions of revolution and human social transformation. The clearly structured historical narrative takes the reader on a cultural odyssey that begins with Vladimir Tatlin's constructivist model for a ‘Monument to the Third International'(1919), a statement of utopian globalist intent, via Picasso's 1940s commitment to Soviet communism and John and Yoko's Montreal ‘Bedin', to what the author calls the ‘late globalism'of the Unilever Series at London's Tate Modern. The book maps the ways artists and their work engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism, throughout the eras of the Russian Revolution, the Cold War and the increasingly globalized world of the past 20 years. In doing so, Harris explores the idea that the utopian -globalist lineage in art remains torn between its yearning for freedom and a deepening identification with spectacle as a media commodity to be traded and consumed. THE UTOPIAN GLOBALISTS Crossing continents, historical periods and cultural genres, Jonathan Harris skilfully traces the evolution of utopian ideals from early modernism to the spectacularised and biennialised (or banalised as some would say) contemporary art world of today. Michael Asbury, University of the Arts, London The Utopian Globalists is the second in a trilogy of books by Jonathan Harris examining the contours, forces, materials and meanings of the global art world, along with its contexts of emergence since the early twentieth century. The first of the three studies, Globalization and Contemporary Art (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), anatomized the global art system through an extensive anthology of over 30 essays contextualized through multiple thematic introductions. The final book in the series, Contemporary Art in a Globalized World (forthcoming, Wiley-Blackwell), combines the historical and contemporary perspectives of the first and second books in an account focused on the mediatizations shaping and representing contemporary art and its circuits of global production, dissemination and consumption. This innovative and revealing history examines artists whose work embodies notions of revolution and human social transformation. The clearly structured historical narrative takes the reader on a cultural odyssey that begins with Vladimir Tatlins constructivist model for a Monument to the Third International (1919), a statement of utopian globalist intent, via Picassos 1940s commitment to Soviet communism and John and Yokos Montreal Bedin, to what the author calls the late globalism of the Unilever Series at Londons Tate Modern. The book maps the ways artists and their work engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism, throughout the eras of the Russian Revolution, the Cold War and the increasingly globalized world of the past 20 years. In doing so, Harris explores the idea that the utopian -globalist lineage in art remains torn between its yearning for freedom and a deepening identification with spectacle as a media commodity to be traded and consumed. "An innovative history and critical account mapping the ways artists and their works have engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism over the past ninety years. Focuses on artists whose work expresses the concept of revolutionary social transformation. Provides a strong historical narrative that adds structure and clarity. Features a cogent and innovative critique of contemporary art and institutions. Covers 100 years of art from Vladimir Tatlin's constructivist 'Monument to the Third International', to Picasso's late 1940s commitment to Communism, to the Unilever Series sponsored Large Artworks installed at London's Tate Modern since 2000. Includes the only substantial account in print of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1969 Montreal 'Bed-in'. Offers an accessible description and interpretation of Debord's 'society of the spectacle' theory "-- Provided by publisher Provides an innovative history and critical account mapping the ways artists and their works have engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism over the past ninety years