E-Book Overview
In art theory, as in cultural life generally, there has a long been tension between theory and artistic practice. The desire to resolve these tensions has been a principal impulse shaping artistic work and criticism over the last century. The last decade has seen the emergence of a broad, interdisciplinary body of theoretical work with a distinctive relationship to artistic practice, providing a common reference in artworks to the principles and vocabularies of theory.
The sixteen essays in this collection were originally presented at an international conference entitled `Art as Theory / Theory and Art,' held at the University of Ottawa in late 1991. The contributors - critics, curators, and practising artists from Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia, look at the current relationships between theory and practice in the fields of art, communication, and cultural studies from a wide range of viewpoints. Areas of interest include the institutionalization of theory, theories of vision, gender theory and feminist positions, and theory in a post-colonial context. This volume answers some important new questions about the points of intersection between theory and visual art.
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THEORY RULES THEORY RULES ART AS THEORY / THEORY AND ART EDITED BY JODY BERLAND, WILL STRAW AND DAVID TOMAS YYZ BOOKS AND UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS TORONTO BUFFALO LONDON THEORY RULES © Y Y Z Books 1996 Toronto A co-publication with University of Toronto Press Incorporated Toronto Buffalo London Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Theory Rules: art as theory/theory and art Papers printed at a conference Art as Theory/theory and art held at the University of Ottawa, Nov. 29-30, Dec. 1, 1991. ISBN 0-8020-0707-4 (hardcover) ISBN 0-8020-7657-2 (paperback) 1. Arts - Philosophy - Congresses 2. Art criticism - Congresses. I. Berland, Jody. II. Straw, Will. III. Tomas, David G. (David Georges), 1950BH39.T54 1995 700M C95 931750-3 YYZ Books acknowledges the generous assistance of the Canada Council, Special Projects, Visual Arts to this publication. YYZ Books also receives operational funding from the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, and the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, Cultural Affairs Division. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. CONTENTS 3 Introduction: The Art as Theory / Theory and Art Conference Jody Berlandy Will Straw, David Tomas PART 1: C O N T E X T 23 Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered Will Straw 33 Back to the Future: The Sequel Thierry de Duve 57 Theorizing Culturalism: From Cultural Policies to Identity Politics and Back Virginia R. Dominguez 79 In Defence of the Realm: Public Controversy and the Apologetics of Art Kevin Dowler 101 What Counts as Culture? Jamelie Hassan 115 The Writing on the Wall Barbara Harlow PART 2: I D E N T I T I E S 133 Bodies of Theory, Bodies of Pain: Some Silences Jody Berland 157 Imitating Authorities: Theory, Gender, and Photographic Discourse Elizabeth Seaton 177 The Exclusions of Theory: Feminist Ambivalence in Art Practice and Criticism Janet Wolff PART 3: V I S I O N S 195 An Identity in Crisis: The Artist and New Technologies David Tomas 223 Spectatorship in Cyberspace: The Global Embrace Janine Marchessault 243 The Sublime: The Limits of Vision and the Inflation of Commentary Olivier Asselin 257 Introduction, Dissemination, and Education: