This paper focuses on the collaborative, society engaged practices of several Nordic architects t... more This paper focuses on the collaborative, society engaged practices of several Nordic architects that formed a joint-venture called “At Work With” at the Nordic pavilion, Venice Architecture biennal ...
ABSTRACT From Modernism to Postmodernism, from international style socialdemocracy to global neol... more ABSTRACT From Modernism to Postmodernism, from international style socialdemocracy to global neoliberalism. In this paper we will read this shift through the stratification of space, promoted by theorists such as Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau. Both criticized modernist architecture and the social planning that went along with it for being too abstract; either seen from above perspective or conceived through two dimensional planning. While the shift from modern to postmodern might coincide with the advent of neoliberalism, the most effective critique against modernist architecture came from contemporary radicals; longing for a dense, vibrant city with unexpected meetings around the corner.
Occupations de bâtiments universitaires a Amsterdam et Londres, greves des enseignants precaires ... more Occupations de bâtiments universitaires a Amsterdam et Londres, greves des enseignants precaires aux universites d’York et de Toronto. Manifestations et echauffourees a Montreal.1 Depuis quelques semaines, on peut se demander si Mai 68 est de retour. En fait, ce n’est pas si simple.
The public realm is a space of paradoxes. While on one hand it seems to be shrinking due to comme... more The public realm is a space of paradoxes. While on one hand it seems to be shrinking due to commercialization and to be losing its position as a forum where different agendas can meet, it can also ...
Konsthistorisk Tidskrift/Journal of Art History, 2005
... Ett intressant exempel ar Oliver Graus bok Virtual Art, sorn havdar att Virtual Reality inte ... more ... Ett intressant exempel ar Oliver Graus bok Virtual Art, sorn havdar att Virtual Reality inte ar nigon ny tan-ke, utan ar en mer tekniskt avancerad losning pi ett problem sorn varje kultur sedan itmins-tone romarriket efterstravat att losa.' Redan i Pompeji identifierar Grau rum sorn ...
Konsthistorisk Tidskrift/Journal of Art History, 2002
KONSTHISTORISK TIDSKRIFT 2002, VOL 71, NO 1— 2 The Impasse of the Not there can be little doubt t... more KONSTHISTORISK TIDSKRIFT 2002, VOL 71, NO 1— 2 The Impasse of the Not there can be little doubt that today we live with a pluralistic notion of art. To some art historians/theorists (for example Arthur Danto and Hal Foster), the art scene turned »pluralistic« during the sixties, as it saw, among other things, the birth of minimalism, pop art and conceptual art.ˆ To others (for example Peter Bürger), the art scene turned pluralistic already during the early 20T3 century with Dada, which for Bürger means that the artists during the sixties were nothing but a bunch of bad epigones. Since the notion of art turned pluralistic, ideas of objective and everlasting standards for what good and/or bad art is ceased to make sense. Rather, to defend the idea of eternal values is to make one open for attacks of being elitist and even fascistic. Š is does not mean that the pluralistic scene has not embraced other key words that have served both as demarcations, shibboleths, and as evaluations or judgments. Some of these key words could be divided into two categories: the »not« category and the »game« category. Š e »game« category is put to use in order to describe why the object you are trying to describe cannot be described. Š e idea connects to, among other things, Jacques Derrida’s notion of »play« as developed in Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences (1966), and emphasizes how the art object puts a lot of diV erent meanings into play, and is thus elusive. Not so because it de es description the way »genius« or »beauty« does (as has been claimed for traditional art), but because it puts de nitions and understandings into play, rede ning what we thought we knew. Reand dede ning notions such as »high« and »low«, as well as »art«, is of course of utmost importance, since words always stem from a hidden agenda. But to come to terms with the terms, inevitably leads to establishment of »new« values. As Gilles Deleuze so amply put it in his book on Nietzsche: »Š e trans formation of the sense of a word means that someone else (another force and another will) has taken possession of it and is applying it to another thing because he wants something else.«‡ Putting meanings into play might thus seem to be the only way to avoid rigidness. But it is probably also true that to de ne something against something else, con rms (and possibly constructs) what it is trying to escape.† One common way to describe how an artwork de es our usual understandings is to de ne it as being against something. As it o‹ en turns out, the work in mind is what it is not because of the way it relates to our common understanding of what it resembles. Š is brings us to the »not« category. Words belonging to the »not« category are usually put into use in front of something that looks pretty much as art always has done, but where the argument is that the object in question, in fact, is something quite diV erent. Š ese Clay Ketter: Materializing the Context
This paper focuses on the collaborative, society engaged practices of several Nordic architects t... more This paper focuses on the collaborative, society engaged practices of several Nordic architects that formed a joint-venture called “At Work With” at the Nordic pavilion, Venice Architecture biennal ...
ABSTRACT From Modernism to Postmodernism, from international style socialdemocracy to global neol... more ABSTRACT From Modernism to Postmodernism, from international style socialdemocracy to global neoliberalism. In this paper we will read this shift through the stratification of space, promoted by theorists such as Henri Lefebvre and Michel de Certeau. Both criticized modernist architecture and the social planning that went along with it for being too abstract; either seen from above perspective or conceived through two dimensional planning. While the shift from modern to postmodern might coincide with the advent of neoliberalism, the most effective critique against modernist architecture came from contemporary radicals; longing for a dense, vibrant city with unexpected meetings around the corner.
Occupations de bâtiments universitaires a Amsterdam et Londres, greves des enseignants precaires ... more Occupations de bâtiments universitaires a Amsterdam et Londres, greves des enseignants precaires aux universites d’York et de Toronto. Manifestations et echauffourees a Montreal.1 Depuis quelques semaines, on peut se demander si Mai 68 est de retour. En fait, ce n’est pas si simple.
The public realm is a space of paradoxes. While on one hand it seems to be shrinking due to comme... more The public realm is a space of paradoxes. While on one hand it seems to be shrinking due to commercialization and to be losing its position as a forum where different agendas can meet, it can also ...
Konsthistorisk Tidskrift/Journal of Art History, 2005
... Ett intressant exempel ar Oliver Graus bok Virtual Art, sorn havdar att Virtual Reality inte ... more ... Ett intressant exempel ar Oliver Graus bok Virtual Art, sorn havdar att Virtual Reality inte ar nigon ny tan-ke, utan ar en mer tekniskt avancerad losning pi ett problem sorn varje kultur sedan itmins-tone romarriket efterstravat att losa.' Redan i Pompeji identifierar Grau rum sorn ...
Konsthistorisk Tidskrift/Journal of Art History, 2002
KONSTHISTORISK TIDSKRIFT 2002, VOL 71, NO 1— 2 The Impasse of the Not there can be little doubt t... more KONSTHISTORISK TIDSKRIFT 2002, VOL 71, NO 1— 2 The Impasse of the Not there can be little doubt that today we live with a pluralistic notion of art. To some art historians/theorists (for example Arthur Danto and Hal Foster), the art scene turned »pluralistic« during the sixties, as it saw, among other things, the birth of minimalism, pop art and conceptual art.ˆ To others (for example Peter Bürger), the art scene turned pluralistic already during the early 20T3 century with Dada, which for Bürger means that the artists during the sixties were nothing but a bunch of bad epigones. Since the notion of art turned pluralistic, ideas of objective and everlasting standards for what good and/or bad art is ceased to make sense. Rather, to defend the idea of eternal values is to make one open for attacks of being elitist and even fascistic. Š is does not mean that the pluralistic scene has not embraced other key words that have served both as demarcations, shibboleths, and as evaluations or judgments. Some of these key words could be divided into two categories: the »not« category and the »game« category. Š e »game« category is put to use in order to describe why the object you are trying to describe cannot be described. Š e idea connects to, among other things, Jacques Derrida’s notion of »play« as developed in Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences (1966), and emphasizes how the art object puts a lot of diV erent meanings into play, and is thus elusive. Not so because it de es description the way »genius« or »beauty« does (as has been claimed for traditional art), but because it puts de nitions and understandings into play, rede ning what we thought we knew. Reand dede ning notions such as »high« and »low«, as well as »art«, is of course of utmost importance, since words always stem from a hidden agenda. But to come to terms with the terms, inevitably leads to establishment of »new« values. As Gilles Deleuze so amply put it in his book on Nietzsche: »Š e trans formation of the sense of a word means that someone else (another force and another will) has taken possession of it and is applying it to another thing because he wants something else.«‡ Putting meanings into play might thus seem to be the only way to avoid rigidness. But it is probably also true that to de ne something against something else, con rms (and possibly constructs) what it is trying to escape.† One common way to describe how an artwork de es our usual understandings is to de ne it as being against something. As it o‹ en turns out, the work in mind is what it is not because of the way it relates to our common understanding of what it resembles. Š is brings us to the »not« category. Words belonging to the »not« category are usually put into use in front of something that looks pretty much as art always has done, but where the argument is that the object in question, in fact, is something quite diV erent. Š ese Clay Ketter: Materializing the Context
Den offentliga konstens roll efter millennieskiftet är ett resultat
av en uppdragsforskning som S... more Den offentliga konstens roll efter millennieskiftet är ett resultat av en uppdragsforskning som Statens konstråd beställt av ämnet Konstvetenskap på Södertörns högskola. Boken tar avstamp i den komplexa situation som omgärdar offentlig permanent och tillfällig konst, beställd och sanktionerad av privata eller offentliga medel, eller tillkommen på enskilda initiativ. Här diskuteras konstens roll som pågående projekt eller just konstverk, dess funktion som värdeskapande, trygghetsskapande, minnesmärke liksom som del av korta deltagandeprocesser och som verkande över lång tid.
T
his dissertation, using a genealogical perspective, examines American art critic Clement Greenb... more T his dissertation, using a genealogical perspective, examines American art critic Clement Greenberg and why has become the foremost representative of modernism in much of contemporary, postmodern art criticism. The minimalist break with Greenbergian modernism (esthetic/formalism) during the Sixties has played, and continues to play, an important role in art theory. The break meant a shift from the esthetic/formalist concept that states that works of art can only be judged a media’s specific standards - and that this is what makes it possible to talk about ”quality” -¬ to the less static concept of ”interest,” allowing for a pluralistic art scene. What is most important in this context is that minimalism brought about this change by building on a conflict inherent in the esthetic/formalist conception of art – that conflict being between the avant garde’s dynamic need for development, and the static notion of quality. Minimalism, then, transgressed modernism by embracing avant-garde’s need for progress. And it is Greenberg’s defintion of modernism that eventually made this conflict appear. Minimalism’s break with modernism is still of great importance in two ways. First, it provides arguments in defense of the pluralism of the Sixties against those who have claimed that this pluralism was only a vague copy of the avant-garde during the early twentieth century. It also allows for arguments in favor for certain expressions and against others in the pluralistic art filed – pluralism does not mean that anything goes. The notion of avant-garde is of great significance in this dissertation. It is the conflict between Greenberg’s understanding of avant-garde and its need for development, and the static idea of the media-specific, that in the end allows minimalism to transgress modernism. The way in which minimalism transgresses modernism allows the ”neo-avant-garde” of the Sixties to reconnect to the practices of the ”historical” avant-garde from the early twentieth century. It remains important, even in the pluralistic art field, to differ between ”true” and ”false” avant-garde. All these arguments point to the importance of Greenberg, a figure so important that had he not existed, he would have to have been invented.
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Papers by Håkan Nilsson
av en uppdragsforskning som Statens konstråd beställt av ämnet
Konstvetenskap på Södertörns högskola. Boken tar avstamp i den
komplexa situation som omgärdar offentlig permanent och tillfällig
konst, beställd och sanktionerad av privata eller offentliga medel,
eller tillkommen på enskilda initiativ. Här diskuteras konstens
roll som pågående projekt eller just konstverk, dess funktion som
värdeskapande, trygghetsskapande, minnesmärke liksom som del av
korta deltagandeprocesser och som verkande över lång tid.
his dissertation, using a genealogical perspective, examines American art critic Clement Greenberg and why has become the foremost representative of modernism in much of contemporary, postmodern art criticism. The minimalist break with Greenbergian modernism (esthetic/formalism) during the Sixties has played, and continues to play, an important role in art theory. The break meant a shift from the esthetic/formalist concept that states that works of art can only be judged a media’s specific standards - and that this is what makes it possible to talk about ”quality” -¬ to the less static concept of ”interest,” allowing for a pluralistic art scene. What is most important in this context is that minimalism brought about this change by building on a conflict inherent in the esthetic/formalist conception of art – that conflict being between the avant garde’s dynamic need for development, and the static notion of quality. Minimalism, then, transgressed modernism by embracing avant-garde’s need for progress. And it is Greenberg’s defintion of modernism that eventually made this conflict appear.
Minimalism’s break with modernism is still of great importance in two ways. First, it provides arguments in defense of the pluralism of the Sixties against those who have claimed that this pluralism was only a vague copy of the avant-garde during the early twentieth century. It also allows for arguments in favor for certain expressions and against others in the pluralistic art filed – pluralism does not mean that anything goes.
The notion of avant-garde is of great significance in this dissertation. It is the conflict between Greenberg’s understanding of avant-garde and its need for development, and the static idea of the media-specific, that in the end allows minimalism to transgress modernism. The way in which minimalism transgresses modernism allows the ”neo-avant-garde” of the Sixties to reconnect to the practices of the ”historical” avant-garde from the early twentieth century. It remains important, even in the pluralistic art field, to differ between ”true” and ”false” avant-garde. All these arguments point to the importance of Greenberg, a figure so important that had he not existed, he would have to have been invented.