Situational Aesthetics
Selected Writings by Victor Burgin
Alexander Streitberger (Editor),
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Now only € 10,00 instead of € 29,50
Highly influential both as an artist and as a theoretician Victor Burgin figures amongst the most insightful thinkers on visual culture in recent times. His writings focus on the production of meanings and affects through images – at the intersections of subjective desire and sociopolitical organization – and cross a diversity of representational practices (photography, film, painting, advertising, television, the internet) and theoretical fields (semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminist theory, cultural studies). The essays in this volume provide a succinct overview of Burgin’s rich and multifaceted work during the last forty years – from its origins in debates within the Conceptual Art movement to its present concern with everyday perception in the environment of global media. The selection includes such classic essays as ‘Situational Aesthetics’ and ‘Photographic Practice and Art Theory’, together with less widely-known articles such as ‘Work and Commentary’ and the previously unpublished essays ‘Shadows, Time and Family Pictures’ and ‘Monument and Melancholia’. The essays are arranged chronologically in sections to represent four salient phases of Burgin’s preoccupations: Conceptual art and photography; A psychical realism; The city and global media; Infinite film. Each section is preceded by an exchange between Victor Burgin and the book’s editor, Alexander Streitberger, to introduce the main lines of thought. Examples from Burgin’s visual works, selected by the editor in consultation with the artist, accompany each section.
Preface – Alexander Streitberger
The Psychotopological Text: Victor Burgin’s Writings in Perspective – Alexander Streitberger
Conceptual Art and Photography
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
Situational Aesthetics (1969)
Work and Commentary (1973)
Lei-Feng (1974)
Photographic Practice and Art Theory (1975)
A Psychical Realism
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor BurginPhotography, Phantasy, Function (1980)
Olympia (1982)
Diderot, Barthes, Vertigo (1986)
Geometry and Abjection (1987)
The City and Global Media
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
Chance Encounters: Flâneur and Détraquée in Breton’s Nadja (1990)
The City in Pieces (1993)
Shadows, Time and Family Pictures (1996)
Watergate (2000)
The Perpetual Infinite Film
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
The Noise of the Marketplace (2003)
he Time of the Panorama (2005)
Monument and Melancholia (2008)
Solito Posto (2008)
About Solito Posto (2009)
Bibliography
Index of terminology
Burgin ontleedt vastgeroeste denkpatronen
Hij is het minder bekende broertje van conceptuele mastodonten als Joseph Kosuth of Dan Graham. Toch is hij niet minder belangrijk geweest.[...] Burgin excelleerde in de meest ongerijmde combinaties die er te maken zijn tussen beeld en kunst. [...] In zwart-wit foto's op groot formaat, met soms poëtische, soms theoretische teksten half door het beeld gedrukt, ontleed hij betekenissen van beelden of geeft ze juist een verrassend nieuwe betekenis.
Lucette ter Borg, NRC Handelsblad, 5 juni 2014
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Situational Aesthetics" about?
Reduced Price!
Now only € 10,00 instead of € 29,50
Highly influential both as an artist and as a theoretician Victor Burgin figures amongst the most insightful thinkers on visual culture in recent times. His writings focus on the production of meanings and affects through images – at the intersections of subjective desire and sociopolitical organization – and cross a diversity of representational practices (photography, film, painting, advertising, television, the internet) and theoretical fields (semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminist theory, cultural studies). The essays in this volume provide a succinct overview of Burgin’s rich and multifaceted work during the last forty years – from its origins in debates within the Conceptual Art movement to its present concern with everyday perception in the environment of global media. The selection includes such classic essays as ‘Situational Aesthetics’ and ‘Photographic Practice and Art Theory’, together with less widely-known articles such as ‘Work and Commentary’ and the previously unpublished essays ‘Shadows, Time and Family Pictures’ and ‘Monument and Melancholia’. The essays are arranged chronologically in sections to represent four salient phases of Burgin’s preoccupations: Conceptual art and photography; A psychical realism; The city and global media; Infinite film. Each section is preceded by an exchange between Victor Burgin and the book’s editor, Alexander Streitberger, to introduce the main lines of thought. Examples from Burgin’s visual works, selected by the editor in consultation with the artist, accompany each section.
Who edited "Situational Aesthetics"?
"Situational Aesthetics" was edited by Alexander Streitberger.
Alexander Streitberger is professor of art history at UCLouvain.
Is "Situational Aesthetics" part of a series?
Yes, "Situational Aesthetics" is part of the "Lieven Gevaert Series" series. It's book 9 in the series.
The series covers four types of publications:
- outstanding monographic studies
- multi-authored volumes on a specific topic
- book length projects with artists
- translations and/or reprints of classic texts.
All books are published in English and are written for an international audience of scholars.
Format
All books in the series are published in 17*23 cm paperback with French flaps, printed in black and white on white maco paper and with a maximum page extent of 300 pages (120.000 words) including images (unless agreed otherwise).
Authors interested in publishing their book in Open Access can check out the funding options here. Open access books are published under a creative commons license.
Series editors
Hilde Van Gelder, KU Leuven
Alexander Streitberger, UCLouvain
Proposals
Proposals and enquiries can be sent to the series editors.
Please make use of the submission form to present the full manuscript to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.
Links & Resources
What is the Table of Contents for "Situational Aesthetics"?
Preface - Alexander Streitberger
The Psychotopological Text: Victor Burgin’s Writings in Perspective - Alexander Streitberger
Conceptual Art and Photography
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
Situational Aesthetics (1969)
Work and Commentary (1973)
Lei-Feng (1974)
Photographic Practice and Art Theory (1975)
A Psychical Realism
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor BurginPhotography, Phantasy, Function (1980)
Olympia (1982)
Diderot, Barthes, Vertigo (1986)
Geometry and Abjection (1987)
The City and Global Media
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
Chance Encounters: Flâneur and Détraquée in Breton’s Nadja (1990)
The City in Pieces (1993)
Shadows, Time and Family Pictures (1996)
Watergate (2000)
The Perpetual Infinite Film
Questions from Alexander Streitberger to Victor Burgin
The Noise of the Marketplace (2003)
he Time of the Panorama (2005)
Monument and Melancholia (2008)
Solito Posto (2008)
About Solito Posto (2009)
Bibliography
Index of terminology
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