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The Contemporary ConditionThe Autonomy of Art Is Ordinary – Notes in Defense of an Idea of Emancipation

Kim West - The Contemporary Condition
An essay-length book arguing for the autonomy of art in the present.
Over recent decades, a post-critical theoretical and methodological paradigm has become increasingly dominant in the human sciences. Proponents of this approach have come to dismiss the idea—central to all modern aesthetics—of the autonomy of art. 
Written by critic and researcher Kim West, this book is a defence of art's autonomy and addresses some of the major arguments against it in recent post-critical writings. West critiques three key positions: first, that the concept of art's autonomy equals a myth of objective independence; second, that it is inextricably tied to traditions of formalist elitism; and third, that the ideal of autonomy reinforces the illusion of the inherently free and rational subject. From within this critique, West advances principles for how the autonomy of art could be understood today.
Kim West is a Swedish independent writer and scholar.
Edited by Geoff Cox and Jacob Lund.

Graphic design: Dexter Sinister.
 
2024 (publication expected by 4th quarter)
English edition
12 x 19 cm (softcover)
64 pages
 
8.00
 
ISBN : 978-1-915609-61-8
EAN : 9781915609618
 
forthcoming
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