Art and Fear (Continuum Impacts) [Hardcover]

Paul Virilio (Author)

Book Description

Series: Continuum Impacts | Publication Date: April 10, 2006

Paul Virilio is one of contemporary Continental thought's most original and provocative critical voices. His vision of the impact of modern technology on the contemporary global condition is powerful and disturbing, ranging over art, science, politics and warfare. In Art and Fear, Paul Virilio traces the twin development of art and science over the twentieth century. In his provocative and challenging vision, art and science vie with each other for the destruction of the human form as we know it. He traces the connections between the way early twentieth century avant-garde artists twisted and tortured the human form before making it vanish in abstraction, and the blasting to bits of men who were no more than cannon fodder i nthe trenches of the Great War; and between the German Expressionists' hate-filled portraits of the damned, and the 'medical' experiments of the Nazi eugenicists; and between the mangled messages of global advertising, and the organisation of global terrorism. Now, at the start of the twenty-first century, science has finally left art behind, as genetic engineers prepare to turn themselves into the worst of expressionists, with the human being the raw material for new and monstrous forms of life. Art and Fear is essential reading for anyone wondering where art has gone and where science is taking us.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Is Virilio a strident critic out of touch with contemporary culture or is Art & Fear a deft excoriation of excess? Either way, this is a short, sharp and gripping book.' --Modern Painters

'What Virilio has to say in "Art and Fear" is, in some ways, at least from this side of the channel, quite unremarkable' - The New Statesman

'In "Art and Fear", he makes his brutal logic shockingly clear.' - Blueprint

“In Art and Fear, he makes his brutal logic shockingly clear.“ —Blueprint

“Virilio’s writings over the years have offered incisive observations about modern visuality and the ever-increasing speed and pervasiveness of technology; pointing out, for example, that the invention of cinema was dependent upon both the mechanism for the Gatling gun and the invention of searchlights.” –Project Muse, May 2005

“Art and Fear is a logical step in Paul Virilio’s long and distinguished career as one of the few true humanist scholars who has consistently challenged the assumptions of an increasingly post-human world…In Art and Fear, Virilio proves once again that he is a brave and radical advocate of humanity. Choosing to direct his critique at the sacred world of avant-garde art, Virilio boldly offers much needed reflection for an art world that is too often reluctant to rigorously question its ethical commitments. For art historians, this challenging work will offer an alternative to a history of Modern art which is all-too-often people with heroic trailblazers and lovable rouges. For scholars interested in investigating the post-human, Virilio’s work provides a disquieting meeting place for optimistic speculation and violent realities. And, finally, for those who are simply trying to keep up with Virilio's work, Art and Fear builds on an exciting repertoire, adding discussions or art and sound that extend earlier discussions of the built and the virtual.” –Reconstruction, May 2005

"Paul Virilio's vision of war, art and technology has informed contemporary debates about techno-capitalist modernity for some time. Often perceived as a prophet of doom and pessimism, Virlio has consistently interrogated the effects of modern technology on the human condition....John Armitage's introduction offers a concise overture to both Art and Fear and to Virlio's general trajectory of thought. Art and Fear itself, relying almost exclusively on the historical development of genres as transgenic art, does a commendable job of providing a stereoscopic view of the political contexts of such art - Auschwitz, genocide, war." -Pramod Naya, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, January 2006

'Is Virilio a strident critic out of touch with contemporary culture or is Art & Fear a deft excoriation of excess? Either way, this is a short, sharp and gripping book.' --Modern Painters

About the Author

Paul Virilio is Director of the Ecole Speciale d'Architecture in Paris and author of over 15 books, including Art and Fear and Desert Screen.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 70 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (April 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826460801
• ISBN-13: 978-0826460806
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,539,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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