February 6, 2018
Terra Foundation Paris Center & Library
Since the 1960s, “working against Greenberg” has proven to be a productive path for artists, critics, and art historians alike. Intermedial practices have undone his notion of medium-specificity as a driving force for artistic experimentation, together with the formalism it implies. Concentration on the gendered body has questioned his privileging of the visual over other forms of sensorial experience. Claims for artistic and cultural diversity have replaced his paradigm of canonical art. Art activism and participatory practices now occupy the center stage.
What then are the stakes in reading Clement Greenberg in French today? The release of Écrits choisis des années 1940 & Art et Culture (Éditions Macula, 2017) is an opportunity to reassess the importance of these writings when artistic and critical interests point in opposite directions. What new aspects of Greenberg’s ideas and persona does this editorial project reveal? How does it invite us to think about the impact of his ideas on artistic practices and theories in new and fresh ways?
Speakers:
- Caroline A. Jones, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Katia Schneller, Associate Professor, École supérieure d’art et design Grenoble-Valence
Videography by Romain Grésillon.