Aesthetics, Philosophy, and Martin Creed
Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: June 2022
9781350009240
Abstract
What is the future of conceptualism? What expressions can it take in the 21st century? Is there a new role for aesthetic experience in art and, if so, what is that role exactly? Aesthetics, Philosophy and Martin Creed uses one of this generation’s most important and influential artists to address themes crucial to contemporary aesthetics.
Working in an impressive variety of artistic media, Creed represents a strikingly innovative take on conceptualism. Through his ingenious and thought-provoking work, a team of international philosophers, jurists and art historians illustrate how Creed epitomizes several questions central to philosophical aesthetics today and provides a glimpse of the future of both art and aesthetic discourse.
Table of contents
List of illustrations
Notes on contributors
Introduction, Elisabeth Schellekens and Davide Dal Sasso
Statements, Martin Creed
1. Where in the (Art)World is Martin Creed?, David Davies
2. Martin Creed’s ‘Workless’ Works of Art, Karen E. Gover
3. S T U P I D A R T, Diarmuid Costello
4. How Not to Be an Uncollectible Artist, Alessandra Donati and Anna Pirri Valentini
5. An Expression of the Essential: Martin Creed and the Celebration of the Ordinary, Davide Dal Sasso
6. Martin Creed: Conceptual Art and More, Elisa Caldarola
7. The Logical and The Phenomenological in Martin Creed’s Chairs, Gregory Minissale
8. Which ‘Martin Creed’? Or Switching from Insignificance to Significance, Clive Cazeaux
9. Process Art as an Aesthetic Alternative: Martin Creed’s Glasgow Connection, Diego Mantoan
Index (name)
Index (topics)
Reviews
“Making stupid art is far from stupid. If you want to understand why that is, or if you’ve ever wondered how Martin Creed’s work can be so radically simple and yet also utterly complex, you should read this book. It’s an eye-opener.”
Hans Maes, Senior Lecturer History and Philosophy of Art, University of Kent, UK
“By bringing cutting-edge philosophical ideas to bear on the work of one of the most resourceful and intriguing contemporary artists, this collection of essays provides a compelling analysis of the questions of meaning – and meaninglessness – that lie at the heart of Creed’s practice.”
Jason Gaiger, Professor of Aesthetics and Art Theory, University of Oxford, UK
“From the room filled with balloons to a crumpled piece of paper, Martin Creed’s art has both intrigued and infuriated his audiences. This thought-provoking volume peers beyond the controversy. The essays masterfully reveal the dilemmas at the centre of Creed’s art, and demonstrate what philosophically informed art criticism is today.”
Vid Simoniti, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Liverpool, UK
The editors
Elisabeth Schellekens is Chair Professor of Aesthetics at Uppsala University, Sweden.
Davide Dal Sasso is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Università di Torino, Italy.