

Beschreibung
Pursuing a new and timely line of research in world art studies, Humor in Global Contemporary Art is the first edited collection to examine the role of culturally specific humor in contemporary art from a global perspective. Since the 1960s, increasing numbers...Pursuing a new and timely line of research in world art studies, Humor in Global Contemporary Art is the first edited collection to examine the role of culturally specific humor in contemporary art from a global perspective. Since the 1960s, increasing numbers of artists from around the world have applied humor as a tool for observation, critique, transformation, and debate. Exploring how humorous art produced over the past six decades is anchored in local sociopolitical contexts and translated or misconstrued when exhibited abroad, this book opens new conversations regarding the functioning of humor and the ways in which art travels across the globe. With contributions by an impressive array of internationally based scholars covering six major continental regions, the book is organized into four distinct geographical sections: Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, South and North America, and Europe. This structure highlights the cultural specificity of each region while the book as a whole offers a critical perspective on the postcolonial, globalized art network. Reflecting on present-day processes of globalization and biennialization, which confront viewers with humorous art from a variety of cultures and countries, this book will provide readers with a culturally sensitive understanding of how humor has become vital to many contemporary artists working in an unprecedentedly interconnected world.
Autorentext
Mette Gieskes is Assistant Professor at Radboud University, The Netherlands.
Gregory H. Williams is Associate Professor of Contemporary Art at Boston University, USA. He is a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Germany, a residential grant from the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Getty Foundation, and an NEH Summer Stipend, Professor Williams devotes much of his research to art produced in Germany since 1945. He also writes about international artists in relation to globalization, exhibition culture, humor, and politics. He has published in periodicals, including Artforum, frieze, Art Journal, Parkett, October, and Texte zur Kunst, and has worked as an editor of the Brooklyn- and Berlin-based Cabinet magazine.
Inhalt
List of Plates
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Mette Gieskes (Radboud University, the Netherlands) and Gregory Williams (Boston University, USA)
Part One: Africa and The Middle East
Humor and the Enactment of Statehood: Khalil Rabah and Anticipatory Aesthetics in Palestine, Chrisoula Lionis (University of Manchester, UK)
Part Two: Asia and Oceania
"It's Funny Now, Aye": Humor and Contemporary Art from Oceania, Caroline Vercoe (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Part Three: South and North America
The Necessity of Jimmie Durham's Jokes, Richard Shiff (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
Part Four: Europe
Aesthetic Incongruity: Art and Humor in Post-Independence Azerbaijan, Monica Steinberg (University of Hong Kong)
Index