In a series of philosophical discussions and artistic case studies, this volume develops a materialist and immanent approach to modern and contemporary art. The argument is made for a return to aesthetics - an aesthetics of affect - and for the theorization of art as an expanded and complex practice. Staging a series of encounters between specific Deleuzian concepts - the virtual, the minor, the fold, etc. - and the work of artists that position their work outside of the gallery or 'outside' of representation - Simon O'Sullivan takes Deleuze's thought into other milieus, allowing these 'possible worlds' to work back on philosophy.

'Sincere, passionate and unpretentious, O'Sullivan demonstrates how to construct an active engagement between art practice and Deleuze and Guattari's theory. This book sets the agenda for art criticism beyond interpretation and representation, and will be valuable to practitioners, students and academics alike.' - Philip Goodchild, University of Nottingham, UK

Review of Hardback Edition:

'This book is an important contribution to the field of art history and the growing scholarship around Deleuze and Guattari.' - Deleuze Studies

'A smart and accessible introduction to Deleuze's provocative and brilliant contributions to reconsidering art, Simon O'Sullivan has written a book that will open art up to its most contemporary understanding. A thoughtful, intense and original analysis of art as the most aesthetic but also political, ethical and cultural of human forms of self-overcoming, this book will change the way students and scholars understand the place of art in social life.' - Professor Elizabeth Grosz, University of Utrecht, Netherlands

Autorentext
SIMON O'SULLIVAN is Lecturer in Art History/Visual Culture at Goldsmiths College, London, UK. He has published widely in the area of aesthetics and art theory, including articles in Parallax, Angelaki and Pli. This is his first monograph.

Inhalt
Introduction: Three Beginnings Rhizomes, Machines, Multiplicities and Maps: Manifesto for an Expanded Art Practice (Beyond Representation) The Ethicoaesthetics of Affect and the Bloc of Sensations: Reaffirming the Specificity of Art (Against Representation) Art and the Political: Minor Literature, War Machines and the Production of Subjectivity From Geophilosophy to Geoaesthetics: The Virtual and The Plane of Immanence vs. Mirror Travel and The Spiral Jetty From Possible Worlds to Future Folds: Abstracts, Situationist Cities and the Baroque in Art Conclusion: Three Endings