Search results for ""Author Jonathan Harris""

In a series of newly commissioned essays by both established and emerging scholars, Globalization and Contemporary Art probes the effects of internationalist culture and politics on art across a variety of media. Globalization and Contemporary Art is the first anthology to consider the role and impact of art and artist in an increasingly borderless world. First major anthology of essays concerned with the impact of globalization on contemporary art Extensive bibliography and a full index designed to enable the reader to broaden knowledge of art and its relationship to globalization Unique analysis of the contemporary art market and its operation in a globalized economy

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THE UTOPIAN GLOBALISTS “Crossing continents, historical periods and cultural genres, Jonathan Harris skilfully traces the evolution of utopian ideals from early modernism to the spectacularised and biennialised (or banalised as some would say) contemporary art world of today.” Michael Asbury, University of the Arts, London The Utopian Globalists is the second in a trilogy of books by Jonathan Harris examining the contours, forces, materials and meanings of the global art world, along with its contexts of emergence since the early twentieth century. The first of the three studies, Globalization and Contemporary Art (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), anatomized the global art system through an extensive anthology of over 30 essays contextualized through multiple thematic introductions. The final book in the series, Contemporary Art in a Globalized World (forthcoming, Wiley-Blackwell), combines the historical and contemporary perspectives of the first and second books in an account focused on the ‘mediatizations’ shaping and representing contemporary art and its circuits of global production, dissemination and consumption. This innovative and revealing history examines artists whose work embodies notions of revolution and human social transformation. The clearly structured historical narrative takes the reader on a cultural odyssey that begins with Vladimir Tatlin’s constructivist model for a ‘Monument to the Third International’ (1919), a statement of utopian globalist intent, via Picasso’s 1940s commitment to Soviet communism and John and Yoko’s Montreal ‘Bedin’, to what the author calls the ‘late globalism’ of the Unilever Series at London’s Tate Modern. The book maps the ways artists and their work engaged with, and offered commentary on, modern spectacle in both capitalist and socialist modernism, throughout the eras of the Russian Revolution, the Cold War and the increasingly globalized world of the past 20 years. In doing so, Harris explores the idea that the utopian -globalist lineage in art remains torn between its yearning for freedom and a deepening identification with spectacle as a media commodity to be traded and consumed.

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Theosis offers a captivating trajectory of the life of Byzantine Emperor Basil II (976–1025), taking the reader into the intricate history of the Byzantine Empire at the peak of the Macedonian dynasty. Using authentic narratives and documentation as evidence to vividly depict life and politics at the Byzantine court, Harris in parallel traces a unique story of Basil's personal transformations from coming of age and emerging sexuality to his consolidation of power. Exploring Basil's homoerotic desires, Harris draws us in to consider familiar, seemingly modern, possibilities of queer identity without losing sight of the profound distance between Byzantine sexual cultures and our own. For the Byzantine view of rulership, another transformation represented the purpose of emperor's life. According to this ideology, theosis/deification was attainable only through a synergy of human activity and God's energies – but, how did this ideology frame Basil's views of rulership, other people and himself? Set against the backdrop of complex political events that affected the imperial dynasty, family intrigue and his early childhood losses, Harris explores the layers of Basil's conflicted selfhood, sexual subjectivity, and ultimately his desire for vengeance. This becomes the tragedy of Basil's story– despite his vast potential for goodness and self-awareness, his experiences leave him compromised, delighting in the extermination of those who have wronged him. It is this vengeance, and the transformation in him that allows it, that is now Basil's devastating theosis.(Dr. Justin Bengry, Lecturer in Queer History and Director of the Centre for Queer History, Goldsmiths University of London)Historical fiction is always a risky business. Jonathan Harris's debut novel, however, successfully overcomes the obstacles and meticulously builds a complex story set in a period that was perhaps the least covered subject of literature, especially fiction. Following Emperor Basil II on his path to deification, one can feel the atmosphere of ''Secretum'' or ''Imprimatur'' by the author duo Monaldi & Sorti, or even Madeline Miller's ''The Song of Achilles'', while exploring the vast palette of love, death, friendship, treason, and political turmoil from a thousand years ago. Harris grasps some controversy but never falls into sentimentality, which can often be a trap, especially for writers. Theosis is just a perfect text to be turned into a film or even a mini-series. (Ozren K. Glaser, mag. litt. comp., author, composer, filmmaker, cultural ambassador)

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In a series of newly commissioned essays by both established and emerging scholars, Globalization and Contemporary Art probes the effects of internationalist culture and politics on art across a variety of media. Globalization and Contemporary Art is the first anthology to consider the role and impact of art and artist in an increasingly borderless world. First major anthology of essays concerned with the impact of globalization on contemporary art Extensive bibliography and a full index designed to enable the reader to broaden knowledge of art and its relationship to globalization Unique analysis of the contemporary art market and its operation in a globalized economy

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The final installment in the critically-acclaimed trilogy on globalization and art explores the growing dominance of Asian centers of art This book takes readers on a fascinating journey around five Asian centers of contemporary art and its myriad institutions, agents, forms, materials, and languages, while posing vital questions about the political economy of culture and the power of visual art in a multi-polar world. He analyzes the financial powerhouse of Art Basel Hong Kong, new media art in South Korea, the place of the Kochi Biennale within contemporary art in India, transnational art and art education in China, and the geo-politics of art patronage in Palestine, and he develops a highly original synthesis of theoretical perspectives and empirical research. Drawing on detailed case studies and personal insights gained from his extensive experience of the contemporary art scene in Asia, Professor Harris examines the evolving relationship between the western centers of art practice, collection, and validation and the emerging “peripheries” of Asian Tiger societies with burgeoning art centers. And he arrives at the somewhat controversial conclusion that dominance of the art world is rapidly slipping away from Europe and North America. The Global Contemporary Art World is essential reading for undergraduates and postgraduate students in modern and contemporary art, art history, art theory and criticism, cultural studies, the sociology of culture, and globalization studies. It is also a vital resource for research students, academics, and professionals in the art world.

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This collection is an essential guide to, and critique of, visual arts regeneration strategies mobilized by local and national governments attempting to brand their cities in contemporary regional and global markets for lucrative industries, tourism and heritage recognition. Looking at cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, Da Zha Lan in China, Bogata in Colombia and Rio de Janiero in Brazil and case studies in the former USSR, it offers critical analyses of the history of regeneration policies and practices with a unique focus on the use of architecture, art and visual culture as vehicles for the re-design and re-presentation of cities. Themes treated include sustainability and energy production for cities, sexuality and architecture, surveillance and power on the streets, utopian imaginings of alternative societies and consultation for social change in building.

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This work is the expressly-environmental bookend to the "Frontier Issues in Economic Thought" series. The purpose of this volume is to synthesise and synopsise the key work from the many different disciplines that can contribute to socially and environmentally responsible/sustainable development.

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