Edité par
Michael Corris, l'édition augmentée de
In the Belly of the Beast: Art & Language New York Project 1972-1978 retrace les années tumultueuses du conceptualisme politique à New York au milieu des années 70.
Artists have always experimented with politics, either by organizing themselves or uniting in support of a broader political movement. Today, "activist art" is taught in universities, supported by foundations, and featured in museums and international exhibitions. Is this the only possible way?
In the Belly of the Beast tells a different story, of the work of politically engaged artists and the conflicts they experienced. It is the history of artists wishing to continue working within the boundaries of the artworld and those who were intent on establishing new ideological and class relationships with activists to build a political party.
During the 1970s in New York, the Art & Language collective pioneered institutional critique; published a Marxist-influenced journal; agitated against racism and sexism in museums; challenged the cultural imperialism of international exhibitions; and forged a framework for a socialist organization of artists. This new edition includes previously unpublished documents illuminating the contradictions and disputes that lay at the center of the organization and practices of Art & Language and left-wing groups, such as the Anti-Imperialist Cultural Union and the Artists' Meeting for Cultural Change, mobilizing artists in New York at the time.
The new and expanded edition of In the Belly of the Beast features an extensive interview with Michael Corris, who annotated a collection of previously unavailable documents from the period, including manuscripts, pamphlets, transcripts, and letters.
Art & Language est un groupe d'artistes anglais, et le nom d'une revue fondée en 1968. Proposant une
analyse critique des relations entre l'art, la société et la politique, Art & Language souligne, jusque dans son nom, l'importance du «
tournant textuel » dans l'art des années 1960. Depuis 1976, le projet de Art & Language a été poursuivi, à travers Mel Ramsden et Michael Baldwin, et avec les travaux littéraires et théoriques de Charles Harrison. Travaillant avec les mediums les plus divers, de la peinture à la musique rock, ces co-fondateurs de l'
art conceptuel restent, jusqu'à aujourd'hui, les permiers observateurs de ce qu'ils appellent eux-mêmes « l'écroulement dépressif de la modernité ».
