Cultures of Violence: Visual Arts and Political Violence

This book investigates how artists have used art practices to rethink concepts of violence and non-violence, exploring how intellectual and material contexts have affected art interventions and how visual arts can open up critical spaces to explore violence without reinforcement or recuperation. It discusses violence in the everyday and at state level, providing an innovative approach to a perennial issue of interest to scholars of international politics, art, and cultural studies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the profound responses of artists to violence, exploring how they have reimagined concepts of both violence and non-violence through their artistic practices. It investigates the diverse strategies employed by artists to unveil physical and symbolic forms of violence through representational, performative, and interventional means. By examining the interplay between intellectual and material contexts, the book sheds light on how art interventions can create critical spaces for exploring violence without perpetuating or reinforcing it. It posits that art possesses the power to challenge prevailing norms and ideologies surrounding violence, and that contemporary artists are actively engaging with publics through their work to effect such change.

Contributors to this volume respond to three central questions: how can political violence be understood or interpreted through art? How are publics understood or identified? How are art interventions designed to shift, challenge, or respond to public perceptions of political violence, and how are they constrained by these perceptions? The book explores violence in various contexts, including the Watts Rebellion, Occupy movements, repressive regimes in Russia, dominance in Hong Kong, the violence of migration, and the evolving art activist logic of the sigma portfolio. By examining these diverse cases, the volume offers an innovative approach to understanding the complex relationship between public debates, the visual and performing arts, and the tabooization of violence.

Through its comprehensive analysis and thought-provoking contributions, this book provides valuable insights into the role of art in shaping public discourse and challenging dominant narratives about violence. It serves as a testament to the transformative power of artistic expression and its ability to inspire social change. Whether one is a scholar of international politics, art, or cultural studies, this volume offers a rich and interdisciplinary perspective on a perennial issue that continues to resonate globally.

Weight: 240g
Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367497538