Deconstruction and the Work of Art: Visual Arts and Their Critique in Contemporary French Thought

The "work of art" is widely used but often unexamined, and poststructuralist thinkers introduce the idea of the radical multiplicity of art and its works. Martta Heikkilä's book Deconstruction and the Work of Art: Visual Arts and Their Critique in Contemporary French Thought shows that the deconstructionist notions of art are still influential in the discourses of contemporary art, offering new perspectives on the complex relation between philosophy and art.

Format: Hardback
Length: 310 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2021
Publisher: Lexington Books

The concept of the "work of art" has gained widespread usage in contemporary society, yet it remains largely unexamined. As such, it is crucial to re-evaluate this concept before we can fully comprehend the implications of deconstructionist aesthetics for thinkers such as Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe. By examining their analyses of visual art and contextualizing their thinking on the matter, Martta Heikkilä argues that the implications of the "work of art," "art," and "the aesthetic" extend beyond philosophical inquiry and apply to a broader range of topics.

In contrast to the historical notion of Art as a singular totality, poststructuralist thinkers introduce the idea of the radical multiplicity of art and its works. This notion leads to the fundamental question posed by Derrida and the poststructuralist tradition: how can we speak philosophically of art, which always exists as singular instances, as works?

In his book, Deconstruction and the Work of Art: Visual Arts and Their Critique in Contemporary French Thought, Heikkilä demonstrates that the deconstructionist notions of art continue to exert influence in the discourses of contemporary art, where artworks proliferate and the concept of "work" remains open-ended and expansive. This book serves as an introduction to the deconstructionist theory of art and offers fresh perspectives on the complex and indeterminate relationship between philosophy and art.

Weight: 671g
Dimension: 231 x 163 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793619044