World-Changing Rage - News of the Antipodeans

Georg Baselitz and Alexander Kluge explore the relationship between rage and obstinacy through ink and watercolor on paper and the written word, examining the history of humankind and its potential to lead to protests, revolution, and war. They argue that wit is more powerful than rage and depict Japanese master painter Katsushika Hokusai with an outstretched finger, pointing towards Europe.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 06 July 2023
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

An exploration by an artist and writer duo of a fundamental constant in the history of humankind: rage, and its impact on the world.

Rage and obstinacy are close relatives—and fundamental categories in the work of both Georg Baselitz and Alexander Kluge. In World-Changing Rage, these two accomplished German creators explore links and fractures between two cultures through two media: ink and watercolor on paper, and the written word.

The long history of humankind is also a history of rage, fury, and wrath. In this book, Baselitz and Kluge explore the dynamism of rage and its potential to rapidly grow and erupt into blazing protests, revolution, and war. The authors also reflect the melancholy archetype of the Western hero (and his deconstruction) against the very different heroic ethos of the Japanese antipodes. More powerful than rage, they argue, is wit, as displayed in the work of Japanese master painter Katsushika Hokusai. In this volume, Baselitz repeatedly draws an image of Hokusai, depicting him with an outstretched finger, as if pointing towards Europe in a mixture of rage, wrath, irony, and laughter, all-too-fleetingly evident in his expression.

A unique collaboration between two of the world's leading intellectuals, World-Changing Rage will leave every reader with a deeper appreciation of the human condition.

Weight: 266g
Dimension: 129 x 203 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803092263