Author Description

At A Time When Artworld Critics And Curators Heavily Debate The Social, And When Community Organizers And Civic Activists Are Reconsidering The Role Of Aesthetics In Social Reform, This Book Makes Explicit Some Of The Contradictions And Competing Stakes Of Contemporary Art-making.--page 4 Of Cover. Social Works Is An Interdisciplinary Approach To The Forms, Goals, And Histories Of Innovative Social Practice In Both Contemporary Performance And Visual Art. Shannon Jackson Uses A Range Of Case Studies And Contemporary Methodologies To Mediate Between The Fields Of Visual And Performance Studies. The Result Is A Brilliant Analysis That Not Only Incorporates Current Political And Aesthetic Discourses, But Also Provides A Practical Understanding Of Social Practice.--page 4 Of Cover. Performance, Aesthetics And Support -- Quality Time: Social Practice Debates In Contemporary Art -- High Maintenance: The Sanitization Ethics Of Mierle Laderman Ukeles -- Staged Management: Theatricality And Institutional Critique -- Tech Support: Labour In The Global Theatres Of The Builders Association And Rimini Protokoll -- Welfare Melancholia: The Public Works Of Michael Elmgreen And Ingar Dragset -- Unfederated Theatre: Paul Chan Waiting In New Orleans -- Epilogue: Dependent Care. Shannon Jackson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 272-286) And Index.