Alexander Dumbadze

Suzanne Hudson

An engaging account of today’s contemporary art world thatfeatures original articles by leading international art historians,critics, curators, and artists, introducing varied perspectives onthe most important debates and discussions happening around theworld. Features a collection of all-new essays, organized aroundfourteen specific themes, chosen to reflect the latest debates incontemporary art since 1989 Each topic is prefaced by an introduction on currentdiscussions in the field and investigated by three essays, eachshedding light on the subject in new and contrasting ways Topics include: globalization, formalism, technology,participation, agency, biennials, activism, fundamentalism,judgment, markets, art schools, and scholarship International in scope, bringing together over forty of themost important voices in the field, including SofíaHernández Chong Cuy, David Joselit, Michelle Kuo, Raqs MediaCollective, and Jan Verwoert A stimulating guide that will encourage polemical interventionsand foster critical dialogue among both students and artaficionados

1989 to the Present

Contemporary Art

An engaging account of today’s contemporary art world that features original articles by leading international art historians, critics, curators, and artists, introducing varied perspectives on the most important debates and discussions happening around the world. Features a collection of all-new essays, organized around fourteen specific themes, chosen to reflect the latest debates in contemporary art since 1989 Each topic is prefaced by an introduction on current discussions in the field and investigated by three essays, each shedding light on the subject in new and contrasting ways Topics include: globalization, formalism, technology, participation, agency, biennials, activism, fundamentalism, judgment, markets, art schools, and scholarship International in scope, bringing together over forty of the most important voices in the field, including Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, David Joselit, Michelle Kuo, Raqs Media Collective, and Jan Verwoert A stimulating guide that will encourage polemical interventions and foster critical dialogue among both students and art aficionados

On July 9, 1975, Dutch-born artist Bas Jan Ader set sail from Chatham, Massachusetts, on a thirteen-foot sailboat. He was bound for Falmouth, England, on the second leg of a three-part piece titled In Search of the Miraculous. The damaged boat was found south of the western tip of Ireland nearly a year later. Ader was never seen again. Since his untimely death, Ader has achieved mythic status in the art world as a figure literally willing to die for his art. Considering the artist’s legacy and concise oeuvre beyond the romantic and tragic associations that accompany his peculiar end, Alexander Dumbadze resituates Ader’s art and life within the conceptual art world of Los Angeles in the early 1970s and offers a nuanced argument about artistic subjectivity that explains Ader’s tremendous relevance to contemporary art. Bas Jan Ader blends biography, theoretical reflection, and archival research to draw a detailed picture of the world in which Ader’s work was rooted: a vibrant international art scene populated with peers such as Ger van Elk, William Leavitt, and Allen Ruppersberg. Dumbadze looks closely at Ader’s engagement with questions of free will and his ultimate success in creating art untainted by mediation. The first in-depth study of this enigmatic conceptual artist, Bas Jan Ader is a thoughtful reflection on the necessity of the creative act and its inescapable relation to death.

Alexander Dumbadze

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