Margaret Iversen stands as a leading international authority in art theory and contemporary art. Her work primarily explores the intersections of art, psychoanalysis, and theory, investigating how artistic creations and their histories shape our understanding of the human psyche and societal structures. Her research delves deeply into the relationship between photography and contemporary art, examining themes of trace, trauma, and memory.
An introduction to 'Transitional Object (PsychoBarn)', Cornelia Parker's major installation in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, inspired by Hitchcock's 'Psycho' and Edward Hopper's paintings
The book addresses the identity crisis in art history as it attempts to reconcile with contemporary global and mass media culture. Through a series of essays, it critically examines the foundational assumptions and presumptions within the field, offering insights and interventions that challenge traditional perspectives. This exploration aims to foster a deeper understanding of how art history can evolve in the face of modern influences.
"The chance situation or random event - whether as a strategy or as a subject of investigation - has been central to many artists' practices across a multiplicity of forms, including expressionism, automatism, the readymade, collage, surrealist and conceptual photography, fluxus event scores, film, audio and video, performance, and participatory artworks. But why - a century after Dada and Surrealism's first systematic enquiries - does chance remain a key strategy in artists' investigations into the contemporary world?" "The writings in this anthology examine the gap between intention and outcome, showing it to be crucial to the meaning of chance in art. The book provides a new critical context for chance procedures in art since 1900 and aims to answer such questions as why artists deliberately set up such a gap in their practice; what new possibilities this suggests; and why the viewer finds the art so engaging."--Jacket
Alois Riegel (1858-1905) was one of the founders of art history as a discipline. This is a general introduction to the work of the man who brought complex philosophical considerations to bear on art and its history. Ranging over diverse fields and among a large group of thinkers, Margaret Iversen establishes Riegl's relevance to recent critical thinking while clearly delineating his extraordinary critical powers.