Ernst van Alphen Book order

From architectural space to narrative a brilliant new conception of sculpture’s unique modalities While discussions about installation art or other three-dimensional art forms are widespread, the discourse on sculpture seems to be stuck in historical or thematic frameworks. Drawing from literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis and architecture, Ernst van Alphen explores “seven logics” of the Logic of Inner Necessity; the Logic of Narration; the Logic of Space; the Logic of Volume; the Logic of Assemblage; the Logic of Architectural Space; and the Non-Logic of Singleness. These themes articulate the modalities specific to sculpture in a fresh and brilliant conception. Artists discussed include Carl Andre, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brâncusi, Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Michelangelo, Bruce Nauman, Meret Oppenheim and Rachel Whiteread.Ernst van Alphen (born 1958) is a cultural theorist and a professor emeritus of literary studies at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He is the author of Failed Images (Valiz, 2018) and Staging the Archive (Reaktion Books, 2014), and the editor of Shame! and Masculinity (Valiz, 2020).

Dedicated to art practices that mobilize the model of the archive, this book demonstrates the ways in which such 'archival artworks' probe the possibilities of what art is and what it can do.

According to most of the critical commentary on Francis Bacon, the paintings by this crucially important artist are about violence, torment, fragmentation and loss. However, Ernst van Alphen argues that it is the violence done to the viewer that needs to be addressed if we are to understand how these works function.In this provocative and highly original interpretation of Bacon's art, the author offers close readings of significant works, discussing them in relationship to theories of schizophrenia, masculinity and contemporary literature, as well as issues of representation and visuality. By looking at the paintings in intricate detail and exploring their connections within cultural theory, van Alphen brings Bacon into the context of the contemporary critical debate."This examination of critical reactions to Bacon is very welcome"— The Art Newspaper