"Some people find a certain cruelty in parts of our work," say the rising conceptualist-collaborators Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, "but they are definitely not more vicious than any real life experiences." Since 1995, Elmgreen and Dragset have tackled issues of privatization, gentrification, social alienation and the dismantling of social welfare. For their first show at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in 2001 they papered over the windows with the announcement "Opening Soon Prada." Pursuing and inverting this theme, in 2005 they installed a mocked-up Prada store on a deserted road near Marfa, Texas. They have recreated hospitals and prison cells, and have reconfigured gallery spaces to spatially deter their would-be audience. "Our aim is to investigate some of the power structures that these spaces derive from, and by exchanging and replacing some of these structures, show how fragile they actually are." This monograph is the first extensive survey of their work to date.
Tony Benn Book order (chronological)
Tony Benn was a British Labour Party politician celebrated for his extensive parliamentary career and relentless activism. His work was characterized by a profound engagement with social justice and workers' rights. Benn frequently explored themes of power, democracy, and civic responsibility in his discourse and writings. His legacy is defined by an unwavering commitment to championing the principles he held dear.
Office Without Power
Diaries 1968-72
Tony Benn's second volume of diaries, which spans the years 1968-72, is a unique record of British politics as observed both from the heart of the Cabinet and the Labour Party. George Brown's spectacular resignation and Cecil King's plot to overthrow Wilson are just two of the events which dominate the opening chapter, and introduce the last years of Labour's increasingly demoralised government. And for the first time in a political diary, Labour's experience of Opposition after the unexpected and shattering defeat of 1970 is revealed. Here, too, are recorded the bitter arguments over the Common Market, in which Tony Benn emerged as the principal advocate of a referendum on Britain's entry - and which foreshadowed the Labour/SDP schism of 1981. The result is a fascinating and invaluable document of the times.