Surface Tension
Problematics of Site
Edited by Brandon LaBelle, Ken Ehrlich and Stephen Vitiello. Essays by Kathy Battista, Jennifer Gabrys, Lucy Lippard, Laurie Palmer, Lucy Soutter, Sara Roberts, Jane Rendell, Simon Leung, Michael Weinstock, Juli Carson, Alphonso Lingis and Giles Lane. From Gordon Matta-Clark to Lawrence Weiner, Bruce Nauman to Alison Knowles, the question of site locates itself in issues of public space, at the intersection of the imagined and the real, at the juncture of performance and architectural production. By anthologizing essays, documents, and interviews by leading critics, historians, and artists on issues of site-specificity, conceptualism, feminism, and architecture practice, Surface Tension reveals the connections between cultural production and the very spaces in which such work functions. These textual explorations are complemented by extensive documentation of related projects, both historical and contemporary, by artists, architects, and performance artists, including Coughing Piece, a never-before released 1961 audio work by Yoko Ono; an obscure audio work by Nauman from 1969; projects by Suzanne Lacy, a leading figure in the development of conceptual practice and public art; and an experimental text by Jane Rendell on psychic architectures. Conversations occur between the pages of Surface Tension, between theoretical analysis and modes of practice, that activate the publication as a site itself, one participating in a broad field of knowledge. Includes an audio CD of the sound art pieces. |
