CURATED LIBRARIES

A Relational Aesthetics Bookshelf

In 1996, French theorist and curator Nicolas Bourriaud put together a show called Traffic, in which he advanced a new kind of art that he named “Relational Aesthetics.” The artists Bourriaud convened under this rubric--among them Liam Gillick, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Philippe Parreno, Pierre Huyghe, Carsten Höller and Vanessa Beecroft--all envisage their audience as potential collaborators and a potential community, so that the work’s meaning is generated collectively rather than individually (as with a traditional observer/artwork encounter). Bourriaud himself describes Relational Aesthetics as “a set of artistic practices which take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and their social context, rather than an independent and private space.” Rirkrit Tiravanija’s 1990s installations, in which meals were cooked for visitors, provide a classic instance of Relational Aesthetics in action; Vanessa Beecroft’s use of models and audience involvement are another. Our Artbook Curated Library is a selection of the finest monographs available on these artists.

From Rirkrit Tiravanija, JRP | Ringier.

"Anything that cannot be marketed will inevitably vanish."

Nicolas Bourriaud