'I’m Ready.' Thinking About Artists’ Writings in a Global Context

This text reflects on the growth of artists’ writings globally, taking into consideration the intersecting factors of international political upheavals since 1989; the digital revolution and Internet age; and the "visual turn" that began in the 1990s. The essay primarily attends to the positive and negative affects of the increasing role of critical theory in artists’ writings, and what I describe as different modes of artists’ writings, including "caption-as-text,""writings-as-actions," "writings-as-activism," "writing-as-image," "text-as-corporeal-speech," and the visual image as a substitute for textual reading (a reference to Mark Tansey’s paintings as they refer to Derrida and de Man).

Duke Scholars

Author Kristine Stiles Art, Art History & Visual Studies