This collection charts some of the ways in which site continues to be a concern for contemporary practice, and introduces the concept of ""plot"" as an alternative.
The critical concept of site-specificity once seemed to harbour the potential for disruption. But site-specific work has become increasingly assimilated into the capitalist logic of regeneration and value creation. The materialist critique of the art object has been shortcircuited by the franchised idiosyncrasies of international nomad fl neurs. And on a planet whose entire surface is mapped and apped, the concept of ""site"" itself becomes ever more problematic. How can we do justice to the particularity of local sites while unearthing their material conditions? What do a contemporary ""geo-philosophy"" and the historical legacy of site-specific art have to offer each other? Can we develop methods for the controlled unpacking of the local into the global, avoiding trivial reconciliations between local sites and their global conditions? When Site Lost the Plot charts some of the ways in which site continues to be a concern for contemporary practice; and introduces the concept of ""plot"" as an alternative approach. Alongside artists discussing their practice and their approach to site and plot, contributors from various disciplines introduce concepts from cartography, mathematics, film, fiction, design, and philosophy.
Robin Mackay, 'Introduction'; Roman Vasseur, 'Site and Materiality'; Yves Mettler, 'Europe Squared'; Nick Ferguson, 'Speedscaping'; John Gerrard, 'Remote-Control Site (Interview)'; Andrea Phillips, 'Making the Public'; Matthew Poole, 'Specificities of Sitedness'; Benedict Singleton, 'The Long Con'; Ilona Gaynor, 'Chaos and Black Carpets'; Paul Chaney, 'Fieldwork'; Shaun Lewin, 'A Brief History of Transcendence in Maps'; Matthew Watkins, 'Local, Global, and Beyond'; Reza Negarestani, 'Where is the Concept?'; Robin Mackay, 'The Barker Topos'; Justin Barton and Mark Fisher, 'On Vanishing Land'; Justin Barton, Mark Fisher, and Robin Mackay, 'Outsights (Interview)'; Dan Fox, 'Silent Running'
Robin Mackay is a philosopher, Director of the UK arts organization Urbanomic, and Associate Researcher at Goldsmiths University of London. Robin Mackay is a philosopher, Director of the UK arts organization Urbanomic, and Associate Researcher at Goldsmiths University of London. Yves Mettler is an artist with degrees in art and social sciences whose works have been shown internationally. He has previously published the book My Flowers Aren't Always Hiding Secrets. Reza Negarestani is an Iranian philosopher best known for pioneering the genre of ""theory-fiction"" with his book Cyclonopedia. (Urbanomic/Sequence Press). Robin Mackay is a philosopher, Director of the UK arts organization Urbanomic, and Associate Researcher at Goldsmiths University of London.
Reviews for When Site Lost the Plot
“Site-specificity” has never been invoked as frequently and meaninglessly as it is in the art of today, making this volume's critique and de-mystification a crucial intervention. —Mostafa Heddaya, Blouin Artinfo International
