Aftershock

The Ethics of Contemporary Transgressive Art

Kieran Cashell (Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland)

$52.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

I.B. Tauris
30 August 2009

Theory of art; Art & design styles: from c 1960

Accused by the tabloid press of setting out to 'shock', controversial artworks are vigorously defended by art critics, who frequently downplay their disturbing emotional impact. This is the first book to subject contemporary art to a rigorous ethical exploration. It argues that, in favouring conceptual rather than emotional reactions, commentators actually fail to engage with the work they promote. Scrutinising notorious works by artists including Damien Hirst, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Richard Billingham, Marc Quinn, Sally Mann, Marcus Harvey, Hans Bellmer, Paul McCarthy, Tierney Gearon, and Tracey Emin, ""Aftershock"" insists on the importance of visceral, emotional and 'ethical' responses. Far from clouding our judgement, Cashell argues, shame, outrage or revulsion are the very emotions that such works set out to evoke. While also questioning the catch-all notion of 'transgression', this illuminating and controversial book neither jumps indiscriminately to the defence of shocking artworks nor dismisses them out of hand.

By: Kieran Cashell (Limerick Institute of Technology Ireland)
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 438g
ISBN: 9781845115241
ISBN 10: 1845115244
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 30 August 2009
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

CONTENTS Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction The Incompatibility of Aesthetics and Contemporary Art Transgression: the War against Disinterestedness The Ethics of Transgressive Art 1 Everyone Hates a Tourist The Ethical Analysis of Contemporary Art Disinterestedness and Cultural Tourism The Ethical Evaluation of Art: Autonomism versus Moralism A Difficult Case: Marc Quinn and Alison Lapper Transgressive Art Meets the Autonomist-Moralist Model Quinn and Lapper Revisited: A Contextualist Analysis Conclusion 2 Carte Blanche Marcus Harvey's Myra Preliminary Approaches to the Ethical Analysis of Myra 'Suffer Little Children': The Facts of the Case Myra: Portrait of a Serial Killer Postmodernism and the Absence of the Referent Thesis Contextualist Ethical Analysis of Myra Myra and Merited Response Theory Conclusion 3 Atrocity Exhibition Aesthetic Defences of the Work of Jake & Dinos Chapman The Canonic Defence and the Chapmans' Disasters of War The Transgressive Defence of Transgressive Art Hans Bellmer, Bataille and Authentic Transgression The Trivial Pursuit of Psychoanalysis Evaluation of the Aesthetic Defences of Transgressive Art Acknowledging the Immorality of the Chapmans' Work Contextual Ethical Evaluation of Zygotic Acceleration Conclusion 4 Fearless Speech Tracey Emin's Ethics of the Self 'With Myself Always Myself Never Forgetting': The Structure of Ethical Subjectivity Exposure without Reserve: Emotional Response and its Moral Significance Shame: An Existential Analysis Concluding Ethical Evaluation: Tracey Emin's Fearless Speech 5 Horrorshow The Transvaluation of Morality in the work of Damien Hirst Obscene Objects of Pleasurable Fascination Non-Human Animals and Ethical Inclusion Attending to the Other of the Animal: Art and the Ethics of Care Exquisite Corpse: Death and the Sublime Cognitive Immoralism The Artistic Transvaluation of Morality Aftershock: Tragic Sympathy and Meta-Ethical Significance Conclusion Bibliography Index

Kieran Cashell is Lecturer in Critical and Contextual Studies at the School of Art and Design, Limerick Institute of Technology.

Reviews for Aftershock: The Ethics of Contemporary Transgressive Art

'Kieran Cashell discusses artists who use everything from soiled bed linens to blood to dead sharks in their works. Drawing on an impressive array of philosophical ideas, Cashell helps viewers tackle the messy details of art by Damien Hirst, Orlan, Marc Quinn, Tracy Emin, and more, as he provides a probing and subtle defense of the moral value of such recent 'transgressive' art.' - Cynthia A. Freeland Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy University of Houston, Texas