From: Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM
Date: Wed Nov 17 2004 - 15:23:23 EST
Katy Siegel and Paul Mattick (2004) _Art Works: Money_. New York: Thames & Hudson At first glance, this looked like just another art text. Something caught my eye, though, when I saw a copy in a pile at a used bookstore on 12th Street. One of the authors was Paul Mattick. Do you suppose, I asked myself, that it is the same Paul Mattick who is a former member of OPE-L? Indeed it is. The co-author, Katy Siegel, is an Associate Professor of art history and criticism at Hunter College in New York City. This is a truly subversive text. It seeks, more by pictures than by words, to critique the role of money in bourgeois society via an exposition and critique of the role and functions of money as seen by artists -- both radical and mainstream. The art presented is mostly in the form of the graphic arts but there is also sculpture, poetry, etc.. Graphically, this is a gorgeous book. That's one of the reasons it is potentially very subversive. There is, of course, text as well -- especially in the 'Entrance' (or introduction) on "Art and Money" and a talk (interview) with the authors and four artists (Rainer Ganahl, Raymonde Moulin, Lane Relyea, Richard Shiff) at the end of the book. In between there are seven "rooms" (or chapters): Room 1: Precious Material Room 2: Credit Room 3: Production Room 4: Store Room 5: Circulation Room 6: Business Room 7: Alternatives Without hitting the readers over the head with unnecessary verbiage, a Marxist critique of money is presented. The format of the book encourages one to not merely read the content but to study and ponder the images -- many of which are very powerful. Of course, one expects a book co-authored by Paul Mattick to mention Karl Marx. The influence of Marx can be seen indirectly (e.g. in the quote from 'Timon of Athens', Act 4, Scene 3, on gold that Marx reproduces in Volume One of _Capital_) and more directly in 'Book 7' where a number of graphic works by Rainer Ganahi on Marx and _Capital_ and people in 4 countries "Reading Karl Marx" are presented. Of course, there is a quotation from Volume 1 as well -- the one which ends "The expropriators are expropriated." In Room 7 there are also some very powerful images of class struggle in the form of pictures by Jeremy Dellier from the 1983 strike in Yorkshire, England, by the National Union of Mineworkers. This book is to be part of a series: forthcoming titles include "Autobiography", "Memory", "Perform", "Place", "Touch", and "Utopia." This would be an excellent choice for a text for some cultural studies and cross-disciplinary courses. It might even be used as an unconventional, supplementary text in a course on monetary theory -- particularly if you have a lot of art students. I might even use it next year for a class I teach at Pratt Institute on "Capitalism & Socialism." Or, it would make a fine gift indeed for someone who has artistic interests -- especially if that person is political. Or, you could just get a copy and keep it on the desk in your office as a means for stimulating student interaction and feedback. The book is a paperback and the price is US$29.95. For information on ordering, see: www.wwnorton.com/thamesandhudson/new/fall04/593004.htm In solidarity, Jerry
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