Participation

The desire to move viewers out of the role of passive observers and intothe role of producers is one of the hallmarks of twentieth-century art. Thistendency can be found in practices and projects ranging from El Lissitzky'sexhibition designs to Allan Kaprow's happenings, from minimalist objects toinstallation art. More recently, this kind of participatory art has gone so f

The desire to move viewers out of the role of passive observers and intothe role of producers is one of the hallmarks of twentieth-century art. Thistendency can be found in practices and projects ranging from El Lissitzky'sexhibition designs to Allan Kaprow's happenings, from minimalist objects toinstallation art. More recently, this kind of participatory art has gone so far asto encourage and produce new social relationships. Guy Debord's celebrated argumentthat capitalism fragments the social bond has become the premise for much relationalart seeking to challenge and provide alternatives to the discontents of contemporarylife. This publication collects texts that place this artistic development inhistorical and theoretical context. Participation begins with writings that providea theoretical framework for relational art, with essays by Umberto Eco, BertoltBrecht, Roland Barthes, Peter B?rger, Jen-Luc Nancy, Edoaurd Glissant, and F?lixGuattari, as well as the first translation into English of Jacques Ranci?re'sinfluential "Problems and Transformations in Critical Art." The book also includescentral writings by such artists as Lygia Clark and H?lio Oiticica, Joseph Beuys, Augusto Boal, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Thomas Hirschhorn, and Rirkrit Tiravanija. Andit features recent critical and curatorial debates, with discussions by Lars BangLarsen, Nicolas Bourriaud, Hal Foster, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist. Copublished withWhitechapel Art Gallery, London