This anthology explores the tension between abstraction and economics from
the perspectives of art, art theory, art history, as well as law, sociology, philosophy, and economics. It poses questions
about the current challenges of a global capitalist economy with claims to expansive growth in relation to aesthetics, technology,
and democracy.
The relationship between abstraction and economics is discussed in a series of theoretical and artistic
contributions. The main focus is on the role of art in mediating between the concrete and the abstract, on formalist approaches
to art theory, and on the social and economic cues that help us trace the aesthetic regime of capitalism. Ultimately, this
book asks, “how can artistic-aesthetic practices counteract the regime of accumulation and abstraction?”
- The
visual arts in a socioeconomic context
- Reflecting on the relationship between abstraction and economics from capitalist-critical,
decolonial, ecological, and queer-feminist perspectives
- Contributions by Brenna Bhandar, Christina von Braun, Sabeth
Buchmann, Denise Ferreira da Silva, Sven Lütticken, R. H. Quaytman, Marina Vishmidt, and others
Look
insideEva Maria Stadler, Department of Art and Knowledge Transfer at the
Institute of Arts and Society, University of Applied Arts Vienna
Jenni Tischer, Department of Art and
Knowledge Transfer at the Institute of Arts and Society, University of Applied Arts Vienna
BOOK PRESENTATIONS
Abstraction & Economy was presented to the public on June 13, 2024, at the Auditorium of the University
of Applied Arts Vienna as well as on March 8, 2025, at b_books, Berlin, and on March 9, 2025, at Klosterruine, Berlin.
Find upcoming book presentations here
