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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

“Bibliotherapy” or the Effect of Bibliography in the Conceptual Approach of Art & Language

Résumé

In 1973, Philip Pilkington and David Rushton, involved in the conceptual group Art & Language and its broader project of “Indexes”, publish in the eponym journal an article titled “Bibliotherapy”. Although they warn the reader against any form of “completeness”, they propose a vast list of multidisciplinary and technical references unrelated to traditional artistic issues. Nevertheless, this unexpected bibliographical work had already been undertaken by other members of the group, such as Michael Baldwin and Terry Atkinson or Ian Burn and Mel Ramsden, who created, at the end of the sixties, card files indexes with bibliographical information. Made in an artistic context by non-specialists of the topics mentioned, it could be asked of what this “bibliotherapy” is the cure? Wouldn’t it rather be the symptom of an obsessive, egocentric “archival impulse” (Foster, 2004) or of a pretentious mimic of “the aesthetic of administration” (Buchloh, 1989)? Conversely, could it be an empowering “politics of knowledge” (Holert, 2016)? Through the lens of bibliography, I would like to cast a new light on the specificities of Art & Language’s practice: the conversational method, the pedagogical ambition, and the evolving collective identity. In turn, I would investigate the problematics and pitfalls that such a set of plural and complex references poses to the practice of art history. How do we consider them in the perspective of the art production? How pragmatically and methodologically should we deal with them? What do they teach us? In this specific moment of historical conceptual art, my aim would be to reconsider the effects on art and art history of less a fear than a faith in knowledge.
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Dates et versions

hal-03988949 , version 1 (14-02-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03988949 , version 1

Citer

Louis-Antoine Mège. “Bibliotherapy” or the Effect of Bibliography in the Conceptual Approach of Art & Language. Fear of Knowledge: Artists’ Book Collections, The NORDIK Association for Art Historians, Oct 2022, En ligne, France. ⟨hal-03988949⟩
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