Artful Objects: Graham Harman on Art and the Business of Speculative Realism

by Graham Harman, Isak Nilson (Editor), Erik Wikberg (Editor)

A lecture by the originator of object-oriented philosophy, delivered on the occasion of the Sculpture after Sculpture exhibition at Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

Can objects be traumatized? How does the commercial value of an art object relate to its aesthetic qualities? How do objects interact? These are some of the questions addressed by Graham Harman, the originator of object-oriented philosophy and a central figure of the Speculative Realism school of thought in contemporary philosophy. This book includes Harman's lecture “What Is an Object?” delivered at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, on the occasion of the exhibition Sculpture after Sculpture, with Jeff Koons, Charles Ray, and Katharina Fritsch—artists who have expanded the notion of the object in art and society at large.

In his lecture, Harman gives a thorough exposition of the object from an ontological standpoint and puts forward a concept of the object that goes beyond reductionist orientations. He declares a philosophical approach bringing philosophy and the arts closely together, where objects are impenetrable to direct knowledge and paraphrase and instead must be approached obliquely and indirectly. The publication also includes a symposium in which thirteen questions to Harman—in relation to the thirteen sculptures of the show—that were posed about the implications of object-oriented philosophy for art, business administration, and philosophy.

Contributors

Graham Harman, Daniel Birnbaum, Lars Strannegård, Sven-Olov Wallenstein, Pierre Guillet de Monthoux, Marcia Cavalcante, Jo Widoff, Sigrid Sandström, Michael Dahlén, Emma Stenström, Jenny Lanz, Ebba Sjögren, Isak Nilson, Erik Wikberg

Copublished with the Stockholm School of Economics

Genres: Philosophy

84 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2021

About the author

Graham Harman (born May 9, 1968) is a professor at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. He is a contemporary philosopher of metaphysics, who attempts to reverse the linguistic turn of Western philosophy. He terms his ideas object-oriented ontology. A larger grouping of philosophers, Speculative Realism, includes Harman and the philosophers Iain Hamilton Grant, Quentin Meillassoux and Ray Brassier.

Reviews

[Marijonas Verbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lengvas skaitalas, kuris maloniai pramankštino smegenis: sugrįžo susidomėjimas (ir meilė) menui, smalsumas permąstyti asmeninę kūrybą bei paskaityti daugiau cituojamų darbų:)

[Šarūnė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ačiū M., maloniai atgaivino po kelių nesėkmingų knygų

[Ezekiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this before realizing that the entire lecture (reproduced in print, here) is available to watch for free on YouTube. On one hand, this realization made the experience of reading it "not worth" its $12 price - or any price, maybe. On the other hand, my reading seemed enhanced by virtue of it being in print, and I was not restricted to simply listening to/watching it online. Plus, the inclusion of the Q&A segment at the end softened the blow, a little. It's an interesting exchange and one where you get to see Harman elaborate on important points (what is an object NOT?) as well as admit uncertainties (anything on the business/financial side of the art object) in a more casual-ish setting.