Haunted: Contemporary Photography, Video, Performance

by Nat Trotman, Peggy Phelan, Nat Trotman

Much of contemporary photography and video seems haunted by the past, by ghostly apparitions that are reanimated in reproductive media, as well as in live performance and the virtual world. By using dated, passé or quasi-extinct stylistic devices, subject matter and technologies, these arts can embody a melancholic longing for an otherwise unrecuperable past. Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance examines the myriad ways by which photographic imagery is incorporated into recent art practices, and in the process underscores the unique power of reproductive media―while documenting a widespread contemporary obsession with accessing and retrieving the past. The works included in Haunted range from individual photographs and photographic series, to sculptures and paintings that incorporate photographic elements, to videos, film, performance and site-specific installations. Drawn primarily from the Guggenheim collection and its recent acquisitions, Haunted features major artists such as Marina Abramovi?, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle, Gregory Crewdson, Tacita Dean, Stan Douglas, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Anthony Hernandez, Roni Horn, Pierre Huyghe, Joan Jonas, Zoe Leonard, Sally Mann, Ana Mendieta, Annette Messager, Richard Prince, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sara VanDerBeek, Jeff Wall and Andy Warhol. A significant part of the survey is dedicated to work created since 2001 by younger artists such as Walead Beshty, Spencer Finch, Ori Gersht and Idris Khan.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2010

Reviews

[Kris Saknussemm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book, of the kind one doesn't sit down and necessarily read through straight--but will dip back into time and again. Expensive yes, but filled with glimpses of secret things. An inspiration resource more than a book to finish and shelve.