Adam Thirlwell Proposes Literature Should Learn from Art's Fluidity and Reject Fixed Forms

Adam Thirlwell questions the term 'literature,' finding it reactionary compared to art's dynamism. He suggests literature could benefit from art's fluid definitions, citing Philippe Parreno's work as inspiration. Parreno's video Marilyn (2012) features an AI voiceover of Marilyn Monroe and algorithmic handwriting reproductions, with related drawings In Preparation of Marilyn: 'The Quasi Living' (2013) on Waldorf Astoria paper. Thirlwell admires Parreno's focus on meta-stories and content overflowing form, noting his true medium is time. He references Paul Verlaine's 1874 poem 'Art poétique,' which dismissively concludes 'Everything else is literature.' Thirlwell proposes making books more like shows, where works are pauses in ongoing processes, allowing collaboration and participation. He points to Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu (1913–27) as a novel that uses length to mimic time and memory, forcing readers into slowness and forgetting. Thirlwell's essay, published on ArtReview, explores redefining literature through art's exhibition-like qualities.