Amanda Beech's Comic Narrative 'Determinism Noir' Explores Realism's Political Challenges

Amanda Beech published a comic-based narrative titled 'Determinism Noir, Realism and Its Discontents' on February 5, 2018, examining alternative realism in contemporary art. The work employs noir genre conventions to address themes of agency, rationalism, and metaphysics within a nihilistic climate shaped by twentieth-century technological and capitalist forces. Beech's narrative unfolds in three distinct sections. First, it establishes a project base promoting rational determinism within an unpredictable yet pragmatic environment. Second, it presents a report based on real events, critiquing arguments from politics and the art world that blame representation for undermining art's political efficacy. The comic dismisses these views as leaving art with either naive commitment to abstract mythology or powerless anti-realist contortions. The third section returns to epistemological detective work as essential for this new realist project. Beech combines painterly construction, philosophical argument, and political critique to advance her ongoing artistic investigations. She contends that art must move beyond egotistic self-consciousness that has falsely supported realism claims, while rejecting attempts to abandon realism entirely. The content is available through MIT Press under subscription-only access.