Gregory Sholette's 'Delirium and Resistance' Examines Activist Art's Enduring Potential
Carlos Garrido Castellano reviews Gregory Sholette's book 'Delirium and Resistance: Activist Art and the Crisis of Capitalism', published by Pluto Press in 2017. The book collects essays from four decades of Sholette's involvement in activist art, arguing that radical practices retain an unpalatable essence resistant to institutional assimilation. It is structured in three parts: 'Art World', 'Cities without Souls', and 'Resistance'. Part one includes texts on PAD/D, REPOhistory, Occupy Museums, and the concept of 'bare art' (borrowed from Giorgio Agamben). Part two addresses gentrification, with essays on the 'creative class', Occupy Wall Street, and socially engaged artists like Theaster Gates, Assemble Collective, and Conflict Kitchen. Part three explores dark matter and includes a text on the Maidan Uprising in Kiev. The final essay, 'Delirium and Resistance after the Social Turn', critiques Nato Thompson's 2004 exhibition 'The Interventionist' at MASS MoCA. Sholette's book avoids nostalgia, offering a critical lens on past activism while remaining optimistic about art's transformative agency. The review notes open questions about global applicability and transnational solidarity.
Key facts
- Book 'Delirium and Resistance: Activist Art and the Crisis of Capitalism' by Gregory Sholette, edited by Kim Charnley, published by Pluto Press in 2017.
- Review written by Carlos Garrido Castellano, published on Afterall on 21 February 2018.
- Sholette was a founder of Political Art Documentation/Distribution (PAD/D) and REPOhistory art collectives.
- PAD/D's archive is included in the Museum of Modern Art's collection.
- REPOhistory's public installation 'Civil Disturbances: Battles for Justice in New York City' (1998) is discussed.
- Occupy Museums' 2012 interventions against New York art institutions are analyzed.
- Sholette's concept of 'bare art' is defined, borrowing from Giorgio Agamben's bare life.
- Theaster Gates, Assemble Collective, and Conflict Kitchen are examined in the context of gentrification.
- Nato Thompson's 2004 exhibition 'The Interventionist' at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is critiqued.
- Lucy Lippard wrote the book's foreword.
- The book includes a text on the Maidan Uprising in Kiev, referencing Sholette's 'Imaginary Archive: Kiev'.
- Sholette's earlier books include 'Collectivism after Modernism' (co-edited with Blake Stimson, 2007) and 'Dark Matter: Art and Politics in the Age of Enterprise Culture' (2010).
Entities
Artists
- Gregory Sholette
- Carlos Garrido Castellano
- Giorgio Agamben
- Theaster Gates
- Lucy Lippard
- Blake Stimson
- Nato Thompson
- Dan Peterman
- Marc James Léger
- Yates McKee
- Dipesh Chakrabarty
Institutions
- Afterall
- Pluto Press
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Political Art Documentation/Distribution (PAD/D)
- REPOhistory
- Occupy Museums
- Global Ultra Luxury Faction
- Liberate Tate
- ACT UP
- Madame Binh Graphics Collective
- Occupy Wall Street
- Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA)
- Assemble Collective
- Conflict Kitchen
Locations
- New York City
- Kiev
- Ukraine
- London
Sources
- Afterall —