Liam Gillick's 'Industry and Intelligence' Examines Contemporary Art's Revolutionary Potential

Liam Gillick's book 'Industry and Intelligence: Contemporary Art Since 1820' was published by Columbia University Press in 2016. The publication compiles four lectures Gillick delivered at Columbia University in early 2013 under the title 'Creative Disruption in the Age of Soft Revolutions,' part of the Bampton in America series, along with essays previously appearing in e-flux and other outlets over seven years. Gillick explores what he terms 'current' art, critiquing trends like 'super subjectivity' where artists focus narrowly on themselves due to cultural relativism's erosion of hierarchy. He argues this climate makes artists fear being wrong or imposing on others, leading to solipsistic work. The book targets serious artists with intellectual leanings and specialized knowledge, requiring familiarity with Marxist writings and Continental philosophy. Gillick's prose features complex sentence structures and coded academic language, with paragraphs composed of subordinate clauses and adjectives used as nouns. Despite barriers to entry, the book aims to articulate art's revolutionary potential and empower those who understand its arguments. The 208-page volume carries an ISBN-13 of 978-0231170208 and retails for $35.