Nathalie Heinich's 'Il paradigma dell’arte contemporanea' Analyzes Contemporary Art as a Revolutionary Paradigm

Nathalie Heinich's book 'Il paradigma dell’arte contemporanea. Strutture di una rivoluzione artistica' (Johan & Levi, 2021) argues that contemporary art constitutes a revolutionary paradigm shift, distinct from modern and classical art. Drawing on Thomas Kuhn's definition of paradigm, Heinich posits that contemporary art requires new criteria of existence independent of language. She distances herself from Pierre Bourdieu's social psychology, focusing instead on power dynamics between actors and institutions. The book avoids defining cultural compartments, instead weaving examples and anecdotes to recognize roles without investigating taste socially. Heinich identifies an 'accanimento ermeneutico' (hermeneutic insistence) in contemporary art discourse, where meaning is sought to justify prices rather than cultural value. She critiques the curator's role and the network's power to reshape recognition, arguing that focusing on traditional art system models (museum director, gallerist, artist) underestimates image-based communication. The book explores the immateriality of contemporary art, its transformation from direct experience to mediated experience, from real investment to virtual currency, and from uncertain structural value to predictive tool. Heinich references Maurizio Cattelan frequently and illuminates new relations between dominant and subordinate actors. The review by Marcello Carriero was published on Artribune in March 2023.