Synopses & Reviews
This revelatory book focuses on a remarkable series of encounters between the most prominent French philosophers of the 1960s and 1970sand#8212;Sartre, Deleuze, Bourdieu, and Foucault among themand#8212;and the artists of their times, most particularly the protagonists of the Narrative Figuration movement. Each encounter involved either a mutual engagement or the writing of critical texts or catalogue prefacesand#8212;texts that illuminate not only the work of the artists but also the production of the philosopher-writer concerned.
Although the protagonists of and#8220;French theoryand#8221; are universally known and studied, their thought is presented without a sense of contiguity, chronology, or context in translation, while the artists with whom they engaged are virtually unknown outside the French-speaking world. This account restores the lived context of artistic production. What Bourdieu called and#8220;cultural competenceand#8221; is seen to be essential for these particular philosophers, and Sarah Wilson shows that it is through them that the figurative art of 1970s France can be introduced to the audience it deserves.
Review
and#8220;Wilsonand#8217;s study provides an opportunity to consider yet again the vexed relationship between word and image, this time within the heated and crackling context of French politics.and#8221;and#8212;Tom Huhn, Art in America
Review
"Highly recommended."—D.A. Siedell, Choice Art in America
Review
The Visual World of French Theory by Sarah Wilson was named as one of the four shortlisted books for this years R.H. Gapper Book Prize awarded by the Society for French Studies. D.A. Siedell - Choice
Review
Shortlisted for the 2012 R.H. Gapper Book Prize awarded by the Society for French Studies (UK Award)
Review
"Highly recommended."and#8212;D.A. Siedell, Choice
About the Author
Sarah Wilson is professor of modern art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.