How does art play a role in social and political struggles all over the world? Can art be a tool with which to shape the world, rather than just reflect it?
Truth Is Concrete: A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics takes the possibility of concrete truth as a working hypothesis and looks for direct action and concrete knowledge: for an art that not only represents and documents, but engages in specific political and social situations—and for an activism that not only acts for the sake of acting but searches for intelligent, creative means of self-empowerment.
This handbook emphasizes the “usefulness” of the different artistic approaches collected. It is a toolbox and a manual with contributions by key protagonists in this field. One hundred texts describe very different strategies and tactics, written by their inventors and/or practitioners from all over the world, mapping the broad field of engaged art and artistic activism today. Additional essays focus on the philosophy, structures, and modalities behind the many battles to make this world a better place.
Original contributions by Adbusters, Jonathan Allen, Udi Aloni, Hector Aristizábal, Artleaks, Andy Bichlbaum / The Yes Men, Reverend Billy, Leah Borromeo, Andrew Boyd, Tania Bruguera, Center for Political Beauty, Church of Kopimism, Santiago Cirugeda, Minerva Cuevas, Neil Cummings, Diedrich Diederichsen, Stephen Duncombe, etcetera, Charles Esche, Femen, Forensic Architecture, Ganzeer, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Marina Gržinić, Núria Güell, Erdem Gündüz, Hans Haacke, Stefano Harney, Carl Hegemann, Khaled Hourani, Iconoclasistas, The Institute for Human Activities, International Institute of Political Murder, Janez Janša, Khaled Jarrar, Jeudi Noir, Anna Jermolaeva, John Jordan, Janice Kerbel, Omer Krieger, the laboratory of insurrectionary imagination, André Lepecki, Lexxus Légal, Lawrence Liang, Geert Lovink, Matteo Lucchetti, Florian Malzacher, Oliver Marchart, Leónidas Martín, Tomislav Medak, Thomas Meinecke, Antanas Mockus, monochrom, Mosireen, Chantal Mouffe, Jean-Luc Moulène, Rabih Mroué, Marina Naprushkina, Neue Slowenische Kunst, Ahmet Öğüt / The Silent University, Dan Perjovschi, Sibylle Peters, The Pinky Show, Srđa Popović / CANVAS, Public Movement, Pussy Riot, Raivo Puusemp, raumlaborberlin, Gerald Raunig, Richard Reynolds, Irit Rogoff, Florian Schneider, Gregory Sholette, Stevphen Shukaitis, Jonas Staal, Mladen Stilinović, Kuba Szreder, Claire Tancons, Teatro Valle, Nato Thompson, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Ultra-red, the vacuum cleaner, Dmitry Vilensky / Chto Delat?, Joanna Warsza, WHW, WochenKlausur, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Jacob Wren, Stephen Wright, Wu Yuren, Slavoj Žižek, and many more
The dialectic between crystal-clear analytical thinking and concrete demands for action is what makes this volume so highly inspiring. Christine Wahl, Theater Heute
An important reference book and reader on the subject of engaged art. Wiener Zeitung
Anyone interested in the theory and practice of engaged art should buy this book! Kunstbulletin
A veritable treasure chest between orange-coloured book covers, carefully edited and beautifully designed. For the first time, it brings together working methods of very different artists from many parts of the world and thus represents a valuable collection of their projects and practices. nachtkitik.de
