About the Author:
Paul Virilio is Director of the Ecole Speciale d'Architecture in Paris and author of over 15 books, including Art and Fear and Desert Screen.
Review:
'Is Virilio a strident critic out of touch with contemporary culture or is Art & Fear a deft excoriation of excess? Either way, this is a short, sharp and gripping book.' —Modern Painters
'What Virilio has to say in "Art and Fear" is, in some ways, at least from this side of the channel, quite unremarkable' - The New Statesman
'In "Art and Fear", he makes his brutal logic shockingly clear.' - Blueprint
“In Art and Fear, he makes his brutal logic shockingly clear.“ —Blueprint
“Virilio’s writings over the years have offered incisive observations about modern visuality and the ever-increasing speed and pervasiveness of technology; pointing out, for example, that the invention of cinema was dependent upon both the mechanism for the Gatling gun and the invention of searchlights.” –Project Muse, May 2005
“Art and Fear is a logical step in Paul Virilio’s long and distinguished career as one of the few true humanist scholars who has consistently challenged the assumptions of an increasingly post-human world...In Art and Fear, Virilio proves once again that he is a brave and radical advocate of humanity. Choosing to direct his critique at the sacred world of avant-garde art, Virilio boldly offers much needed reflection for an art world that is too often reluctant to rigorously question its ethical commitments. For art historians, this challenging work will offer an alternative to a history of Modern art which is all-too-often people with heroic trailblazers and lovable rouges. For scholars interested in investigating the post-human, Virilio’s work provides a disquieting meeting place for optimistic speculation and violent realities. And, finally, for those who are simply trying to keep up with Virilio's work, Art and Fear builds on an exciting repertoire, adding discussions or art and sound that extend earlier discussions of the built and the virtual.” –Reconstruction, May 2005
"Paul Virilio's vision of war, art and technology has informed contemporary debates about techno-capitalist modernity for some time. Often perceived as a prophet of doom and pessimism, Virlio has consistently interrogated the effects of modern technology on the human condition....John Armitage's introduction offers a concise overture to both Art and Fear and to Virlio's general trajectory of thought. Art and Fear itself, relying almost exclusively on the historical development of genres as transgenic art, does a commendable job of providing a stereoscopic view of the political contexts of such art - Auschwitz, genocide, war." -Pramod Naya, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, January 2006
'Is Virilio a strident critic out of touch with contemporary culture or is Art & Fear a deft excoriation of excess? Either way, this is a short, sharp and gripping book.' —Modern Painters
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.