Art and Subjecthood: The Return of the Human Figure in Semiocapitalism

Many contemporary artworks evoke the human figure: consider the omnipresence of the mannequin in the work of artists like John Miller, Thomas Hirschhorn, Heimo Zobernig, or David Lieske. Or the revival of a minimalist vocabulary embracing anthropomorphism, as in the works of Isa Genzken and Rachel Harrison. This book brings together contributions from the Institut fur Kunstkritik conference speculating on the reasons why, since the turn of the millennium, we have encountered so many artworks attempting to reconcile Minimalism with suggestions of the human figure. Contributions by internationally renowned scholars and critics look at the question in the light of Franco Berardi's theory of semiocapitalism - a power technology that aims squarely at our human resources. Featured essays by Ina Blom, Oliver Brokel, Caroline Busta, Stefan Deines, Hal Foster, Stefanie Heraeus, Jutta Koether, Magdalena Nieslony, Michael Sanchez.