Counter-Texts: Language in Contemporary Art

A timely look at visual artists who use language to challenge dominant narratives in contemporary art, with deep resonance in the politics of sex and race.

In Counter-Texts, Kim Dhillon provides a much-needed critical reassessment of written language in contemporary art. Considering the politics, aesthetics, and ethics of language, Dhillon explores artworks that use inscribed language, with a particular focus on works that challenge dominant narratives or that reveal, in visual form, the varied systems of oppression contained within words.

Featuring more than forty artists from diverse backgrounds, including newer artists such as Serena Lee, Abbas Akhavan, and Joi T. Arcand alongside established figures such as Glenn Ligon, Brian Jungen, and Susan Hiller, Dhillon rewrites the understanding of text in contemporary visual art. Counter-Texts explores how and why visual artists use written language, and it interrogates the power held in words.

Author: Kim Dhillon
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Published: 10/18/2022
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 7.80h x 5.90w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9781789145564
ISBN10: 1789145562
BISAC Categories:
- Art | History | Contemporary (1945- )

About the Author
Kim Dhillon is an essayist, poet, and art theorist, and teaches critical theory and curating at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She lives on the unceded territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people on Vancouver Island, Canada.