Terms : Service - Part 1

"For its second edition, the discursive and artistic program Terms focuses on the notion of “service.” This word, which is taken as a given in our lives and shapes nearly all of our social interactions, historically refers to the state of subjection and obedience that binds one to a higher authority—a master, the law, the State, God. In its usual sense, it refers more broadly to a commitment to others or to oneself: made out of desire or obligation, with or without self-interest, at the level of the individual or of society. Today the word prevails, perhaps above all, in the market economy, where it translates into a transactional object dictated by imperatives of profitability, performance, innovation, general interest, and, occasionally, public utility." -- page 2

A Questionnaire on Materialisms

Recent philosophical tendencies of “Actor-Network Theory,” “Object-Oriented Ontology,” and “Speculative Realism” have profoundly challenged the centrality of subjectivity in the humanities, and many artists and curators, particularly in the UK, Germany, and the United States, appear deeply influenced by this shift from epistemology to ontology. October editors asked artists, historians, and philosophers invested in these projects—from Graham Harman and Alexander R. Galloway to Armen Avanessian and Patricia Falguières to Ed Atkins and Amie Siegel—to explore what the rewards and risks of assigning agency to objects may be, and how, or if, such new materialisms can be productive for making and thinking about art today

General Idea

"This monumental publication presents a visual survey of General Idea’s artworks, from their earliest performances and actions to their use of consumer and advertising media in the public realm to their gallery and museum work. Including more than 500 illustrations and texts by a range of scholars, it is the definitive resource on General Idea." -- Publisher's website