Living Labor (Sternberg Press) - Contemporary Art Theory Book for Artists and Curators - Perfect for Museum Studies and Creative Research

Some relevant writing and very well chosen artists that forms a back drop to this exhibition in Norway. There is great focus on Norwegian social economy and this is justifiable. Fortunately though, this is macro and abstract enough to apply towards other cultures and so retains relevance for me living in London. Our usual art informing philosophical friends are all there; Deleuze, Virno, Harvey, Hardt and Negri and Foucault. But it does well by selecting writers who avoid overly mystifying the response to the works and subject, keeping it grounded but also rightly anchored towards aspects outside of the remit of artistic aesthetics. This would interest artists and art writers primarily. If I have one gripe it is that the labor of professionalised employment is often cast in negative connotations of which you would expect from such blatantly left wing art discourse such as this. This is not always a bad thing, but typically the offering of any pragmatic alternatives are thin on the ground because the very notion of alternatives would surely require a book three times in length. Even so overall it's a really enjoyable collection of writing, images and artists that provides a good overview of current issues in employment and art making. It is best as a source of supplementary information and ideas and gives more of a symbolic representation of contemporary concerns rather than anything specifically 'new' about the subject. My own interest in this subject is the very reason I bought the book through my own labor and why I felt the need to even add a review.I particularly enjoyed the chapter about Emeline Pankhurst and how it was written into the text.(The ink cover has smudged a little upon handling however, but this is just a production issue).