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Since its beginnings, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) has shown numerous traces of an intensive engagement with art and visual culture. In her monograph, Annika Weinert-Brieger systematically follows these traces for the first time through the writings of Bruno Latour, John Law, and Michel Callon, as well as through the exhibitions curated by Latour and other media. She explores the extensive material in the first international survey on the topic and insightfully contextualizes it within existing approaches from art history, art theory, and the sociology of art. In doing so, she reveals a distinct area of focus within ANT that has been overlooked in its reception so far.
Subsequently, Weinert-Brieger develops ANT into an art-theoretical approach to artworks, their production, and reception. In a translation between ANT and art theory, which takes its starting point from recent theoretical discussions on art and agency, she works out the central elements of an Actor-Art Theory and demonstrates its contributions to both contemporary and historical theoretical discourses.
Finally, she provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research potential for future work arising from the findings of the survey and the Actor-Art Theory developed in this monograph.
List of contents
Introduction: Tracing Art and Visual Culture.- 'Doing ANT': Epistemology and Methodology of ANT.- Theory Translations: Developing a Theoretical Operation to Connect ANT and Art Theory.- The Contribution of ANT to Analyses in Cultural Object Domains: A Research Overview.- Art and Visual Culture in ANT: A Survey.- The Agency of Art at the Intersection of Art and Action Theory.- The Artwork in Translation between ANT and Art Theory.- Networks of Art: A Social Configuration of Art.- Conclusion: Translations between ANT, Art, and Visual Culture.- Bibliography.
About the author
Annika Weinert-Brieger
received her doctorate at the doctoral research group "Sociology and Cultural Organization" from Leuphana University Lüneburg. She studied Cultural Studies with a focus on Art and Visual Culture and earned several awards and honors during her studies, including the Science Award of the State of Lower Saxony (Wissenschaftspreis des Landes Niedersachsen) in the student category. She was a scholarship holder of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes), the State of Lower Saxony, and Leuphana University Lüneburg. Her research interests include sociological theory, art theory, sociology of art and culture, and Science and Technology Studies.
Summary
Since its beginnings, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) has shown numerous traces of an intensive engagement with art and visual culture. In her monograph, Annika Weinert-Brieger systematically follows these traces for the first time through the writings of Bruno Latour, John Law, and Michel Callon, as well as through the exhibitions curated by Latour and other media. She explores the extensive material in the first international survey on the topic and insightfully contextualizes it within existing approaches from art history, art theory, and the sociology of art. In doing so, she reveals a distinct area of focus within ANT that has been overlooked in its reception so far.
Subsequently, Weinert-Brieger develops ANT into an art-theoretical approach to artworks, their production, and reception. In a translation between ANT and art theory, which takes its starting point from recent theoretical discussions on art and agency, she works out the central elements of an Actor-Art Theory and demonstrates its contributions to both contemporary and historical theoretical discourses.
Finally, she provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research potential for future work arising from the findings of the survey and the Actor-Art Theory developed in this monograph.
