Art Monsters

Brought to you by Penguin.A dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them.For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it?Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Art Monsters is a landmark intervention in how we think about art and the body. Weaving daring links between disparate artists and writers - from Julia Margaret Cameron's photography to Kara Walker's silhouettes, Vanessa Bell's portraits to Eva Hesse's rope sculptures - Lauren Elkin shows that their work offers a potent celebration of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political.'Destined to become a new classic' Chris Kraus'The Susan Sontag of her generation' Deborah Levy(c)2023 Lauren Elkin (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Brought to you by Penguin.A dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them.For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it?Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Art Monsters is a landmark intervention in how we think about art and the body. Weaving daring links between disparate artists and writers - from Julia Margaret Cameron's photography to Kara Walker's silhouettes, Vanessa Bell's portraits to Eva Hesse's rope sculptures - Lauren Elkin shows that their work offers a potent celebration of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political.'Destined to become a new classic' Chris Kraus'The Susan Sontag of her generation' Deborah Levy(c)2023 Lauren Elkin (P)2023 Penguin Audio

'Destined to become a new classic' Chris Kraus A dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them. For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it? Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Art Monsters is a landmark intervention in how we think about art and the body. Weaving daring links between disparate artists and writers – from Julia Margaret Cameron’s photography to Kara Walker’s silhouettes, Vanessa Bell’s portraits to Eva Hesse’s rope sculptures – Lauren Elkin shows that their work offers a potent celebration of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political. ‘The Susan Sontag of her generation’ Deborah Levy

'Destined to become a new classic' Chris Kraus A dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them. For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it? Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Art Monsters is a landmark intervention in how we think about art and the body. Weaving daring links between disparate artists and writers – from Julia Margaret Cameron’s photography to Kara Walker’s silhouettes, Vanessa Bell’s portraits to Eva Hesse’s rope sculptures – Lauren Elkin shows that their work offers a potent celebration of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political. ‘The Susan Sontag of her generation’ Deborah Levy

A Must-Read: Vogue , Nylon , Chicago Review of Books , Literary Hub , Frieze , The Millions , Publishers Weekly , InsideHook , The Next Big Idea Club , "[Lauren] Elkin is a stylish, determined provocateur . . . Sharp and cool . . . [ Art Monsters is] exemplary. It describes a whole way to live, worthy of secret admiration." --Maggie Lange, The Washington Post "Destined to become a new classic . . . Elkin shatters the truisms that have evolved around feminist thought." --Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick and After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography What kind of art does a monster make? And what if monster is a verb? Noun or a verb, the idea is a dare: to overwhelm limits, to invent our own definitions of beauty. In this dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies, and art, Lauren Elkin--the celebrated author of Fl?neuse --explores the ways in which feminist artists have taken up the challenge of their work and how they not only react against the patriarchy but redefine their own aesthetic aims. How do we tell the truth about our experiences as bodies? What is the language, what are the materials, that we need to transcribe them? And what are the unique questions facing those engaged with female bodies, queer bodies, sick bodies, racialized bodies? Encompassing a rich genealogy of work across the literary and artistic landscape, Elkin makes daring links between disparate points of reference--among them Julia Margaret Cameron's photography, Kara Walker's silhouettes, Vanessa Bell's portraits, Eva Hesse's rope sculptures, Carolee Schneemann's body art, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's trilingual masterpiece DICTEE --and steps into the tradition of cultural criticism established by Susan Sontag, H?l?ne Cixous, and Maggie Nelson. An erudite, potent examination of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political, the ambiguous and the opaque, Art Monsters is a radical intervention that forces us to consider how the idea of the art monster might transform the way we imagine--and enact--our lives.

A Must-Read: Vogue , Nylon , Chicago Review of Books , Literary Hub , Frieze , The Millions , Publishers Weekly , InsideHook , The Next Big Idea Club , "[Lauren] Elkin is a stylish, determined provocateur . . . Sharp and cool . . . [ Art Monsters is] exemplary. It describes a whole way to live, worthy of secret admiration." --Maggie Lange, The Washington Post "Destined to become a new classic . . . Elkin shatters the truisms that have evolved around feminist thought." --Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick and After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography What kind of art does a monster make? And what if monster is a verb? Noun or a verb, the idea is a dare: to overwhelm limits, to invent our own definitions of beauty. In this dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies, and art, Lauren Elkin--the celebrated author of Fl?neuse --explores the ways in which feminist artists have taken up the challenge of their work and how they not only react against the patriarchy but redefine their own aesthetic aims. How do we tell the truth about our experiences as bodies? What is the language, what are the materials, that we need to transcribe them? And what are the unique questions facing those engaged with female bodies, queer bodies, sick bodies, racialized bodies? Encompassing a rich genealogy of work across the literary and artistic landscape, Elkin makes daring links between disparate points of reference--among them Julia Margaret Cameron's photography, Kara Walker's silhouettes, Vanessa Bell's portraits, Eva Hesse's rope sculptures, Carolee Schneemann's body art, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's trilingual masterpiece DICTEE --and steps into the tradition of cultural criticism established by Susan Sontag, H?l?ne Cixous, and Maggie Nelson. An erudite, potent examination of beauty and excess, sentiment and touch, the personal and the political, the ambiguous and the opaque, Art Monsters is a radical intervention that forces us to consider how the idea of the art monster might transform the way we imagine--and enact--our lives.