UTOPIAS (DOCUMENTS OF CONTEMPORARY ART)
RICHARD NOBLE
Utopias, edited by Richard Noble, is one of a series documenting major themes and ideas in contemporary art. Utopian projects aspire to a better world but their forms may only ever live in our imaginations. Furthermore, we are as haunted by their failures as we are inspired by the aspiration to repair the failed and build the new. This anthology contextualizes art's current engagement with the utopian in relation to political thought, viewing the utopian as a key term in the artistic lineage of modernity. It illuminates how the exploration of utopian themes in art today contributes to our understanding of contemporary cultures and the possibilities for shaping their futures.
Richard Noble is by training a political philosopher who has migrated into the field of art. Much of his writing and teaching focuses on the relation between art and politics . Head of the Department of Art at Goldsmiths College, London, he is currently writing an introduction to art theory and has published catalogue essays on contemporary artists including Antony Gormley, Mona Hatoum and Rachel Whiteread.
