Conceptual Beauty: Perspectives on Australian Contemporary Art

Conceptual Beauty is a collection of essays that are in some way representative of a particular moment in contemporary Australian art: a moment marked by the enduring belief in the social power of art but also by cognizance of the largely illusory nature of individual agency; a moment energised by the lively debates of post-structuralist theory and the politics of representation (in particular feminist perspectives), but one also marked by a sense of loss, namely the loss of the aesthetic dimension of art in the wake of conceptualism. Many of the essays are about works that seek to connect art with wider social and political questions in full awareness of its limitations; works that grapple with the apparent dichotomy between critical idea and beautiful object; works that are drawn equally to conceptual approaches that engage in meta-analysis of language and institutions - including the figure of the artist him/herself - and to the well-crafted piece, the affectively joyful. Conceptual Beauty includes essays on the work of Robyn Backen, Barbara Campbell, Maria Cruz, Anne Ferran, Adam Geczy, Bronia Iwanczak, Vanila Netto, David Noonan, Mike Parr, Sue Pedley, Patricia Piccinini, Ben Quilty, Julie Rrap, Robyn Stacey, Monika Tichacek and Ruth Watson amongst others.