The Medium of Contingency: 3 (Urbanomic / Redactions, 3) - Softcover

Mackay, Robin; Negarestani, Reza; Ayache, Elie; Poole, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0993045898 ISBN 13: 9780993045899

Publisher: Urbanomic, 2018

Synopsis

An unprecedented meeting of philosophical thought, financial markets, and the art world.

Why has the concept of contingency taken on a marked importance both in contemporary philosophy and in contemporary art practice? And if this simultaneity derives from parallel problems met within the two different fields, what are their common roots?

Beyond acknowledging the contingent nature of tradition, institutions, and practices, recent speculative philosophies of “absolute contingency” demand a radical revision of the ways in which we conceive of our interaction with unknowable materialities, and pose a challenge to both probabilistic management and process-driven affirmation of contingency.

In an unprecedented meeting of philosophical thought, financial markets, and the art world, The Medium of Contingency explores how works of art write contingency into the present, and are in turn written by the contingency of their materials, and how these exchanges interact with other markets.

From the mathematical instruments used to value financial derivatives to the nature of literary creation, from the market-making role of the curator to the “chemistry of openness,” the contributors to this lively discussion draw out the startling consequences of a new figure of thought.

About this title

About the Authors

Robin Mackay is a philosopher, Director of the UK arts organization Urbanomic, and Associate Researcher at Goldsmiths University of London.

Reza Negarestani is a philosopher. He has lectured and taught at numerous international universities and institutes, and is currently directing the Critical Philosophy programme at the New Centre for Research and Practice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Urbanomic
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0993045898
• ISBN 13: 9780993045899
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80