Contemporary Art, Systems and the Aesthetics of Dispersion

Using five case studies of contemporary art, this book uses ideas of systems and dispersion to understand identity and experience in late capitalism.

Francis Halsall is Lecturer in the History and Theory of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National College of Art and Design, Ireland and Co-Director of Master Programs, Art in the Contemporary World.

Introduction: Systems Everywhere! The Age of Dispersion 1. The Aesthetics of Dispersion 2. Seth Price and the Stuff of Systems 3. Liam Gillick and the Aesthetics of Disappointment 4. Martin Creed, the Anti-Readymade and the Dispersed Art Object 5. Theaster Gates and Systems of Improvisation and Entrepreneurship 6. Hito Steyerl: In Defence of the Poor Manifest Image 7. Envoi: The End of Art, Again