Sunday, December 24, 2017

"Liquidation World : The Art of Living Absently" by Alexi Kukuljevic (MIT Press)

ISBN: 978-0-262-53419-2 The MIT Press
A very dense book regarding mostly the "Dandy" spirt or aesthetic through literature and art.   Alexi Kukuljevic pulls out all my favorite heroes in this one volume:  Buster Keaton, Kubrick's "The Shining," Marcel Duchamp, Charles Baudelaire, Alfred Jarry, Jacques Vaché and even the great comedian Andy Kaufman.   A deep reflection on those who lived/worked on the outskirts of their interested field.  Kukuljevic's book is dream-like on a subject matter that is very difficult to nail down.   The above artists and writers (and performers) are hard to define for their 'absently' spirit, where in many cases, it is their art that speaks for themselves, and we reflect on what we think is their personality, but in the end of the day, who knows?  "Liquidation World" got to me because I often think of these artists as major touchstones for my own aesthetic and pleasure.  A fascinating book that keeps turning the wheels in my mind, long after I read the last page.

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