The book "Ceremony" argues that our modern way of thinking is not as rational and secular as we believe. Instead, it is influenced by Christian origin myths that emerged during the Middle Ages, when capitalism began to take shape. This publication will constitute a critical reference point for those seeking to construct and envisage a “counter-cosmogony” to the dispossession, slavery, and extractivism of modernity — which together endanges planetary life. Buy

Seven Logics of Sculpture examines contemporary sculpture through a present-day gaze, filling a gap in art theory.⁠ ⁠ Whilst discussions about installation art, performance art, or other 3D art forms are widespread, the discourse on sculpture seems to be stuck in historical, material, or thematic frameworks. ⁠ Valiz see a loss for our understanding of art in general, and of sculpture in particular. So this book explores ‘seven logics’ of sculpture—not as a historical overview, but with a contemporary analytical approach, drawing from literature, philosophy, psycho-analysis, architecture, and mundane daily culture—that help understand specific manifestations of sculpture and the active perception by the viewer. It relates to aspects such as the senses, the skin, the body, objecthood, narrative dynamics, the shaping of space, fragmentation, and montage.⁠ ⁠ Seven Logics of Sculpture opens up new ways of looking at, understanding, and appreciating sculpture, placing the medium at the heart of art’s experience; how sculpture can be shaped, assembled, encountered, seen and embodied. Buy

It is here! The Cyberfeminism Index!⁠ ⁠ In in this book, hackers, scholars, artists, and activists of all regions, races and sexual orientations consider how humans might reconstruct themselves by way of technology. It takes the name cyberfeminism as an umbrella, complicates it, and pushes it into plain sight.⁠ ⁠ Edited by designer, professor, and researcher Mindy Seu, it includes more than 700 short entries of radical techno-critical activism in a variety of media, including excerpts from academic articles and scholarly texts; descriptions of hackerspaces, digital rights activist groups, and bio-hacktivism; and depictions of feminist net art and new media art. Buy

What is artistic research? What is a research document? How do these relate to the making process, invention, and creativity? ⁠ ⁠ Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create addresses all relevant aspects that need to be considered during a research and documentation process, such as: finding the right topic and approach; formulating your research question; working out your methods; choosing one or more suitable writing styles; and considering the possible roles of visual, virtual, auditory, embodied, and spatial materials.⁠ Buy

MacGuffin Magazine has a pretty special concept: Each issue of MacGuffin takes a close look at one unassuming everyday object to reveal its hidden complexity and stories. Through scrupulous, illuminating research this magazine unearths historical delights, exposes unusual viewpoints and changes our perspective.⁠ ⁠ Born out of boredom with the design world, this design magazine by an editorial team of architects and art historians does not focus on the latest trends, iconic designs or an endless stream of new objects, but concentrates on the much wider story of what an object becomes when it enters our day-to-day life, and on what it reveals in turn about us. In this way, each issue becomes a fascinating and amusing gem of meticulous research and design enthusiasm.⁠ ⁠ The latest issue is about the chain - one of the most contradictory of objects. Worn with love since time immemorial, it is also the ultimate symbol of slavery and suffering. Linking together royals and rappers, cycling skirts and classic scarfs, caged wrestlers and medieval warriors, hyperlinks and haunted houses, Baltic protestors and Cuban revolutionaries...⁠ ⁠ ⁠Btw the word MacGuffin is not the name of a Scotsman, but comes from the film world, from Hitchcock himself to be precise. It describes an object that serves to trigger the plot in a film without being of any particular use itself. A typical MacGuffin is, for example, a bag with the loot from a bank robbery. It is of central relevance for the protagonists, but for the plot the bag is of secondary importance. The story revolves around the chase and the resulting dramatic situations. Similarly, for each issue of MacGuffin, the object is only the starting point from which we delve into human behaviour, culture, traditions and history, uncovering the personal and sometimes curious relationships we have with the things that surround us.⁠ Buy

From the beginnings of colonial photography in the 19th century to contemporary images of 'white saviours' on social media, photography continues to play an essential role in the maintenance of white sovereignty. As various scholars have shown, the technology of the camera is not innocent either, nor are the images it produces.⁠ ⁠ Thus, the invention and perpetuation of the "white race" is not only a political, social and legal phenomenon, but also a complex visual one. In a time of revived fascism, we must seek to re-locate the image of whiteness in order to better understand its nonsensical construction. What does whiteness look like, and how might we begin to trace an anti-racist history of artistic resistance that works against this image?⁠ ⁠ The Image of Whiteness presents the visual history of whiteness - its falsehoods, its paradoxes and its part in manifesting power. It also presents works by photographic artists who subvert and critique this image. Buy

Media artist Hito Steyerl illuminates the power structures, inequalities and obscurities of the world. From surveillance, alienated labour, militarisation, protest culture, corporate domination and the art market, she exposes the systemic structures behind them. If one were to give her a title, it would probably be that of a network thinker. No wonder her texts and essays are as groundbreaking as her artistic works.⁠ ⁠ This interdisciplinary anthology analyses how Steyerl's work and writing influence and cross-fertilise each other.⁠ Buy

What makes a good listener? Is it a skill that can be easily learned, or rather a personality trait or talent? And why do some people seem to be so much better at it than others? Uneasy Listening, written by a psychoanalyst and a violin maker, is a dialogue between two very different kinds of professional listeners: one works with speech, the other with musical instruments. Anouchka Grose and Robert Brewer Young, complete strangers at first, embark on an engaging, entertaining and intricate meditation on communication that makes wide-ranging references to psychoanalytic theory, philosophy, contemporary politics and culture. As they discuss the differences, similarities and resonances between their practices, they encounter some of the illuminating difficulties of dialogue itself. Buy

In recent political debates, the concept of expert has undergone a shift in values from exaltation to disdain. In contexts as diverse as Brexit, climate change or vaccination, one encounters a palpable distrust of experts and an increasing tendency to throw their advice to the wind. Are we really witnessing the "death of the expert", or are the complaints about the "assault on science" just a hysterical reaction by elites who see their status threatened?⁠ Buy

Do you remember Polly Pocket? As a child, you could carry your secret dream house around with you. A little plastic world in a case that looks like a powder compact. Personally, I was denied ownership of one of these kitschy dream houses, my parents didn't think much of plastic toys that make you dream of mainstream consumer objects. And yes maybe the aesthetic is questionable and yet it still has an appeal to me. It was the first time I dreamt of a house that wasn't my parents'. A symbol of independence. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ This is one of the points of investigation in the first issue of Reference, a magazine devoted to living design, from the said Polly Pocket to Stonehenge and Superstudio and many more unusual examples.⁠⁠ Buy

Pier Paolo Pasolini, sadly long dead, remains inspiring and provocative not only because of his many talents as a linguist, man of letters, journalist and filmmaker, but also because of his themes. Pasolini never merely transfigured the archaism of remote regions or merely condemned progress, but in his appropriation of both poles he outlined a comprehensive poetics of experimental thought. In today's Europe of levelling and regulation, his voice is sorely missed. Buy

In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives. Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. We might not spend it on things that capitalism has deemed important … but once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress. Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book will change how you see your place in our world.⁠ Buy