Aesthetic Journalism

Hito Steyerl, artist, filmmaker and theorist, Berlin, Germany: I just read your book, brilliant! Very nice read and groundbreaking! There is no such book around as yet, so it's really about time you did it! Peter Sandbichler, artist and consultant, Vienna, Austria: I have read your book "aesthetic journalism" with great interest. [...] I understand that your analysis of the applied methods in both journalism and in contemporary art is extremely precise and based on extensive research which makes it a very rich lecture. To me your book unfolds an enormous panorama which I appreciate a lot to find it in such compact. David Dunkley Gyimah, Senior Lecturer Digital Journalism, University of Westminster London, UK: I think you've touched on a rich vein which will not only be of huge interest to the arts worlds but more significantly in the evolving debate of journalism and doc - the world I know very well having previously worked for Channel 4 News, ABC News and Newsnight - to name a few. Geoffrey Garrison, artist and editor, Berlin, Germany (from Amazon page): Well-organized and thoroughly researched, Aesthetic Journalism is a good book for anyone who has ever wondered about the proliferation in contemporary art exhibitions of works resembling news reports, documentary cinema, or informative publications. Alfredo Cramerotti takes on this group of seemingly unrelated works, focusing on a number of themes pertinent to contemporary culture and society. This book investigates the bleeding over into one another of the fields of art and journalism, who share superficial similarities but differ radically on such notions as "reality," "fact," and "objectivity" as well as on professional aims and ethical standards. Definitely worth a read for anyone interested in recent contemporary art practices and discourse. Jose Roberto Shwafaty, artist, Campinas/Sp, Brasil and Berlin, Germany: I just took contact with your book 'Aesthetic Journalism' (bought in Berlin), which I found really interesting and symptomatic of many issues that I also share (regarding the contemporary regimes of visibility/invisibility and the possibilities to act and [re]exist in public spheres related to those regimes...). I [...] express my admiration and recognition to this interesting work you produced. David Briers, critic, writer and curator based in West Yorkshire, UK: I appreciate very much the clarity with which [Aesthetic Journalism] is written, and I think that the journalistic devices that you appropriately employ in the main body of the book are great! Above all, the book provides a relatively concise, empirical commentary about a phenomenon that until now lacked such a referent. Lauren Mele, Masters candidate, Contemporary Art Sotheby's Institute of Art, London, UK. I recently completed my Masters in Contemporary Art at the Sotheby's Institute of Art in London and have used your book as a large source of inspiration for my dissertation. I admire the acknowledgement of the problematic aspects of representations of crises at present, articulated by thinkers such as yourself. Meredith Davenport, Assistant Professor School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA I worked for many years as a photojournalist, working in film and in print all over the world. I left it to do an MFA in Art at Hunter College in New York where I spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between documentary, journalism and art. I'm almost finished reading Aesthetic Journalism. It's so clearly thought out and written. It has really helped me pull together things that I couldn't quite get to in my head. I've met Alfredo Jaar and your analysis of his work is DEAD on. Many thanks for that! Cathryn Drake, writer and ARTFORUM Magazine art critic, USA and Italy I finally did pick up your book, which I love! It articulates well exactly the sort of issues I often find myself ruminating on a daily basis since I traverse the various types of writing, from art to travel to essay and what is now called "creative nonfiction" but is actually just the nature of writing on just about anything -- sometimes all muddled into one these days with the birth of the blog. The writing in your book, from the very first page, the introduction, is admirably succinct and to the point.