Laruelle and Art ALSO AVAILABLE FROM BLOOMSBURY The Last Humanity: A New Ecological Science, François Laruelle Capitalism’s Holocaust of Animals, Katerina Kolozova Art as Human Practice: An Aesthetics, Georg W. Bertram Tintoretto’s Difference: Deleuze, Diagrammatics and Art History, Kamini Vellodi Laruelle and Art The Aesthetics of Non-Philosophy JONATHAN FARDY BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2020 Copyright © Jonathan Fardy, 2020 Jonathan Fardy has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xx constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design by Peter Somogyi Cover image © runna10 / iStock All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-3501-1472-2 PB: 978-1-3501-1473-9 ePDF: 978-1-3501-1471-5 eBook: 978-1-3501-1474-6 Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters. Dedicated to a future for three vi Contents List of Figures viii Preface x Acknowledgments xx 1 Introduction 1 2 “Non” is Not Negation 43 3 The Aesthetics and Ethics of Non-Philosophy 79 4 Aesthetics in a Different Light: Kapoor, Flavin, Turrell 117 5 Conclusion 155 Notes 161 Index 174 Figures 1 Robert Rauschenberg, Reservoir, 1961. Source: Oil, pencil, fabric, wood, and metal on canvas with two electric clocks, rubber tread wheel, and spoked wheel rim 85 1/2 × 62 1/2 × 15 1/2 inches (217.2 × 158.8 × 39.4 cm). Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY 8 2 Alberto Giacometti, City Square, 1948. Source: Giacometti, Alberto (1901–66) © VAGA & ARS, NY City Square, 1948. Bronze, 21.6 × 64.5 × 43.8 cm Purchase. Museum of Modern Art, Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY © 2018 Alberto Giacometti Estate/VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY 21 3 Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917 (replica 1964). Source: Duchamp, Marcel (1887–1968) © ARS, NY. Fountain. 1917/1964. Third version, replicated under the direction of the artist in 1964 by the Galarie Shwartz, Milan. Glazed ceramic, 63 × 48 × 35 cm. AMI 1986-295. Photo: Philippe Migeat/ Christian Bahier. Musee National d’Art Moderne © CNAC/ MNAM/Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY © Association Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2018 26 4 Julia Margaret Cameron, Annie, 1864. Source: Cameron, Julia Margaret (1815–79). Albumen silver print, 17.9 × 14.3 cm. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program 45 FIGURES ix 5 Dan Flavin, “Monument” 1 for V. Tatlin, 1964. Source: Flavin, Dan. (1933–96). © ARS, NY. “Monument” for V. Tatlin 1. 1964. Fluorescent lights and metal fixtures, 243.8 x 58.7 x 10.8 cm. Gift of UBS. The Museum of Modern Art. Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY © 2018 Stephen Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 130