Few books can boast of introducing an entirely new word to the English language, but with the title of the Tate’s fourth Triennial exhibition, leading critical theorist and curator Nicolas Bourriaud does just that. Made in today’s global context, “Altermodern” art is a reaction against cultural standardization and commercialization. Characterized by artists’ cross-border, cross-cultural negotiations; a new real and virtual mobility; the surfing of different disciplines; the use of fiction as an expression of autonomy; concern with sustainable development; and the celebration of difference and singularity, Altermodern works are on the cutting edge of contemporary art and thought.
With essays and contributions from prominent writers, art historians, artists and philosophers, including Tom McCarthy, TJ Demos, Carsten Höller, and Okwui Enwezor, this captivating survey focuses on the four main facets of Altermodern art: the end of postmodernism; cultural hybridization; traveling as a new way to produce forms; and the expanding formats of art. As visually striking as it is intellectually challenging, Altermodern is the quintessential introduction to an exciting new direction in art.