Art In The Age Of… is published on the occasion of the eponymous yearlong cycle presented at Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (23 January 2015 – 3 January 2016). This series articulated itself through three exhibitions; Art In The Age Of…Energy And Raw Material, Art In The Age Of…Planetary Computation, and Art In The Age Of…Asymmetrical Warfare, alongside a related discursive program and film screenings.
Art In The Age Of… was staged to investigate future vectors of art production in the 21st century, highlighting the circulation of art and its underlying economies rather than its territorial location, its spread and infectious expanse rather than its arrest within narrowly defined genealogies and media.
With a focus on topical areas of urgency within art’s creation and its dispersal, spanning energy and raw materials, planetary computation, and asymmetric warfare, the Art In The Age Of… publication both records and expands research feeding this year-long program through interviews and essays by key contributors, alongside specially commissioned artist interventions.
Edited by Defne Ayas (director, Witte de With), Natasha Hoare (associate curator, Witte de With), and Adam Kleinman (chief editor, WdW Review), the book features interviews with artists involved in the various exhibitions of Art In The Age Of…, including Rossella Biscotti, James Bridle, Céline Condorelli, John Gerrard, Femke Herrengraven, David Jablonowski, Navine G. Kahn-Dossos, John Menick, Trevor Paglen, Susan Schuppli, Tom Tlalim; commissioned essays by theorists, curators and cultural historians involved in its discursive program, including contributions by Alexandra Bradford, Natasha Ginwala, Mike Jay, and Mohammad Salemy; interventions by artists Nina Canell and David Jablonowski; as well as visual documentation of the three exhibitions.