The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning

lingered over "The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning," for a while. With every book Nelson writes I am making lists of artists, writers, and films to visit or revisit. The questions that Nelson raises are not only fascinating, but necessary for me as a writer. Delving into the human experience of violence, trauma, and what it is to survive the every day existence is absolutely focal to the artists she includes in this panorama of carnival rides. How much can one take? Are you ready for the slaughterhouse in Wender's film? Asphyxiation? Mutilation? Human as meat on the canvas and on stage? "Francis Bacon was one of those who insisted that humans will always suffer, no matter how just their circumstances, and that to argue otherwise is to deny a fundamental aspect of the human condition." YES! Nelson asks us to "think of pain of being poor, of being raped, of being enslaved, of being gay-bashed, of being forced into exile, of losing everything in a natural disaster, of suffering from an illness such as HIV or cancer (or any illness, especially if one does not have access to health care to treat it): such experiences swirl all kinds of human-made and primordial sufferings together."Nelson lays it all out, but leaves the judgment to us.

I hand-picked this book for a class requirement to review a book, so I read it a bit beyond my more comfortable reading speed.That said, I enjoyed every perspective it gave; and perspectives are the entirety of this book. It's very open about criticisms and attacking the author's own initial beliefs. Nelson does a great job remaining unbiased, or if she's biased, to address it and explain it.There's numerous critiques of common perspectives, but most of this book is regarding art which the common person might not know of, providing a new ground for understanding.

Maggie Nelson in this book is clearly experimenting with language in art criticism. I much appreciated this aspect. Common readers, i.e. readers that are not trained in art criticism, often find art theory pure invention, fanciful speculation or arcane discourse. Nelson investigations and questions are simple, specific, concrete and objectively reasonable. How did she managed to do this? talking in first person as personally and emotionally engaged. The topic, artistic issues related with an hypothetical (since theorized in theater by Artaud and barely mentioned in art) "Art of Cruelty", is very original and Nelson is brilliant in raising it to critical attention.

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incredibly wide-ranging reading informs a focused erudition and incisive analysis of an important subject many people have trouble merely thinking about; highly intelligent, yet readable and approachable... great style

I'm well educated, and I couldn't make sense out of the author's arguments or insights.

My favourite art criticism book, readable. Personable and covering art, life, media, film and literature. Well written and powerfully presented. A great overview of a vastly unchartered, subject- viewed with an eye which assesses but does not overly assert.

This was far too academic and intellectual for me. Not that I couldn't understand it but more that Ms Nelson seems to have erected a barrier between her heart and the reader, something which she did not do when she wrote JANE.