Rosalind Krauss Reinventing The Medium Pdf

To fully grasp the arguments Krauss lays out in "Reinventing the Medium," one must understand the critical framework she was writing against. For decades, mid-century art criticism was dominated by Clement Greenberg’s concept of media specificity. Greenberg argued that each art form must eliminate any element borrowed from other mediums to achieve "purity." For painting, this meant embracing flat canvas and pigment while rejecting narrative and three-dimensional illusionism.

Krauss's post-medium condition is, in many ways, a direct response to the crisis that Greenberg's own logic created. By pushing the idea of medium specificity to its extreme—to the monochrome canvas and the readymade—Greenberg's followers had painted themselves into a corner. Krauss's essay is a way out: a "looking back," as she puts it, at the road that led to this impasse, in order to find a new path forward.

. By the 1960s and 70s, traditional boundaries between painting, sculpture, and photography had "exploded". The Problem

In "Reinventing the Medium" (1999), Rosalind Krauss critiques the "post-medium condition," advocating for a return to "technical support" or specific artistic conventions over the generic, mixed-media approach of contemporary art. Drawing on Walter Benjamin, she argues for the "redemptive obsolescence" of mediums, highlighting artists like James Coleman and William Kentridge who redefine their work through specific, self-imposed rules. Read the full text at Semantic Scholar . Rosalind Krauss: between modernism and post- medium

Krauss observed that the international art world had become saturated with a generic, pluralistic style where "anything goes." She argued that when art completely abandons the constraints of a medium, it risks losing its capacity for self-critique. Without a rule-bound structure to work within or against, art easily succumbs to the logic of commercial capitalism, turning into mere spectacle or interior decoration. rosalind krauss reinventing the medium pdf

However, time has vindicated Krauss. In the 2020s, as NFT art and generative AI flood the market, her concept of the “technical support” is more urgent than ever. AI art, for example, does not have a medium in the Greenbergian sense; but Krauss would ask: What is the technical support of a diffusion model? (The latent space? The prompt interface? The training data’s bias?).

The late 20th century witnessed a profound crisis in the world of art criticism and practice. For decades, the dominant understanding of modern art relied on "medium specificity"—the idea that each art form should isolate and explore its own unique physical properties. However, the explosion of installation art, conceptualism, video art, and digital technologies in the 1960s and 1970s shattered these traditional boundaries.

: Uses the automobile and the layout of the "book" as his underlying medium. 3. Why This Text Matters Today The essay is a defense of specificity

Contrast her theories with other critics, such as . To fully grasp the arguments Krauss lays out

"Reinventing the Medium" is a pivotal essay that showcases Krauss's unique critical voice and intellectual rigor. First published in 1996, the essay was a response to the rapidly changing art world, which was increasingly dominated by new media and technologies. Krauss's central argument was that the medium of photography, in particular, was undergoing a significant transformation, one that required critics and artists to rethink their assumptions about the very nature of art.

Adopted the journalist’s report as a medium, using its neutral, distanced structure to explore deeply personal and emotional subjects. Why It Matters Today

The essay's themes of medium specificity, technological innovation, and the blurring of boundaries between art forms continue to resonate in contemporary art and criticism. Krauss's ideas have influenced a wide range of artistic practices, from digital art and photography to installation and performance art.

Are you analyzing this text for a specific or studio art project ? Krauss's post-medium condition is, in many ways, a

By the late 1990s, however, Krauss observed a new crisis. The total abandonment of medium specificity had led to a generic, international style dominated by commercial installation art, ready-mades, and a nascent digital media culture. In "Reinventing the Medium," Krauss argues that when "anything goes," art loses its capacity for internal critique. Without a specific set of rules or a "medium" to push against, artistic practice risks dissolving into pure entertainment or commercial commodity. The Corey Arcangel and Marcel Broodthaers Crux

Krauss, Reinventing The Medium (Critical Inquiry 1999) - Scribd

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