Dialectics of the hero: representing subjectivities -On the Possibilities of Contemporary Figurative Sculpture- A dissertation submitted by João Miguel Correia Gonçalves In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Art Goldsmiths, University of London, September 2015 I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort 1 Acknowledgments I would like to offer a huge thanks to my supervisors, Professor Andrea Phillips and Dr. John Chilver for all the generous support and time offered throughout the developing of this project. I also thank FCT, the Portuguese public funding agency for the support provided for this academic research and generously funded the project. Furthermore, I need to acknowledge the contribution of Rui Marcelino and Remigijus Raisys who have helped me to translate sculptural ideas into an interactive computing system for the practical component of the thesis. Finally, I owe a word of gratitude to my mother, Maria Magnífica Correia Vieira Gonçalves, for her infinite love, kindness and support during my time at Goldsmiths, University of London. 2 Abstract This thesis sets out to critically reposition contemporary figurative sculpture through a re- articulation of the hero. It starts by identifying the removal of the human figure in minimal art and with notions of objectivity, repetition and indifference. Here I argue against Donald Judd, Robert Morris and Rosalind E. Krauss, by claiming that there is a necessity to reflect upon the sculptural object and the subject beyond that which is produced by the principles outlined by these artists and critics. Working through readings of Judith Butler, Alain Badiou, Hannah Arendt, Bernard Stiegler, Jacques Lacan and others, the argument establishes the contingency and polemics of the term hero, the way it pertains to the introduction of the new and how it coalesces action and narrative with constant negotiation. Using the philosophy of Richard Rorty as a scaffold, I propose in turn that the hero constitutes a necessary idealism for improving vocabularies, and along with Bruno Latour’s position on composition, that this can be translated into figurative sculpture as a dialectical becoming-object. Additionally, the problem of knowing what constitutes a subject of heroism is associated with the formation of an ethical subject. I conclude, in contrast to Simon Critchley and Jacques Derrida, that this subject can be articulated using the hero strategically as a conceit. I also suggest that, as such, it can be realized through the work of figurative sculpture and the agonist space it produces. Alongside this, the thesis rethinks the materiality associated with figuration in terms of construction, and elaborates on the importance of the hero to the post- mannequin condition of figurative sculpture based on how it combines invention with political determination. This is further examined by looking at the work of Isa Genzken, Rachel Harrison and Mark Manders, and especially at the practice-based component of this thesis. 3 Dedicated to my father, Álvaro Esteves Gonçalves 4 Table of contents Declaration 1 Acknowledgments 2 Abstract 3 Table of contents 5 List of images 6 Introduction 8 First Chapter: Objectivity and the empty presence of Minimalism 13 1.1 Introduction 13 1.2 On using the term Minimalism and the expression minimal art in relation to sculpture 13 1.3 The Discredit of contemporary figurative sculpture 19 1.4 Exposition 25 1.5 Minimalism with Pragmatism 35 1.6 The analogy between the object and the subject of Minimalism 54 1.7 Moving towards figurative sculpture 65 Second Chapter: The figure of the hero between language and reality 69 2.1 Introduction 69 2.2 Reading Antigone as a hero with Judith Butler 71 2.3 Alain Badiou and the political necessity of the hero 80 2.4 Answering to reality: on the uses of the hero and its principles 96 2.5 Desire and courage 111 Third Chapter: Figurative sculpture as medium of the heroic; the heroic as a methodology for figurative sculpture 123 3.1 Introduction 123 3.2 The strange condition of the figure in sculpture 123 3.3 Sculpture and death 125 3.4 Greek sculpture, Jacques Rancière and democracy 127 3.5 A new task for sculpture 135 3.6 Bruno Latour, Rachel Harrison and the indifference of objects 138 3.7 Isa Genzken and the condition of figurative sculpture after the mannequin 148 3.8 From form to function: the figure as a tool 154 3.9 The hero as methodology of composition 158 3.10 Final notes: on the work of Mark Manders 168 Forth Chapter: The subject of figurative sculpture 174 4.1 Introduction 174 4.2 The space of the promise and the public utility of Deconstruction 174 4.3 The problem of decision in Derrida’s idea of the promise 181 4.4 With, through and contra Simon Critchley 186 4.5 From the mode of the ‘perhaps’ and ‘maybe’ towards that of the ‘as if’ 193 4.6 The space of figurative sculpture 199 Artworks 222 Bibliography 239 5 List of images 1.Vladimir Tatlin. Corner Relief, iron, aluminium, paint, 311/2 x 59 x 29 1/2 inches, 1914 2.View of ‘Primary Structures’ exhibition at the Jewish Museum, New York, 1966, with Donald Judd’s Untitled, galvanized iron, aluminium, 40x1893/4 x40 inches with 10 inches intervals, on the wall and on the floor, 1966. On the left of the image and further to the right: Robert Morris’s L-beams, painted plywood, 96 x 96 x 24 inches, 1965 3.Donald Judd, ‘Untitled’, aluminium, 81/4 x 253 x 81/4 inches, 1965 4.Donald Judd, Untitled, anodized aluminium, blue plexiglass, each unit 48 x 60 x 60 inches at a constant distance of 12 inches, 1969 5. Robert Morris, views of and diagram for, Untitled [Stadium], eight units in total, fibreglass, four 48 x 601/4 x 601/4 inches, four 48 x 48 x 48 inches, 1967 6. Robert Morris, Untitled (scatter piece) as recreated at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, copper, aluminium, zinc, brass, lead, steel, felt, 2010 7.Donald Judd, Untitled, stainless steel, yellow plexiglass, each unit 6 x 27 x 24 inches, at a constant distance of 6 inches, 1968 8. Robert Morris, Neo-Classic [Exhibition view], at the Tate Gallery, London, 1971 9. Robert Morris, bodyspacemotionthings [Exhibition view], Tate Modern, 2009 10. Rachel Harrison, Snake in the Grass, Multiple materials 138 x 288 x 498 inches, 2007-2009 11. Rachel Harrison, Untitled, wood, polystyrene, cement, acrylic formica, protective film and ceramic figurine, 57 x 24 1/5 x 24 1/5 inches, 2001 12. Isa Genzken, Untitled, MDF, plastic, glass, mirror, foil, perspex, glass, mask, tape, artificial hair, casters, 94 x 37 2/5 x 44 1/2 inches, 2012 13. Isa Genzken, Untitled, mannequin and mixed media 577/8 x 325/8 x 39 inches, 2012 14 Mark Manders, Unfired Clay Figure, iron chairs, painted epoxy, wood, and various materials, 88 3/5 x 59 x 118 inches, 2005-2006 15. Mark Manders, Composition with Blue, wood, painted wood, painted epoxy 9 x 13 x 1 2/5 inches, 2013 16. João Gonçalves, [installation view], 2011 17. João Gonçalves, [installation view], 2011 6 18. João Gonçalves, Critical melancholia, plexiglass, wood, valchromat, steel, wax, aluminium, cardboard, engine oil, oil paint, 118 x 73 x 27 inches, 2009 19. João Gonçalves, Where’s the rest of us? [view 1] plasterboard, wood, flag, steel, polyurethane, straps, 27 x 53 x 35 inches, 2009 20. João Gonçalves, Where’s the rest of us? [view 2] plasterboard, wood, flag, steel, polyurethane, straps, 27 x 53 x 35 inches, 2009 21. João Gonçalves, Where’s the rest of us? [view 3] plasterboard, wood, flag, steel, polyurethane, straps, 27 x 53 x 35 inches, 2009 22. João Gonçalves, Tactics for global variations – the internal horizon [view 1] Steel, cement fondue, styrofoam, high-visibility fabric, duck-tape, 20 x 53 x 20 inches, 2009 23. João Gonçalves, Tactics for global variations – the internal horizon [view 2 and 3] Steel, cement fondue, styrofoam, high-visibility fabric, duck-tape, 20 x 53 x 20 inches, 2009 24. João Gonçalves, Maria Doroshenkova [view 1] steel, plaster, 24 x 37 x 59 inches, 2009 25. João Gonçalves, Maria Doroshenkova [view 2] steel, plaster, 24 x 37 x 59 inches, 2009 26. João Gonçalves, [installation view], 2011 27. João Gonçalves, A material experience on the differences between sculpture and cinema [view 1] Sports jacket, found mannequin, cardboard, polymer clay, acetate transparent prints, notice board, 31 x 55 x 20 inches / variable, 2011 28. João Gonçalves, A material experience on the differences between sculpture and cinema [view 2] Sports jacket, found mannequin, cardboard, polymer clay, acetate transparent prints, notice board 31 x 55 x 20 inches / variable, 2011 29. João Gonçalves, A material experience on the differences between sculpture and cinema [view 3] Sports jacket, found mannequin, cardboard, polymer clay, acetate transparent prints, notice board, 31 x 55 x 20 inches / variable, 2011 30. João Gonçalves, Untitled, clay, wood, steel, cement, aluminium, zinc, rubber, plastic boxes, electronic proportional valve, computer, web camera maximum height: 87 inches / other dimension: variable, 2014 7 Introduction This thesis explores the ‘idea’ of the human form in sculpture after the conceptual frame of Minimalism. It consists of two elements, one practical, which is documented at the end of the volume; the other written, which is introduced here. In fact, the problem the text endeavours to solve is one to be found at the intersection between these two modes, that is: the problem of knowing how to reclaim and reposition the project of sculptural figuration from a theoretical point of view.