A real explosion of artistic and intellectual energy took place in Ljubljana during the 1980s, the impact of which reverberated throughout the global cultural landscape. Alexei Monroe not only describes this explosion but transmits its energy to the reader. -- Boris Groys, Professor of Philosophy and Art Theory, Academy of Design, Karlsruhe Among postcommunist states, Slovenia is widely known to have one of the most vibrant contemporary art scenes, at the center of which are Laibach and NSK. Alexei Monroe's book is a thoroughly researched and theoretically witty account of the strategies behind these well-known cultural brands. -- Konstantin Akinsha, art historian, contributing editor to ARTnews, and coauthor of Beautiful Loot: The Soviet Plunder of Europe's Art Treasures This book is for intelligent troublemakers everywhere and a must for those who would learn how to challenge any state hegemony through art. Following the story of NSK, we see how artists can open up the cracks in belief systems, whatever their political orientation, through a precise combination of pop culture and critical engagement. -- Charles Esche, Director, van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Editor, Afterall Publishing, London Hitler, Stalin, Tito... art theorists? How have these icons of totalitarianism inspired the politically subversive aesthetic interventions of Laibach and the NSK art collective? Interrogation Machine offers what is to date the most historically detailed, factually accurate, and theoretically insightful account of what is arguably the most significant artistic phenomenon in Eastern Europe since the Soviet avant-garde. -- Dusan I. Bjelic, Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Maine, coeditor of Balkan as Metaphor: Between Globalization and Fragmentation
Alexei Monroe received a PhD from the University of Kent. He has
published many articles on contemporary music, culture, and
politics and is the author of the
http-//pluralmachine.blogspot.com/ Plural Machine blog.
Slavoj Zizek, a philosopher and cultural critic, is Senior
Researcher in the Department of Philosophy at the University of
Ljubljana, Global Distinguished Professor of German at New York
University, and International Director of the Birkbeck Institute
for the Humanities at the University of London. He is the author of
more than thirty books, including Looking Awry- An Introduction to
Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture, The Puppet and the Dwarf-
The Perverse Core of Christianity, The Parallax View, The
Monstrosity of Christ- Paradox or Dialectic (with John Milbank),
and Zizek's Jokes (Did you hear the one about Hegel and negation?),
these five published by the MIT Press.
Are you a totalitarian or do you just play one on TV? It's a
question that's long plagued the NSK art collective. It's
brilliantly answered by critic Alexei Monroe in Interrogation
Machine, the first substantial English work on the collective....
Monroe's writing is accessible and potent, making for the best and
most thought-provoking art book of the year so far.
*Eye Weekly*
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