Bas Jan Ader : In search of the miraculous
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Bibliographic Information
Bas Jan Ader : In search of the miraculous
（One work）
Afterall Books, 2006
- : cloth
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Description and Table of Contents
Description
Afterall is a research and publishing organisation based in London and Los Angeles. Since 1999, Afterall has produced a semiannual critical journal of art, context, and inquiry that aims to give prominence to the work of artists and its effect on a wider cultural and political debate. Afterall is now introducing "Afterall Books" to complement the journal and present further research into the social and theoretical context of contemporary art practice. These beautifully produced and richly illustrated publications present critical analysis of contemporary artists' ideas and intentions and consider the impact and ongoing influence of the works they produce. This is an illustrated investigation into the critical motives behind the last, unfinished work that has defined the romantic legacy of conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader. In 1975, Bas Jan Ader disappeared at sea while trying to sail from the East Coast of the United States to Europe as part of a project titled "In Search of the Miraculous".
Ader's considerable influence on later conceptual artists stems from the way in which he used the cool analytic and antisubjective aesthetics of conceptual art to explore experiences that would seem definitively subjective - the emotional intensity of tragedy and the romantic quest for the sublime. "In Search of the Miraculous" was conceived as a three-part project: a lonely nighttime walk from the hills of Los Angeles down to the sea, documented in photographs; the Atlantic crossing; and a night walk through Amsterdam, mirroring the LA photographs. The circumstances of his disappearance have led many interpreters to identify Ader (as a person) with the role of the tragic romantic hero. The cult status of the artist as a hero whose work is authenticated through his death, however, has obscured the fact that Ader's art was a critical investigation of precisely those romantic motives his persona has now come to be identified with. This book unpicks these ties in Ader's work, in order to highlight the specific and unique way in which Ader explores the existential and emotional with an artistic approach that is as conceptual and analytic as it is poetic and personal.
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