050119: there was an installation art (ia) exhibit at the u gallery last year. i was always busy but finally saw it alone about two weeks before closing. fascinated, i wanted to see it again, but found nobody to go with who was interested and had not already seen it. i decided to read about ia. i have never been to such 'immersive' work but this book is excellent on theory, beautiful large-format images, close description, art theory arguments and assertions...
of course the art is the art and everything else is just everything else. and this is clear in limitations of media. ia is not easily experienced static 2D inside text any more than sculpture is. or music. or dance. and so on. this intro is an easy read if you know much art theory, history, philosophy. ia has evolved from early 1900s to 2100s in order interpenetrating: 1) dreams 2) perception 3) experience 4) politics. this is mostly 'western' (some brazillian) and several movements are documented 1) surrealism 2) minimalism 3) interactive 4) political. this book is from 2005 with about a century of ia to theorize...
and 2) of course i find most affecting because the era recounted ('60s) is inspired/informed by phenomenology and more specifically merleau-ponty. i see his thought, i see his ideas, through work i had previously liked (minimalism etc) without being informed but now heartened to see intellectual abstraction rendered physical art. this is great. this book is great. i am waiting for the next ia exhibit...