Art, Ideology, and Everyday Space: Subversive Tendencies from Dada to Postmodernism

Abstract

This is a paper about the transgression of the boundary between art and everyday space. It traces the development of a practical and theoretical critique of this divide from Dada and surrealism to situationism and postmodernism, whilst showing how these movements have themselves often perpetuated a specialized notion of cultural production. The ultimate failure of these movements, with the exception of situationism, to develop a coherent and effective challenge to the dualism art—everyday space is related to their reliance upon the artistic ideologies of antiart, indifference, and spontaneism.