Lines of flight in the work of art: the indeterminate, the absence, the void

Abstract

In the subjective experience of the real, a moment of presence or determination can be distinguished from one of absence or indeterminacy. Various artistic modalities give priority to one or the other: some rely more on the actual, the material, the present; others give more value to the imaginary activity of the subject before the artwork, which materiality acts as a mere spur of that imagining. The emphasis on the objective or the subjective has clear political implications, since, as will be argued, the art of presence is ultimately related to an economy of consumption and continued growth. The unsustainability of this growth on a planet of finite resources allows auguring a future of economies in recession. The step towards such a scenario will be less traumatic from attitudes that question the importance of objects and learn to value the immaterial. The artwork of the void initiates us in an imagining that contemplates and enjoys reality in a new way, beyond the chimeras of consumption.