Table Of ContentTheConspiracyofModernArt
Historical Materialism
Book Series
EditorialBoard
SébastienBudgen(Paris)
DavidBroder(Rome)
SteveEdwards(London)
JuanGrigera(London)
MarcelvanderLinden(Amsterdam)
PeterThomas(London)
volume137
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/hm
The Conspiracy of Modern Art
By
LuizRenatoMartins
EditedandIntroducedby
SteveEdwards
Translatedby
RenatoRezende
leiden | boston
PublishedwiththesupportoftheMinistryofCultureofBrazil/NationalLibraryFoundation(Obra
publicadacomoapoiodoMinistériodaCulturadoBrasil/FundaçãoBibliotecaNacional).
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Martins,LuizRenato,author.|Edwards,Steve,1959-editor.|Rezende,
Renato,1964-translator.
Title:Theconspiracyofmodernart/byLuizRenatoMartins;editedand
introducedbySteveEdwards;translatedbyRenatoRezende.
Description:Boston:Brill,2017.|Series:Historicalmaterialismbookseries;
Volume137|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:lccn2017006424(print)|lccn2017008104(ebook)|isbn
9789004280045(hardback:alk.paper)|isbn9789004346086(e-book)
Subjects:lcsh:Painting,Modern.
Classification:lcc nd160 .m3813 2017(print)|lcc nd160(ebook)|
ddc759.06–dc23
lcrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017006424
TypefacefortheLatin,Greek,andCyrillicscripts:“Brill”.Seeanddownload:brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn1570-1522
isbn978-90-04-28004-5(hardback)
isbn978-90-04-34608-6(e-book)
Copyright2017byKoninklijkeBrillnv,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Credits ix
Painting,BetweenGewaltandLabour:IntroductiontoTheConspiracy
ofModernArt 1
SteveEdwards
1 TheConspiracyofModernArt 14
2 TheHemicycle:TheImageoftheNation-Form 29
3 MaratbyDavid:Photojournalism 44
4 EighteenthBrumaire,theFabricationofaTotem:Freud,Davidand
Bonapartism 55
5 RemainsofVoluptuousness 67
6 TheReturnsofRegicide 100
7 ParisianScenes 117
8 TwoScenesontheCommodity 132
9 PaintingasLabour-Form 140
10 TransitionfromConstructivismtoProductivism,Accordingto
Tarabukin 194
11 ArganSeminar:Art,ValueandWork 213
12 PoliticalEconomyofModernArti:EntriesforCombat 231
13 PoliticalEconomyofModernArtii:LessonsandModesofUse 243
IndexofArtworksCited 259
Bibliography 272
Index 291
Acknowledgements
Individualauthorshipisaconventionlikemanyothers.Actually,themaking
andpublishingof abookresultsfromasynthesisof manycollectiveactions
andefforts.Inthecaseof thisone,itisinseparablefromthecontributionof
twodearfriendswhohavegone,thefirstin2009andthesecondin2011.Each
in their own circumstances conceived the idea for this collection and acted
concretelyforthepublicationofthesewritings:JuanAntonioRamírez,arepub-
lican from Málaga (the native city of Picasso), who wanted to edit a volume
connectingthethreadsof regicideandmodernartinthebeautifulcollection
heconceivedanddirected,theBibliotecaAzulseriemínima(EdicionesSiruela,
Madrid);andDavidCraven,agenerousandcombativeanti-imperialistmilit-
antwhoworkedattheUniversityofNewMexico(Albuquerque)andoriginally
conceivedtheprojectofthisvolume,proposingittotheHistoricalMaterialism
BookSeries.Theprojectwaspromptlyadoptedbyourmutualfriendandhmbs
editorSteveEdwards.
Secondly, an editorial process is the sum of various actions, minds and
hands,eachremarkableinitsownway.TranslatorRenatoRezende(withthe
help of Martin Heuser) rescued this project from dramatic circumstances,
almostashipwreck,andleditsafeandsoundtotheEnglishlanguageandto
thecareofSteveEdwardswho,backedbyDannyHaywardandSimonMussell,
editedandprefacedthisbook.Theycreatedforitaroleandfunctionwithina
politicalandeditorialprojecttoreconstructandbringthediscussionofart,on
aninternationalscale,tothegeneralhistoricalframeworkofclassstruggles–
today’s global civil war.The editor and the staff of Brill (Leiden), led first by
MartiHuetinkandlaterbyJasonPrevost(fromBrill-Boston),aswellasFábio
LimafromtheBrazilianNationalLibrary(RiodeJaneiro),weretolerantofthe
accidentsandmishapsalongthewayandperseveredwiththeprojectatcrucial
moments.
Beforethat,however,theoriginalformofthesetexts,writteninthecontext
ofmyactivitiesanddialoguesattheUniversityofSãoPaulo,dependeddirectly
onothereffortsandcontributions:ReginaAraki,whoadmirablyproofreadthe
originalversions;NatalieRoth,GustavoMottaandDavidBonet,whodiligently
compiledandreviewedtheinformationinthefootnotes,bibliography,credits
andtheindexofartworkscited.
Otherfriendscontributedideasandobservationsandgavemethehonour
of theirdialogue,whichdecisivelyshapedthecourseof theseinvestigations:
Jean-Phillipe Chimot and France Vernier, Paulo Arantes, Chico de Oliveira,
PepeKarmel,FrançoisAlbera,CatherineGoguel,PhillipeBordes,RégisMichel,
SergeBianchiandDolfOehler.
viii acknowledgements
Before all else, however, the perceptions and intuitions involved in these
writingsarerootedineverydaydialogueandintheradicalcombinationofCar-
melaGross’sexistenceandmine.Finally,Ihopetohaveconvincinglydemon-
stratedthatauthorshipisnothingbutatoposoffiction.But,ontheotherhand,
writingconstitutesatemporarypoliticalmandategivenbycollectivedelega-
tionof themanypeoplewhoentrustedmewiththeircritiques,information,
suggestionsandworks.Iwouldliketothankyouallonceagain.
ThetranslationofthesewritingsintoEnglishreceivedthedecisivesupportof
agrantfortranslationandpublicationabroadfromtheBrazilianNationalLib-
rary(fbn).Ihighlightwithspecificthanks,inthe‘Credits’intheAppendix,the
supportfromfapespandotherresearchfundingprogrammesandinstitutions,
aswellastheMuseumof theFrenchRevolution(Vizille)andotherorganisa-
tionswhosearchivesandlibrariesIwasabletoconsultorthatwelcomedmeas
aresearcher-in-residence.Withoutthosesources,eachdecisiveintheircontext
andtime,thisworkwouldnothavebeenachieved.
Credits
TheConspiracyofModernArt
Presentations
A conspiração da arte moderna, Seminário Leon Trotsky (1940–2010) [05–
19.10.2010], Arquivo Edgard Leuenroth/ Centro de Estudos Marxistas –
cemarx, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas – ifch, Universidade
EstadualdeCampinas–unicamp,19.10.2010;
Laconspiracióndelartemoderno,iiiSeminarioInternacionaldePolíticasdela
Memoria‘RecordandoaWalterBenjamin:Justicia,HistoriayVerdad.Escrituras
de la Memoria’ (28.10–30.10.2010), Centro Cultural de la Memória Haroldo
Conti,BuenosAires,28.10.2010;
Laconspiracióndelartemoderno,Seminar‘PhilosophyofMethodsinArtHis-
toryandVisualCulture’(dir.DavidCraven),DepartmentofArt&ArtHistory/
TheLatinAmerican&IberianInstitute,UniversityofNewMexico,Albuquer-
que,08.09.2011;
FisionomiasdaArteContemporânea,iiSimpósiodeEstética–Fisionomiasda
ArteContemporânea,puc-sp(23–26.04.2012),coord.SôniaCampaner,namesa
‘Herançadasvanguardas’,ProgramadeEstudosdePós-GraduadosemFilosofia,
DepartamentodeFilosofiadapuc-sp,SãoPaulo,25.04.2012;
Aconspiraçãodaartemoderna,SeminárioCulturadoDesmanche/AFormação
eaEspada,CentrodeEstudosDesmancheeFormaçãodeSistemasSimbólicos,
desformas-cenedic-cemarx/eca-fflch/usp-unicamp,CasadeCultura
Japonesa,usp,SãoPaulo,30.08.2012.
Support
prpg-uspscholarship(2010);
Researchresidency,MuséedelaRévolutionFrançaise,Vizille(Isère),France;
PersonalAcknowledgements
DolfOehler
FranceVernier
StaffoftheVizillemuseum
