Marx and Art

Ali Alizadeh is a Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies and Creative Writing at Monash University’s School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics. His books include collections of poems, Towards the End, Ashes in the Air and Eyes in Times of War; novels, The Last Days of Jeanne d’Arc, Transactions and The New Angel; and a work of literary non-fiction, Iran, My Grandfather. This is his first philosophical monograph.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Art – What Is It Good For?Chapter 1: Art and Value Before MarxChapter 2: The Intrinsic Freedom of WritingChapter 3: Art, Speculation and IdeologyChapter 4: Art and the Juggernaut of CapitalChapter 5: Why We Make ArtConclusion: What Is to Be Done (About Art)?Further ReadingAbout the AuthorBibliography

Clearly written and refreshingly practical in its focus on what artists can do with their art, Marx and Art strips aside the cumulative weight of subsequent Marxist theorising and returns to the humanist core of the young Marx’s own work. For Alizadeh, art is neither a cultural commodity nor an ideological superstructure, but rather a model of unalienated labour. Highly recommended.