Pdf - Rosalind Krauss Reinventing The Medium

Beyond the Frame: Decoding Rosalind Krauss’s "Reinventing the Medium"

In the landscape of late 20th-century art theory, few texts have sparked as much debate as Rosalind Krauss’s seminal essay, Reinventing the Medium (1999). For students and theorists seeking the Rosalind Krauss Reinventing the Medium PDF

, this work represents a critical pivot point where Krauss—one of the foundational voices of postmodernism—returns to the concept of "medium" to save art from what she calls the "deadening generality" of installation art. 1. The Post-Medium Condition: Art in Crisis

Krauss identifies a specific historical moment she calls the "post-medium condition"

. By the 1960s and 70s, traditional boundaries between painting, sculpture, and photography had "exploded". The Problem

: When anything can be art (from a pile of trash to a social interaction), Krauss argues that art loses its critical edge and risks falling into

: Photography, once a tool for documentation, became a "theoretical object"—a way to deconstruct art's traditional focus on manual skill and the "original". 2. What Does "Reinventing" Mean?

Krauss doesn't suggest returning to oil on canvas. Instead, she argues that artists must find a new "technical support"

—a rule-governed system that replaces the traditional medium. Redeeming Obsolescence

: Drawing on Walter Benjamin, Krauss suggests that when a technology becomes obsolete (like slide projectors or manual film), it is "redeemed" for art because it is no longer a tool of mass consumption. Case Studies in Reinvention James Coleman

: Uses the slide projector and advertising formats as a reinvented medium. William Kentridge

: Uses the stop-frame animation and erasure as a technical support for drawing.

: Uses the automobile and the layout of the "book" as his underlying medium. 3. Why This Text Matters Today The essay is a defense of specificity

. Krauss argues that for art to be meaningful, it must work within a set of constraints—it must have "rules" that the artist can follow or break.

Art in the Age of the Post-Medium Condition, by Joanna Slotkin

Rosalind Krauss’s 1999 essay "Reinventing the Medium" theorizes the transition from modernist medium-specificity to a "post-medium condition," where artistic practices are defined by "technical supports" rather than material limitations. Drawing on Walter Benjamin, Krauss argues that technologically obsolete mediums can be redeemed and reinvented as new aesthetic possibilities, referencing artists like James Coleman and William Kentridge. Read the full text at The University of Chicago Press: Journals. rosalind krauss reinventing the medium pdf

Krauss, Reinventing The Medium (Critical Inquiry 1999) - Scribd

This document provides an overview and analysis of Rosalind Krauss's essay "Reinventing the Medium." The summary is as follows: 1) Rosalind Krauss: between modernism and post- medium

In "Reinventing the Medium" (1999), Rosalind Krauss critiques the "post-medium condition," advocating for a return to "technical support" or specific artistic conventions over the generic, mixed-media approach of contemporary art. Drawing on Walter Benjamin, she argues for the "redemptive obsolescence" of mediums, highlighting artists like James Coleman and William Kentridge who redefine their work through specific, self-imposed rules. Read the full text at Semantic Scholar. Rosalind Krauss: between modernism and post- medium

Introduction

Rosalind Krauss is a prominent art critic and theorist known for her influential writings on modern and contemporary art. In her essay "Reinventing the Medium," Krauss explores the changing nature of artistic media and the ways in which artists continually redefine and expand the possibilities of art.

The Essay's Main Argument

Published in 1999, "Reinventing the Medium" is a thought-provoking essay that challenges traditional notions of artistic media and the creative process. Krauss argues that the medium of art is not a fixed or stable entity, but rather a dynamic and constantly evolving concept that is subject to reinvention by artists. She contends that the medium is not simply a technical or material support, but a complex system of conventions, norms, and expectations that shape the way artists work and the way we understand art.

Key Points

1. The Myth of the Medium: Krauss argues that the concept of a medium (e.g., painting, sculpture, photography) is often understood as a natural or essential category, rather than a historical and cultural construct. She claims that this myth of the medium has been perpetuated by art historians and critics, who have tended to view media as fixed and unchanging.
2. The Expanded Field of Art: Krauss draws on the work of artists such as Robert Smithson, Marcel Duchamp, and Sherrie Levine to illustrate how the medium of art has been continually expanded and redefined over time. She shows how artists have pushed against traditional boundaries and conventions, creating new forms and possibilities for art.
3. The Importance of the Artist's Gesture: Krauss emphasizes the role of the artist's gesture or intervention in shaping the medium of art. She argues that the artist's actions, decisions, and manipulations of materials and processes are what bring the medium to life and give it meaning.
4. The Challenge to Traditional Art History: Krauss's essay challenges traditional art historical narratives, which often rely on a linear progression of styles and movements. Instead, she advocates for a more nuanced understanding of art history, one that acknowledges the complex and often contradictory nature of artistic media.

Impact and Influence

"Reinventing the Medium" has had a significant impact on contemporary art discourse, influencing artists, critics, and curators to think more critically about the nature of artistic media. The essay has also contributed to a broader rethinking of art history, encouraging scholars to consider the complex and multifaceted ways in which art has evolved over time.

Conclusion

Rosalind Krauss's essay "Reinventing the Medium" offers a provocative and insightful exploration of the changing nature of artistic media. By challenging traditional notions of the medium and highlighting the dynamic and creative ways in which artists work, Krauss encourages us to think more critically about the possibilities of art and the role of the artist in shaping those possibilities.

References: Krauss, R. (1999). Reinventing the Medium. In R. Krauss, The Optical Unconscious (pp. 277-295). MIT Press.

Rosalind Krauss’s 1999 essay "Reinventing the Medium" argues that while traditional artistic mediums have dissolved, artists like James Coleman reinvent the concept through a "technical support" that creates new, self-imposed rules [1, 2]. The text, which analyzes the post-medium condition through a critical reading of Walter Benjamin, can be accessed through academic databases such as JSTOR or within Krauss's book, A Voyage on the North Sea

Rosalind Krauss's 1999 essay "Reinventing the Medium" addresses the "post-medium condition," proposing a shift from traditional material purity to a concept of "technical support" or "differential specificity" in art. The text analyzes how artists like James Coleman and William Kentridge redefine mediums through the use of obsolete technologies and discursive systems. Access the PDF version of the article via the University of Chicago Press. Rosalind Krauss: between modernism and post- medium The Myth of the Medium : Krauss argues

Rosalind Krauss's 1999 essay "Reinventing the Medium" argues that artists in a "post-medium" era must redefine artistic boundaries by grounding practice in specific "technical supports" rather than traditional material mediums. Krauss contends that when media become obsolete, they can be reinvented, citing artists like James Coleman and William Kentridge who create new frameworks for critical engagement. Access the article through UChicago Journals The University of Chicago Press: Journals

Krauss, Reinventing The Medium (Critical Inquiry 1999) - Scribd

Rosalind Krauss’s 1999 essay, "Reinventing the Medium," is a foundational text for understanding contemporary art. In this piece, Krauss explores how the traditional definition of a "medium" (like painting or sculpture) has collapsed and how artists can find new ways to create specific, meaningful work in a "post-medium" age. 🎨 Key Concepts

The Post-Medium Condition: Krauss argues that traditional artistic mediums have been "outmoded" by technology and mass media.

The Problem of "Apparatus": She discusses how photography and film transitioned from artistic tools to mere "appliances," losing their unique aesthetic power.

Reinvention: Instead of abandoning the idea of a medium, Krauss suggests artists must "reinvent" it by creating their own internal sets of rules and structures.

Case Studies: She highlights artists like James Coleman and Marcel Broodthaers as pioneers who used technical supports (like slide projections) to establish a new kind of artistic "specificity." 📖 Summary of the Argument

Krauss critiques the way globalization and the "culture industry" have flattened art into a generic experience. She believes that for art to remain critical and deep, it needs a "technical support"—a physical or conceptual framework that dictates how the work functions. By looking back at "obsolete" technologies, artists can find the friction necessary to resist the slickness of modern digital media. 🔗 How to Find the PDF

Since this is a seminal academic text, it is widely available through various educational platforms. You can typically find it via:

JSTOR: Often titled under "Reinventing the Medium" or found within the journal Critical Inquiry.

University Repositories: Many art history departments host the PDF for syllabus use.

Google Scholar: Searching "Rosalind Krauss Reinventing the Medium 1999 PDF" will usually yield direct links to academic uploads.

Books: It is also a lead essay in her book, A Voyage on the North Sea: Art in the Age of the Post-Medium Condition. 💡 Discussion Starters

If you are reading this for a class or a project, consider these questions:

Does "reinventing the medium" still apply to digital art and NFTs, or has the medium disappeared entirely? Impact and Influence "Reinventing the Medium" has had

How does Krauss’s view of obsolescence change the way we look at "retro" technology (like vinyl or film)?

Can an artist truly create their own "rules" without the backing of a traditional discipline? To help you get the most out of this text,

Explain the difference between a "medium" and a "technical support"?

Help you summarize a specific section for an essay or presentation?

The Context: Why “Reinventing the Medium” Was Necessary

To understand Krauss’s 1999 essay, one must look back to her 1986 essay, “The Originality of the Avant-Garde.” There, she dismantled the myth of the Romantic genius. By the late 1990s, the art world was obsessed with “interactivity” and “dematerialization.” Critics argued that digital art had no medium—only code and screens.

Krauss saw this as a lazy fallacy. She believed that simply declaring the death of the medium was an act of theoretical bankruptcy. Instead, she proposed that the medium was not a physical substance (canvas, stone, bronze) but a recursive structure—a set of conventions, memories, and technical supports that an artist activates.

Her target was Clement Greenberg’s formalism. Greenberg argued that each medium should purify itself (painting should be only flatness and pigment). Krauss argued the opposite: The post-medium condition allows an artist to reinvent a medium from scratch for each project.

The Key Concept: Automatism and the "Support"

Krauss borrows a term from psychology and surrealism: Automatism. In art, she uses it to describe the "default settings" of a medium.

Think of painting. The default support is the canvas. The default tool is the brush. An artist who doesn't question these things is operating on "automatic pilot." They are just making another painting because that’s what painters do.

For Krauss, the crisis of modern art occurred when artists could no longer blindly rely on these conventions. The old supports (the canvas, the pedestal) became hollow. If art was to survive, it couldn't just abandon the idea of a medium—it had to reinvent it.

The Core Argument: The “Technical Support”

The single most important concept in “Reinventing the Medium” is the “technical support.”

Krauss borrows from the film theorist Raymond Bellour and the structuralist Marcelin Pleynet. She argues that a medium is not a material but an apparatus that supports aesthetic convention. For example:

• Video is not just magnetic tape. It is the technical support of real-time feedback, closed-circuit delay, and the psychodynamics of the mirror.
• Photography is not paper and chemicals. It is the indexical trace—the physical imprint of light from a past object.

Krauss uses the artist James Coleman as her primary example. Coleman’s slide projections do not fit neatly into film, photography, or theater. By using a carousel projector synced to a soundtrack, Coleman “reinvented” a medium that operates in the gap between stillness and motion. Coleman’s technical support—the 35mm slide carousel—produces a unique aesthetic experience impossible in any other format.

Thus, reinventing the medium means identifying a specific apparatus and exploiting its inherent limits—not collapsing all media into a gray goo of digital data.