To illustrate her theory, Krauss focuses heavily on artists who repurposed obsolete or non-traditional technologies to create a new formal language. James Coleman’s Slide Projected Images
In her essay and subsequent work, Krauss highlights artists who effectively reinvent the medium, often using "obsolete" technology, drawing inspiration from Walter Benjamin’s idea that the obsolete allows for new artistic potential.
The post-medium condition refers to a state in which the traditional, material-based definitions of art (painting, sculpture, drawing) are no longer valid or useful. rosalind krauss reinventing the medium pdf
Since this is a seminal academic text, it is widely available through various educational platforms. You can typically find it via:
This hybrid becomes a medium because it establishes its own —a set of constraints and affordances that the artist explores systematically. It is not multimedia collage; it is a newly invented, self-consistent artistic support. To illustrate her theory, Krauss focuses heavily on
Krauss offers no manifesto for cool digital tools. She offers something harder: a method. How do you look at a strange video installation and decide if it is lazy or revolutionary? You ask: What is its reinvented medium? What technical support does it activate?
Contrast her views with other theorists of the post-medium condition, like or Peter Weibel Share public link Since this is a seminal academic text, it
To this day, remains a cornerstone of contemporary art theory. It shapes how critics, curators, and scholars analyze work in an era of constant media upheaval. Krauss's central questions—"What is a medium?" and "How do artists create meaning through specific technical supports?"—are more relevant now than ever in a world of AI-generated art, digital photography, and NFTs.
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A medium is not just a material (like canvas or clay); it is a system of rules that allows for meaningful expression. Just as language requires grammar to make sense, art requires the constraints of a medium to generate significant form.
Through animated drawings, Kentridge explores the medium of memory and the "support" of drawing, often recycling and erasing his own work.