Rosalind Krauss’s "Reinventing the Medium" argues against the exhaustion of traditional art forms, proposing a "post-medium condition" where artists define new, internal rules for their work rather than adhering to traditional materials. Key to this theory is the concept of "technical support" and the reinvention of mediums, illustrated through artists like Marcel Broodthaers and James Coleman.
"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.
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 rosalind krauss reinventing the medium pdf
Further Reading (PDFs to find next):
Rather than being judged for its beauty, photography became a site for exploring concepts like the simulacrum (Baudrillard) and (Barthes). The End of Aura: The essay has also contributed to a broader
For Krauss, Ruscha’s medium is photography as indexical record, stripped of both artiness and documentary function – a pure technical support for serial enumeration.
Search tip: When looking for the PDF, use the exact citation: Krauss, Rosalind. “Reinventing the Medium.” Critical Inquiry 25, no. 2 (1999): 289–312. Adding the volume and issue number often retrieves library-indexed PDFs via Google Scholar. Access the article through UChicago Journals The University
(an outmoded advertising tool) to explore the gaps between still and moving images. William Kentridge: animated charcoal drawings