'Realism Materialism Art' introduces a diverse selection of new realist and materialist philosophies and examines their ramifications on the arts. Encompassing neo-materialist theories, object-oriented ontologies, and neo-rationalist philosophies, RMA serves as a primer on “speculative realism,” considering its conceptual innovations as spurs to artistic thinking and practice and beyond

Realism Materialism Art, Christoph Cox, Jenny Jaskey, Suhail Malik, Eds., Sternberg Press, 2015.


With a collection of images curated by Jenny Jaskey and Alicia Ritson
Contributions by Armen Avanessian, Elie Ayache, Amanda Beech, Ray Brassier, Mikko Canini, Diana Coole, Christoph Cox, Manuel DeLanda, Diedrich Diederichsen, Tristan Garcia, Iain Hamilton Grant, Elizabeth Grosz, Boris Groys, Graham Harman, Terry Horgan, Jenny Jaskey, Katerina Kolozova, James Ladyman, François Laruelle, Nathan Lee, Suhail Malik, Quentin Meillassoux, Reza Negarestani, John Ó Maoilearca, Trevor Paglen, Luciana Parisi, Matthew Poole, Matjaž Potrč, João Ribas, Matthew Ritchie, Alicia Ritson, Susan Schuppli, Steven Shaviro, Nick Srnicek, Achim Szepanski, Eugene Thacker, McKenzie Wark, Andy Weir

Realism Materialism Art (RMA) introduces a diverse selection of new realist and materialist philosophies and examines their ramifications on the arts. Encompassing neo-materialist theories, object-oriented ontologies, and neo-rationalist philosophies, RMA serves as a primer on “speculative realism,” considering its conceptual innovations as spurs to artistic thinking and practice and beyond. Despite their differences, these philosophical positions propose that thought can and does think outside itself, and that reality can be known without its being shaped by and for human comprehension. Today’s realisms and materialisms explicitly challenge many of the dominant assumptions of cultural practice and theoretical inquiry, opening up new domains of research and artistic inquiry.
Cutting across diverse thematic interests and modes of investigation, the thirty-five essays in RMA offer a snapshot of the emerging and rapidly changing set of ideas and practices proposed by contemporary realisms and materialisms. The book demonstrates the broad challenge of realist and materialist approaches to received disciplinary categories and forms of practice, capturing their nascent reworking of art, philosophy, culture, theory, and science, among other fields. As such, RMA expands beyond the primarily philosophical context in which realism and materialism have developed.
Copublished with the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College
Design by Zak Group


As part of our continued work with the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, we designed a new reader that serves as a primer on the philosophical notion “speculative realism” as it expands into artistic, cultural, theoretical and scientific thinking and practice. The result, titled Realism Materialism Art (RMA), features 35 essays with a typographic treatment that draws inspiration from the economic design of scientific journals where textual content is prioritised. Contrasting the density of text are design details such as generous outer margins, blank pages between sections and illustrative image sections. An Otabind spine allows the volume to naturally open flat while the cover jacket is glued to the spine. - zakgroup.co.uk/projects/view/lapdogs_of_the_bourgeoisie