Half square half crazy examines the revisitation or re-utilization of forms and devices derived from minimal art by numerous contemporary artists. Taking into account their current co-optation by the culture and design industries, these artists expose the contradiction inherent in the neo-avant-gardes of the 1960s, between the aspiration for autonomy in art and the heteronomy of the means used to achieve it. Revisiting the aporias of such a historical legacy, the practices discussed here engage a new “party” that privileges accident over essence, “deformalism” over formal resolution, and dysfunction over rational efficiency.

Published following the eponymous exhibition by Vincent Pécoil, Lili Reynaud-Dewar and Elisabeth Wetterwald at Villa Arson, Nice (February 10 to June 10, 2007) under the invitation of Eric Mangion.