The Fake: Forgery and its Place in Art

In this fascinating look at the creators of artistic fakes and copies, SOndor Radn-ti explores the role of the faker in the art world, and tackles the question of whether fakes can be considered to be art in their own right. The Fake provides a thorough examination of the 'parasites' of the art world, as Radn-ti investigates the faker's motives and aesthetic sense, as well as the way in which the faker's own story acts as a critical appraisal of the center of the art world. If art is seen from both the center and the periphery of the art world, suggests the author, the viewer's questions about the art may be answered more accurately and appropriately. The Fake is essential reading for all philosophers interested in aesthetics.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Acknowledgements Chapter 3 Picaresque Aesthetics Chapter 4 Originality Chapter 5 The Copy Chapter 6 The Perfect Fake Chapter 7 Literary Mystification Chapter 8 The Fake Paradigm Chapter 9 Bibliography Chapter 10 Index Chapter 11 About the Author

About the Author :
SOndor Radn-ti is professor of aesthetics at the Budapest University of Arts and Sciences.

Review :
The Fake blends history, ethical concerns, and artistic examination in a delicate weave of unique insights. Contemporary aesthetics has transformed the fake from a problem in connoisseurship to a problem in the philosophy of art. Contemporary art has transformed the replication of a given work from the status of the fake to that of an appropriation. These shifts affect virtually every component in the concept of art, and it is greatly to Sàndor Radnòti's credit that he has addressed these revolutionary changes in a systematic way, and written a sweeping, insightful book, which pivots in the concept of the fake, but carries the reader through current philosophical reflection and contemporary artistic practice. What is wrong with a fake? Is it wrong at all? The discussion of these questions leads Radnòti to the re-examination of the main aesthetic and conceptual implications of the autonomous art of modernity (originality, novelty, tradition, cannon), to their crisis and transformations in the practice of contemporary art. This is one of the most original and interesting books in art theory published in the last decade. The Fake is a splendid book: it combines great scholarship, entertaining story-telling and an innovative theoretical approach. Radnòti's book is a jewel in contemporary art history as it is also an original statement about the vicissitudes of our postmodern condition. A fascinating study. A pioneering work in the field of aesthetics . . . its scholarship is impeccable. Radnoti is...a rigorous, common-sense thinker of daunting erudition. His interest is art forgery goes way beyond the Hitchcockian detective stories that pop up regularly in newspapers to the philosophical structure of the enterprise itself. Get your hands on a copy of The Fake and westle with it. You'll find that Radnoti has done us all a favor. In this fine work, Sándor Radnóti uses the concept of forgery to explore important issues in art theory. It is an insightful strategy. . . . and this overview can't do justice to the subtle, dialectical quality of the argument in The Fake. Will the reader be able to identify a "fake" after reading this work? Probably not, but in these post-Duchamp, post-Warhol times, Radnoti's discussion will help the reader to articulate the issues. An excellent bibliography will allow the student of the subject to explore further. Recommended. The Fake provides an exhaustive and informative overview. The most rewarding elements of Radnoti's sustained meditation on the status and function of forgery arise from his ability to combine detailed knowledge of cultural history with a philosopher's concern for the thorny theoretical and conceptual problems that this history continually thows up. Indeed, what distinguishes Radnoti's account from the already sizeable literature on the subject in analytic aesthetics is his insistence on the historical character of the concept and practice of forgery. Radnoti's book is all the more exciting because he discloses territories for questioning rather than narrowing them down. This book is subtle, detailed and exceedingly well-researched.