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In Search of the Third Bird: Exemplary Essays from The Proceedings of ESTAR(SER), 2001–2020
The real history of the covey of attention-artists who call themselves "The Birds."
A great deal of uncertainty--and even some genuine confusion--surrounds the origin, evolution, and activities of the so-called Avis Tertia or "Order of the Third Bird." Sensational accounts of this "attentional cult" emphasize histrionic rituals, tragic trance-addictions, and the covert dissemination of obscurantist ontologies of the art object. Hieratic, ecstatic, and endlessly evasive, the Order attracts sensual misfits and cabalistic aesthetes--both to its ranks, and to its scholarship.
In recent years, however, the revisionist work of the research collective ESTAR(SER) has done much to clear the air, bringing archival precision to the history of this covey of attention-artists who call themselves "The Birds." Gathering the best articles of the last twenty years of The Proceedings of ESTAR(SER) , this volume represents a landmark in the history of aesthetic practices, and will be a point of departure for future work wading the muddy marshes at the limits of historicism.
A great deal of uncertainty--and even some genuine confusion--surrounds the origin, evolution, and activities of the so-called Avis Tertia or "Order of the Third Bird." Sensational accounts of this "attentional cult" emphasize histrionic rituals, tragic trance-addictions, and the covert dissemination of obscurantist ontologies of the art object. Hieratic, ecstatic, and endlessly evasive, the Order attracts sensual misfits and cabalistic aesthetes--both to its ranks, and to its scholarship.
In recent years, however, the revisionist work of the research collective ESTAR(SER) has done much to clear the air, bringing archival precision to the history of this covey of attention-artists who call themselves "The Birds." Gathering the best articles of the last twenty years of The Proceedings of ESTAR(SER) , this volume represents a landmark in the history of aesthetic practices, and will be a point of departure for future work wading the muddy marshes at the limits of historicism.
- GenresArt
768 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 3, 2023
utterly enchanting. a volume in honor of those who pay attention.
January 18, 2022
As someone who is not an ESTAR(SER) scholar, it feels a bit unfair to give this collection of essays a “rating,” as I’m not qualified to judge whether the volume accomplished what it set out to do: namely, to collect the best articles of the past twenty years from the Proceedings. As a student of aesthetic practices myself, I was curiously both disappointed in the relative lack of attention paid to the practices themselves (in the words of the editors, “We do not ‘Bird.’”), yet also fascinated by the historical method that shed light on the history of this obscure attention-cult. The articles were excellently written with a cheekishness befitting of their subjects, and I learned a ton.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but dock a star because at times the researchers seemed to become so engrossed in their objects that they sometimes missed the forest for the trees. A guest author who was “brought in” to write on an area outside the competencies of ESTAR(SER) captured this sentiment well, writing: “What do we actually hope to learn? There are much larger and stranger questions than to ask whether or not [a given historical figure] was a Bird. Whereas many Proceedings articles, I have noticed, end with a call for future research, I for one feel that enough research has been done into the present matter” (p. 591). Despite the captivating “historicism” on display, I would’ve liked to see more attention paid to the attentional practices themselves, rather than the sort of naval-gazing and fan-clubbery the book sometimes devolved into.
Still, it seems unfair to judge the editors too harshly in this regard since it wasn’t their aim. If I had to suggest one article to a curious reader wanting to get their toes wet, I would offer Ch. 15: “The Mazumdar Legacy,” for a compelling and eternally relevant discussion of how aesthetics diverges and intersects with political action. Despite the obscurity of the Order of the Third Bird, their concerns and practices need not be relegated to posh drawing rooms and private galleries. There is a sense that there is some potential for these practices to be “taken to the street,” as it were, in some capacity.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but dock a star because at times the researchers seemed to become so engrossed in their objects that they sometimes missed the forest for the trees. A guest author who was “brought in” to write on an area outside the competencies of ESTAR(SER) captured this sentiment well, writing: “What do we actually hope to learn? There are much larger and stranger questions than to ask whether or not [a given historical figure] was a Bird. Whereas many Proceedings articles, I have noticed, end with a call for future research, I for one feel that enough research has been done into the present matter” (p. 591). Despite the captivating “historicism” on display, I would’ve liked to see more attention paid to the attentional practices themselves, rather than the sort of naval-gazing and fan-clubbery the book sometimes devolved into.
Still, it seems unfair to judge the editors too harshly in this regard since it wasn’t their aim. If I had to suggest one article to a curious reader wanting to get their toes wet, I would offer Ch. 15: “The Mazumdar Legacy,” for a compelling and eternally relevant discussion of how aesthetics diverges and intersects with political action. Despite the obscurity of the Order of the Third Bird, their concerns and practices need not be relegated to posh drawing rooms and private galleries. There is a sense that there is some potential for these practices to be “taken to the street,” as it were, in some capacity.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews