Each One Another

“What can art teach us that other forms of thought cannot? What can we learn from the movements in dance or the shapes in painting? In this innovative book, Haidu suggests that interpretations once deemed ‘formal’ actually have a surfeit of meaning, and how we describe that excess is hardly neutral; in fact, it often has something to say about the perennial problem of the subject or subjectivity—of both the maker and the viewer. This book will make you pay close attention to the texture and meanings of the words we use when we talk about art and possibly show you that those words are also a means of talking about ourselves.” -- Helen Molesworth, curator and author of Duchamp: By Hand, Even “Each One Other is a fascinating, beautifully written, brilliantly conceived, and expertly researched reflection on three basic elements of artistic form—shape, character, and role—as vehicles for the experience of selfhood. Haidu offers vivid and compelling introductions to each aesthetic concept, and she pays lavish attention to the works and artists she considers. Indeed, her stunning descriptions and readings of individual works are unrivaled.” -- Jonathan Flatley, author of Like Andy Warhol “Each One Another is an original and ambitious examination of selfhood as an experience of interiority and one’s ownness. Haidu’s treatment of the work of six artists shows how shape, character, and role uniquely function within particular media, and she explores the possibilities they bring to the domain of aesthetics and to the understanding of selfhood as an experience of what’s left over ‘for us’ beyond our construction as subjects. Executed in distinctive and alluringly abstract prose, the book transcends disciplinary habits and is a pleasure to read.” -- Eve Meltzer, author of Systems We Have Loved