The Medium of Contingency

The Medium of Contingency Robin Mackay (Ed.) Published by UrbanomicReissued edition, September 2015Original edition published in 2011    by Urbanomic and RidinghouseEditor: Robin MackayPaperback 148x210mm, 78pp.Black and white photographs.ISBN 978-0-9930458-9-9   Why has the concept of contingency taken on a marked importance both in contemporary philosophy and in contemporary art practice? And if this simultaneity derives from parallel problems met within the two different fields, what are their common roots?  Beyond acknowledging the contingent nature of tradition, institutions, and practices, recent speculative philosophies of 'absolute contingency' demand a radical revision of the ways in which we conceive of our interaction with unknowable materialities, and pose a challenge to both probabilistic management and process-driven affirmation of contingency. The book documents the event held at Thomas Dane Gallery in February of 2011 that coincided with the show entitled New York to Lo