The everyday connotations of the original, the real, sincere, valid, historical or deep are well-known, and the opposite of the authentic may then be the superficial, false, not-what-it-seems, or just new. Nonetheless 'the real thing' is still a fruitful starting point to analyze changes in the post-digital society. Digital technology is embedded in almost every personal relationship, in labour conditions, and in aesthetic practices. What does this mean for the 'authentic'? To unfold the nuances of the concept of contemporary authenticity this book aims to bring together different thinkers to reflect on the meaning of the authentic now. As a process and as a fluid and performative scheme to be enacted at any time-not just in terms of art and art making but flowing into every single nook of contemporary life, from the intimate to the public.
Contributors: Erika Balsom, Franco 'Bifo' Berardi, Barbara Cueto & Bas Hendrikx, Jazmina Figueroa, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, Rob Horning, David Joselit, Oliver Laric, Timotheus Vermeulen, Beny Wagner, McKenzie Wark