Artist Carey Young shares inspiration and research behind her major exhibition Appearance in this fascinating Read and Watch list for Modern Art Oxford. These books, films, articles and poems reveal insights into Youngâs pioneering use of law as an artistic medium.
Visit Carey Young: Appearance for free until 2 July 2023. For a limited period, a selection of the below titles are available to buy in the Modern Art Oxford Shop.
Films
The Act of Killing, dir: Joshua Oppenheimer (2012)
The Act of Killing (Indonesian: Jagal, meaning “Butcher”) is a documentary about individuals who participated in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965â1966. Discover more.
The Judge, dir: Erika Cohn (2018)
When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih walked into the office of Palestineâs Chief Justice and announced she wanted to join the bench. He laughed at her. But just a few years later, Kholoud became the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle Eastâs Shariâa (Islamic law) courts. Discover more.
Metropolis, dir: Fritz Lang (1927)
The German expressionist science-fiction film Metropolis is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction movie, being among the first feature-length movies of that genre. Discover more.
Man With a Movie Camera, dir: Dziga Vertov (1929)
This experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film was produced by the film studio All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration (VUFKU) and presents urban life in Moscow, Kyiv and Odesa during the late 1920s. Watch now.
Blow Up, dir: Michael Antonioni (1966)
This mystery drama-thriller tells the story of a fashion photographer who unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park. Discover more.
Online books and texts:
State of Exception by Giorgio Agamben (2005)
Important to the development of Carey Youngâs text-based works, this book arrives at original ideas about the future of democracy and casts a new light on the hidden relationship that ties law to violence. Read now.
Law of the Body by Lizzie Harris (2022)
Published in the New Yorker, Harrisâ prose poem was written in response to the 2022 US Supreme Courtâs decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion in the US. Read now.
Justice Must be Seen to be Done by Carey Young (2016)
In her piece for Brooklyn Rail, Young offers her short âmanifestoâ on law as an artistic subject. Read now.
Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street by Herman Melville (1956)
In this story, a Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copies or do any other task required of him, refusing with the words “I would prefer not to.” Read now.
Before the Law by Franz Kafka (1915)
This parable contained in Kafkaâs novel The Trial tells the story of a man who seeks “the law” and wishes to gain entry to it through an open doorway, but the doorkeeper tells the man that he cannot go through at the present time. Read now.
Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault (1977)
This book by French philosopher Michel Foucault analyses the social and theoretical mechanisms behind the changes that occurred in Western penal systems during the modern age based on historical documents from France. Read now.
Books:
Portrait by Jean-Luc Nancy (2018)
To Nancy, the portrait is a way in to grasping the paradoxes of subjectivity. This playful series of readings draws on a wide range of portraits: from carvings on ancient drinking vessels and contemporary art, to our DNA. Discover more.
Womenâs Lives, Menâs Laws by Catherine Mackinnon (2007)
This book by the radical feminist legal scholar, activist, and author Catherine Mackinnon is described by Young as âa brilliant manifesto âŠRighteous anger and a compelling turn of phrase.â Discover more.
Models of Integrity: Art and Law in Post-Sixties America by Joan Kee
An examination of the relationship between contemporary art and the law through the lens of integrity, featuring a discussion about Carey Youngâs work Declared Void. Discover more.
Approximation: Documentary, History and the Staging of Reality by Stella Bruzzi (2020)
Featuring Carey Youngâs 2017 film, Palais de Justice, this book examines the dynamism that results from reusing and reconfiguring raw documentary data in creative ways. Discover more.
Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder – Trials at the Old Bailey by Wendy Joseph (2022)
Her Honour Wendy Joseph QC, who features in Youngâs film Appearance describes how cases unfold and illustrates exactly what it’s like to be a murder trial judge. Discover more.
Invisible Women by Carolina Criado-Perez (2020)
This book provides a startling perspective on the unseen bias at work and in our everyday lives. Discover more.
Law in the Courts of Love by Peter Goodrich (1996)
Described by Carey Young as âa beautiful book,â Law in the Courts of Love traces a feminist legal theory back through glimpses of the diversity and plurality of past legal systems. Discover more
Fictions of the Pose: Rembrandt Against the Italian Renaissance by Harry Berger (2000)
Exploring the structure and meaning of portraiture, this book considers the practices and politics of early portraiture, from modern Italian and Dutch, to Rembrandt’s self-portraits, especially those in which he poses in fancy dress as if he were a patron. Discover more.
Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis (2003)
Described by Carey Young as âa classic,â this book examines the evolution of carceral systems from their earliest forms to the all-consuming modern prison industrial complex. Discover more.
Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts (2020)
Challenging the complexities of language, Betts animates what it means to be a “felonâ with poems about the effects of incarceration, such as homelessness, underemployment, love, drug abuse, domestic violence, fatherhood, and grace. Discover more.
Carceral Capitalism by Jackie Wang (2018)
In this collection of essays in Semiotext(e)’s Intervention series, Wang examines contemporary incarceration techniques that have emerged since the 1990s. Discover more.
Alchemy of Race and Rights by Patricia J Williams (1992)
Williamsâ seminal book provided inspiration for Carey Youngâs acclaimed 2017 film Palais de Justice. Discover more.
Where is Your Body: And Other Essays on Race, Gender, and the Law by Mari Matsuda (1997)
Pioneering legal scholar Matsuda examines how our collective experiences of race, class, and gender inform our understanding of law and shape our vision of a more just society. Discover more.
Theatre & Law by Alan Read (2015)
Featuring a discussion on Carey Youngâs Declared Void, Theatre & Law offers the first comprehensive look at the complex relations between legal process and performances. Discover more.
Discover the exhibition Carey Young: Appearance at Modern Art Oxford until 2 July 2023.