ENCOUNTERISM (2023)
Encounterism is a joyous immersion into the everyday pleasure and shared humanity we stand to lose in an increasingly digital world. Andy Field explores both different kinds of and different venues for human encounters, from the hairdressers to the cinema, from nightclubs to eateries, shops staffed by people and free-form urban parks; these are the everyday yet invaluable spaces that allow for human encounters that enrich our lives.
Field writes with tenderness and wit – born out of twenty years as a performance artist creating scenarios in which people are encouraged to see and interact with each other afresh. In Encounterism he not only examines how we physically encounter both strangers and friends – in all our human grace and awkwardness – but builds to a manifesto for the importance of real-world interaction. A rousing reminder that our cities, our residential and work places, must still allow for the possibility of spontaneity and shared, in-person joy.
‘Andy Field is the freshest, most down-to-earth, most constantly surprising (and endearing) explorer of urban life I’ve read in a while … And whether he’s guiding us into mass snowball fights on the streets of London or the meaning of holding hands, this unmet stranger cheerfully reminds us all of the value of touch and the virtue of trying to see the world anew.’
PICO IYER, AUTHOR OF THE HALF KNOWN LIFE AND AUTUMN LIGHT
‘Modern-day transcendentalist Andy Field weaves reflections on cultural touchstones in celebration of the person-to-person encounter – whether that’s a phone call with a lover, a snowball fight with strangers or a sweaty nightclub dancefloor.’
ADA CALHOUN, AUTHOR OF ALSO A POET AND WHY WE CAN’T SLEEP
‘I loved this beguiling, uplifting debut.’
CAROLINE SANDERSON, THE BOOKSELLER EDITOR’S CHOICE
‘It is easy to forget: life is a delicate matter of meetings and partings. Andy Field provides a gentle, beautiful reminder.’
JOHN KAAG, AUTHOR OF HIKING WITH NIETZSCHE
‘A deeply felt, optimistic take on culture and contemporary life, and the small possibilities for change and transforming human interaction that it can contain if we’re open to its offers.’
TIM ETCHELLS, ARTIST
PERFORMANCE IN AN AGE OF PRECARITY (2021)
"This magical book is a love letter to the artists whose imagination and cleverness transport us and unite us, and to the beauty and fragility of their performance. When I read it I feel like I am constantly on the joyful edge of falling in love, trying so hard to keep hold of the feelings evoked. A very precious book in our precarious times." Vicky Featherstone
An anthology of critical essays that draw on a decade of the authors thinking, writing about and working within contemporary performance as critics, producers, dramaturgs, makers, archivists and more.
Together, the 40 essays sketch a map of the contemporary performance landscape from avant-garde dance to live art to independent theatre, tracing the contours of its themes, aims, desires and relationship to the wider worlds of mainstream theatre, art and politics.
Each essay focuses on a particular artist and these include Bryony Kimmings, Dickie Beau, Forced Entertainment, Scottee, Selina Thompson, Tania El Khoury and Uninvited Guests.
Reflecting the radical nature of the work considered, the authors attempt to find a new vocabulary and a non-conventional way of considering live performance in these essays.
As both a fresh survey of contemporary performance and an exploration of how to think and write about upstream and avant-garde work, this book should be an essential resource for students, artists and audiences, as well as an accessible entry point for anyone curious to know about the beautiful and strange things happening beyond the UK's theatrical mainstream.