The Way of the Shovel offers a well-constructed balance among excursions into the situation of contemporary art, broad philosophical arguments around the subjects of history and the archive, and cultural analysis. Opening up the discussion of the archaeological imaginary in art to adjacent fields, the book includes several essays that create an overarching narrative for the exhibition and introduce readers to the workings of history in art. Roelstraete’s opening essay maps the critical terrain, while Ian Alden Russell explores the roots of archaeology and its manifestations in twentieth-century art, Bill Brown examines artistic practices that involve historical artifacts and archival material, Sophie Berrebi offers a critique of the “document” as seen in art after the 1960s, and Diedrich Diederichsen writes on the monumentalization of history in European art. The book features work by both established and young artists, and thoughtful entries by Roelstraete accompany the exhibition catalog, along with statements from artists Moyra Davey, Rebecca Keller, Joachim Koester, Hito Steyerl, and Zin Taylor.

University of Chicago Press, 2013.
ISBN: 9780226094120. 328 pp.
Illus.
Hardcover. Very good.