Raiding the Icebox: Reflections on Twentieth-Century Culture

Although Mr. Wollen has been criticized (I'm refering to the debate collected in "Guy Debord and the Situationist International: Texts and Documents" edited by Tom McDonough) for his supposedly questionable political position (and where he was exactly) on those exhaustingly and tirelessly addressed days of May 1968 by European intellectuals, this does not reflect negatively on this collection of historical reappraisals. Wollen has dredged out of the dustbin of history many facts that are conveniently dropped from the ruling versions of history. For example, his exposition of Jackson Pollock as a far more politically involved, and to a degree his artistic practice, individual stands at odds with Clement Greenberg's and others' quick evacuation of the man from his art. Wollen's essay on the mimicry of early Soviet and American ideologies, particularly in relation to Fordist means of production, problematizes (at the very least) the commonly accepted wisdom of the antagonism between the two powers. This collection illuminates several historical narratives of politics and culture as precisely that, fictive creations. It is an insightful read and there is bound to be at least 1 or 2 instances, if not more, where you will be disturbed at the inexplicable depth to which some will steep simply to bolster their own positions. Returning to the Pollock example, there is no reason beside sheer megalomania that Greenberg and others in the art world should have decided to avoid considering and discussing some infamous moments of Pollock's. Unless there was something more sinister involved, which calls into question Greenberg's and others' so-called commitment to socialist and emancipatory ends. And this is the important point of Wollen's collection. This book is a vastly worthwhile read if you have any interest in cultural studies, ideological critiques, historical investigations, or political interests. There is a supposed reprint coming, which is very good news.