SKU: 81830883365

Documents of Contemporary Art: The Cute

Sale price$18.00 Regular price$20.00
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 14 - Jul 19

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Documents of Contemporary Art: The CuteEdited by Sianne Ngai "In her groundbreaking Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting (2012), Sianne Ngai showed how our ambivalent attachment to cuteness is a key aesthetic response to our current hypercommodified world. The Cute is a brilliantly curated archive of the pervasiveness and complexities of cute sensibilities, as reflected in the work of a wide range of artists and thinkers. If you did not know already, the cute is everywhere."

Edited by Sianne Ngai

"In her groundbreaking Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting (2012), Sianne Ngai showed how our ambivalent attachment to cuteness is a key aesthetic response to our current hypercommodified world. The Cute is a brilliantly curated archive of the pervasiveness and complexities of cute sensibilities, as reflected in the work of a wide range of artists and thinkers. If you did not know already, the cute is everywhere."

-Ina Blom, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Classics,
History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo/Department of
Art History, University of Chicago


"Sianne Ngai, the groundbreaking analyst of the minor aesthetic categories that pervade capitalist culture, provides here a sourcebook of the cute – that deeply ambivalent feeling that oscillates between cuddles and a voracious, even violent, need to consume. The striking array of texts sets some figures who would seem the antithesis of cuteness (Adorno, Wyndham Lewis) against the various blandishments of Jeff Koons, Yoshitomo Nara and Mariko Mori."


-Julian Stallabrass, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art
Courtauld Institute of Art, London


"The inexhaustibility of the meaningfulness of cuteness demonstrated in this volume reflects the promiscuity and associative magnetism of the concept of cuteness, thus transforming what was once a relatively 'simple' phenomenon into a teeming crowd of cuteness and para-cuteness. Flooding the zone of cuteness in this way models its bewildering and generative sociability – and its capacity to serve as a mob-like emblem of mass consumption."


-Daniel Tiffany, author of My Silver Planet:
A Secret History of Poetry and Kitsch

The Cute tracks the astonishing impact of a single aesthetic category on post-war and contemporary art, and on the vast range of cultural practices and discourses on which artists draw. From robots and cat videos to ice cream socials, The Cute explores the ramifications of an aesthetic ‘of’ or ‘about’ minorness – or what is perceived to be diminutive, subordinate, and above all, unthreatening – on the shifting forms and contents of art today. This anthology is the first of its kind to show how contemporary artists have worked on and transformed the cute, and in ways that not only complexify its meaning, but reshape their own artistic practices.

Artists surveyed include Peggy Ahwesh, Nayland Blake, Paul Chan, Adrian Howells, Juliana Huxtable, Larry Johnson, Mike Kelley, Dean Kenning, Wyndham Lewis, Jeff Koons, Sean-Kierre Lyons, Mammalian Diving Reflex, Alake Shilling, Annette Messager, Mariko Mori, Takashi Murakami, Charlemagne Palestine, David Robbins, Mika Rottenberg, Allen Ruppersberg, Jack Smith, Cosima von Bonin, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, Yoshitomo Nara.

Writers include Sasha Archibald, Roland Barthes, Leigh Claire La Berge, Lauren Berlant, Ian Bogost, Jennifer Doyle, Lee Edelman, Adrienne Edwards, Lewis Gordon, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Stephen Jay Gould, Lori Merish, John Morreall, Juliane Rebentisch, Frances Richard, Carrie Rickey, Friedrich Schiller, Peter Schjeldahl, Kanako Shiokawa, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, Kevin Young.

Sianne Ngai is the author of Ugly Feelings (2005), Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting (2012) and Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment and Capitalist Form (2020). She is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of English at the University of Chicago.

Paperback, 240 pages, 210 x 145 mm

ISBN 978-0-85488-298-4

First published 2022

Click here for delivery info and restrictions

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 81830883365

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.0 ★★★★★
Based on 2382 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
M
Verified Purchase
matthew tucker
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 4
Quick Delivery & Surprisingly Good Quality
Size: Large, Color: Light Gray, Size: Large, Color: Light Gray
I needed a suit on short notice and didn’t want to spend a fortune, so I took a chance on this gray suit—and I’m really glad I did. For the price, I wasn’t expecting much, but the quality is honestly impressive. The fabric feels solid and looks sharp, not cheap or shiny like other budget suits I’ve seen. Shipping was fast—I received it in just a couple of days, which was perfect for my tight timeline. The fit was nearly spot-on right out of the box. The jacket and pants fit well overall, though the sleeves were a bit long for my arms. If you need a reliable suit fast without spending a lot, this is a solid option. It exceeded my expectations for the cost and turnaround time.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2025
T
Verified Purchase
tyeira
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
men slim fit suit
Size: Small, Color: Red
I bought this suit for an 11 year old child for their sneaker ball at school. i order him a size small in men's (he wears a 32 in men pants) this suit fitted him well. the quality of the suit had actually exceeded my expectation. this suit was worth the money and the material. I would definitely order this suit for a young boy for a dance and you don't have to worry about spending a substantial amount of money. the material for the suit was good quality and I washed it in the washer machine.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2026
K
Verified Purchase
Kessica Howald
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
True to size
Size: X-Small, Color: Black
This suit fits true to size and does not look cheap. I was in a hurry to find something and couldn’t be happier with what we received. My husband looked extremely handsome!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2026
J
Verified Purchase
Jennifer Gonzalez
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect fit, and quality
Size: Large, Color: Navy
Material is high quality, matches description, looks high end designer and it’s so inexpensive. Pockets in the suit top are all usable, fit my husband like a glove we will now be ordering his suits from here from Now on.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
stacy
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Great suit- worth the money
Size: XX-Large, Color: Purple, Size: XX-Large, Color: Purple
Great suit! It looked much more expensive than it was. My son got many compliments on it. (My only complaint is that the white pocket square is not removable but that’s minor).
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2026

recommand products