ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that feminist studies of emotion and affect are essential to the development of critical and creative insights into how contemporary art works. It focuses on the central role played by gender studies in what has been referred to as the 'affective turn' within the humanities and social sciences. The chapter traces three key theoretical outlines which all originated from feminist studies: the epistemological criticism of the Cartesian dualism between body and mind; the evolution of social constructivist notions of subjectivity and identity toward a neo-materialist ontology of affect; and the critical analysis of the role played by emotion in contemporary notions of culture. Marina Abramovic's work will enable the readers not merely to plumb the depths of these conceptual issues but to feel them intensely at the very surface of thought. Much like Sara Ahmed, Teresa Brennan also points out the social nature of emotion, a term she more or less equates with the concept of 'affect'.
