Fates of the performative: From the linguistic turn to the new materialism

The cover of Fates of the Performative is a photograph of Jeff Koons’ 1980 installation piece entitled “New Hoover Quik Broom, New Hoover Celebrity IV.” In the 56 × 22 × 19 3/5 inch artwork, the back of a clear hard plastic case/frame is lined by 4 industrial-style fluorescent vertical lightbulbs. On the left, the beige-pink Quik Broom is mounted with handle up and broom down. On the right, the Celebrity is arranged with its bright mid-century modern blue canister at the top and the white flexible hose curling down to the blue-broom bottom. This might seem a curious choice for a cover to a heavily theoretical critical genealogy of the immaterial illocutionary force of the performative (Chapters 1–3) followed by biopolitical critical explorations of the performative in different scientific, social, political and cultural contexts (Chapters 4–6). Upon reading the book, however, the art is apt and provides a reading frame for Fates. Before taking up (or uptaking) the critical fancy of the cover art as an organizing conceit, here are a few observations. First, I recommend reading the book. While Nealon is not directly writing to a performance studies audience, the book’s deep investment in how language and matter productively intra-actively act within and outside structures (of meaning, institutions, science, etc.) is deeply relevant to posthuman performance, identity performance, and performance criticism (and more). Second, the book’s tapestry of insights about art, aesthetics, literature, and critical scholarship both articulate and perform the uncertain (and thus) powerful potential of the performative in the twenty-first century (C21). Third, Nealon presents an exceptionally well-crafted and persuasive argument that the performative is “second to none when it comes to its influence on recent humanities theory in North America” (x). In particular, the book situates the force of the performative within concepts and critiques of biopolitics, new materialism, and neo-liberalism. This argument is informed by Nealon’s encyclopedic theoretical knowledge (continental philosophy in general, and Foucault specifically), self-reflexivity (despite dealing with mostly continently philosophy, the book argues for de-colonizing the canon), and wit (although, perhaps by design, not all the jokes land). What follows is a tour through some of the book, guided by Koons’ art and Nealon’s ideas.