Sublime isterico, estremismo tragico, posthuman, massimalismo

Starting from a discussion of the controversial notion of postmodern sublime, the paper deals with some contemporary declinations and transformations of this thorny category: the camp sublime, which can be compared with Jameson’s hysterical sublime or with Žižek's trash sublime; the total work of art as utopian fusion of artistic genres and existential experiences, especially in its posthuman development; the tragic extremism, which questions the limits of representation; and finally the maximalism, which aims at gaining a totalizing epic fresco. The theoretical discussion of these movements is linked with a focus on some significant artists: Anselm Kiefer, Lars von Trier, Matthew Barney, Sarah Kane, Don DeLillo, David Forster Wallace.