Identities
Origins, influences and, finally, the decisions we make are the three main elements that contribute to defining our identity as individuals and also as collectives. They are great themes for great reflections. And also for artists to explore the cracks between identities constructed by individuals and collectives and official narratives. Many examples come to mind […]
Art, Culture and Society 1984
The future worlds or the futures of the world that Okwui Enwezor points out at the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale are not exactly optimistic, but dark, confusing, motley, unjust and full of inequalities. We are heading towards George Orwell’s 1984, thirty-one years later than the British writer predicted and with a more colourful […]
The Venice Biennale in 12 Notes
http://a-desk.org/highlights/THE-VENICE-BIENNALE-IN-12-NOTES.html All the World’s Futures is a colossal and motley biennale, that doesn’t give a moment’s respite, nor, of course, leave anyone indifferent. One way of fighting against this situation of accumulation, under the assumption it’s not possible to see everything, is to let oneself go and define a pathway with which to try […]
In first person
The idea of testimony, of confession, speaking in the first person to narrate one’s own experience, as an expression of subjectivity or as an exposition of the intimate is a way of transmitting truthfulness. We see it in books, in documentaries, in television programmes and also in the works of artists. At a time when […]
“Potentiality is just an openess without an end”. An interview with Pierre Bismuth
“Potentiality is just an openness without an end”. An interview with Pierre Bismuth Pierre Bismuth is a very unusual artist. In 2002, in his biography for the catalogue of Manifesta 4, in Frankfurt he defined himself as “an artist considered a good cook by his friends”. His work calls attention to the construction of […]
What is the city but the people? Jeremy Deller at CA2M
What is the city but the people? Jaremy Deller at CA2M Solely for having made The Battle of Orgreave (An Injury to One is an injury to All) (2001), Jeremy Deller merits a prominent position amongst the artists of the 21st century. Fortunately for him, Orgreave is just one amongst many other brilliant pieces. […]
ART AND EDUCATION / EDUCATION AND ART
In 2009, Maria Acaso published the book “Art education is not crafts. New practices in teaching arts and visual culture”, the content of which is as relevant today as it was six years ago. While the role that art education plays in compulsory education is increasingly secondary, Acaso claims the need to reinforce art education, […]
Six proposals and a feeling
The challenge is great: proposals to improve the context of the arts in Catalonia. The temptation to fall into discouraging diagnoses is there. But the guideline is clear: we are going to be proactive. So what is the context? What and who make up the artistic fabric? Obviously it is not only the institutions, large […]
“Arts and culture make our experience of the world more complex”. An interview with Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Patrizia Sandretto is an outstanding collector. She began her collection in the 90s and soon her interests focused on photography and media art. President of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, in the following interview she speaks about her interest in media art, her relationship with artists and her active and committed role in the art […]
Looking at history from the present, or how to activate the past
Revisiting the past from a contemporary perspective is a premise as necessary as it is delicate and, too often, boring. Depending on the motivations, you can generate tendentious rereadings or associations free of academicisms that can become the key to understanding some facts of the present. Apart from the Tricentenary theme, three interesting examples in […]