July–August 2013
FEATURE
Art as Commodity as Art: Christopher Townsend on the legacy of the Pictures Generation and MTV
The Pictures Generation artists of the early 1980s—Robert Longo, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman et al—who emerged just as MTV muscled up alongside the young field of video art, set about dissolving the boundaries between art and the techniques of mass culture. But by adopting forms that had been thoroughly co-opted by the engine of commercial production, was the space for critical subjectivity fatally compromised?
FEATURE
Indifferent Objects:
In our obsession with objects what has happened to the subject, asks Laura McLean-Ferris
Artists such as Danh Vo and Henrik Olesen have recently been using objects in their art in a way which implies that the objects themselves carry some embodied essence or agency. But where does such object-oriented thinking leave the human subject?
FEATURE
Venice Inside Out: Patricia Bickers on the real lines that divide insiders from outsiders
At the Venice Biennale, as elsewhere, curators are marshalling ‘outsiders’ and ‘real people’ for the benefit of curious spectacle-seekers. But isn’t such apparent inclusiveness simply a curtain that hides the persistent asymmetry of power?
EDITORIAL
Signs and Wonders
The current curatorial obsession with the wunderkammer, or cabinet of curiosities, abandons centuries-old traditions of rational thought. What have we been left with now that the materialism of the 1980s has been reignited by the connectedness of the internet age?
ARTNOTES
Chancellor George Osborne’s latest spending review outlines further cuts to the arts, bringing ACE’s total cuts under the coalition government to 40%; Yoko Ono’s Meltdown festival finds itself with a fracking corporate sponsorship conundrum; Swiss riot police clear out an unofficial party outside Art Basel with the use of pepper spray and rubber bullets; dealer Marc Jancou fails in his bid to sue artist Cady Noland for 20m GBP after she disowned a work he had purchased; artist Orlan accuses Lady Gaga of forgery and sues for 31.5m GBP; galleries open, move and expand; the latest news on events, appointments, prizes and more.
Seth Siegelaub: Remembered by Lawrence Weiner
Curator Seth Siegelaub, one of the playmakers behind the rise of Conceptual Art in the US, died in June 2013. A two-part interview with Siegelaub was published in AM327 and AM328, the first part of which can be found on AM’s website. Artist Lawrence Weiner was invited by AM to contribute some thoughts on his former collaborator—his response is published on p21 of AM368 Jul–Aug 2013.
EXHIBITIONS
55th Venice Biennale: The Encyclopedic Palace various venues – Chris Clarke
The Alternative Guide to the Universe Hayward Gallery, London – Daniella Rose King
Resolution 978 HD Gasworks, London – Omar Kholeif
KP Brehmer Vilma Gold, London – Mark Prince
Geoffrey Farmer: The Surgeon and the Photographer Barbican, London – Curt Riegelnegg
Jonathon Baldock: A strange cross between a butcher’s shop and a nightclub Wysing Arts Centre – Nick Warner
Layla Curtis: Antipodes Spacex, Exeter – David Trigg
Jordan Baseman: Deadness Matt’s Gallery, London – David Barrett
North-West Round-up Harris Museum & Art Gallery • Bluecoat • Open Eye • Tate Liverpool – Bob Dickinson
London Round-up White Cube • Ceri Hand • Kate MacGarry • Freud Museum – Martin Herbert
BOOKS
Summer Reading
Sally O’Reilly dives into some recent releases.
Curating Contemporary Art
Teresa Gleadowe reviews the curators.
SOUND
a.a.s: Circle of Fifths
Mark Harris experiences an evening of drone at Reactor Halls.
ART LAW
Why Are Artists Poor?
Henry Lydiate examines the artist/dealer relationship.
EXHIBITION LISTINGS
Art Monthly‘s exhibition listings and London gallery map can also be viewed online: www.artmonthly.co.uk/galleries
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