May 2012
FEATURES
The Thing: Do you believe in things? asks Paul O’Kane
In a western world dominated by immaterial labour, and where scientists and philosophers have thrown into doubt our understanding of physical objects, how have artists—from John McCracken and John Hilliard to Wood & Harrison and Andrew Dodds—questioned and defended the nature of things?
Man Machine: Omar Kholeif tracks the influences of Kraftwerk
With a recent move into exhibition making, German ‘robot pop’ group Kraftwerk has crossed disciplines into the visual arts. But which are the artists that the group borrowed from and who are the current artists, such as Jill Magid and Wafaa Bilal, that exemplify Kraftwerk’s man-machine ethos?
EDITORIAL
Nothing Like a Dame
When culture secretary Jeremy Hunt sacked Liz Forgan, the first female chair of Arts Council England, he was following a well-worn pattern: when a major institution is in crisis, let a woman have a go at running it. Isn’t that the lesson from other high-profile appointments to such diverse organisations as the IMF, now headed by Christine Lagarde, MI5, which appointed Stella Rimington as DG in 1992, and the SOGAT ’82 union, which in the 1980s pitted Brenda Dean against Rupert Murdoch in his declared determination to crush the print unions?
ARTNOTES
Liz Forgan is asked to step down as chair of ACE despite being halfway through a historic restructuring of the organisation; embattled culture minister Jeremy Hunt sees his plans for an ‘endowments century’ threatened by chancellor George Osborne’s proposed cap on tax relief for charitable giving; while the UK enters a double-dip recession, galleries close and restructure as funding cuts come into force; Jerwood Foundation plans to auction prize-winning artworks it commissioned for its Jerwood Sculpture Prize; protestors take aim at the National Gallery’s entertainment contract with an arms manufacturer; Berlin is filled with protests against gentrification and sponsorship from corporations with Nazi-aligned backgrounds; all the latest news on events, prizes, online resources, and more.
PROFILE
Sara MacKillop: Duncan Wooldridge on an artist of office equipment
Sara MacKillop’s subtle practice reconfigures the tools of the office, that site of immaterial labour, and allows its objects to follow their physical logics through to disquieting conclusions.
EXHIBITION REVIEWS
Hanne Darboven Camden Arts Centre, London. By John Slyce.
James Benning Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland and Platform A, Middlesbrough. By Martin Herbert.
Zoe Leonard: Observation Point Camden Arts Centre, London. By Laura Allsop.
Song Dong: Waste Not The Curve Barbican, London. By Eliza Williams.
Amikam Toren: Moving in the Right Direction Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London. By Peter Suchin.
Sarah Lucas: Make Love Situation, London. By Colin Glen.
Trisha Baga: Rock Vilma Gold, London. By Laura McLean-Ferris.
Heather & Ivan Morison, Ben Rivers, David Thorpe The Hepworth, Wakefield. By Martin Herbert.
Tomorrow Never Knows Jerwood Space, London. By Maria Walsh.
On the Edgware Road Serpentine Gallery, London. By Nick Warner, Andrew J Stooke.
BOOKS
Cutting Across Media
David Ryan negotiates appropriation, collage, and copyright law
Hal Foster: The Art-Architecture Complex
Alex Coles finds an author reluctant to move beyond his bailiwick
FILM/ANIMATION
Artists’ Film International
Adam Pugh views the Whitechapel Gallery’s invitational screenings
Max Hattler: Shift
Ajay RS Hothi encounters a modern Ballet mécanique
SYMPOSIUM
Immaterial Production
Larne Abse Gogarty on immaterial labour and its discontents
LETTER FROM LA
Art Capital
Kathy Battista visits a city on the move
ARTLAW
Authentication Revisited
Henry Lydiate on the financial minefield of artwork authentication
EXHIBITION LISTINGS
Art Monthly‘s exhibition listings and London gallery map can also be viewed online at www.artmonthly.co.uk/galleries.
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