e-flux conversations has been abuzz lately with lively debates, powerful public statements, and engaging articles. In case you missed them, here’s a digest of recent top stories.
Statement by the Shortlisted Nominees of the 2017 Preis der Nationalgalerie
“We have been troubled by the constant emphasis, in press releases and public speeches, on our gender and nationalities, rather than on the content of our work.”
The New Conservatism: Complicity and the UK Art World’s Performance of Progression
“If radical progression and a separation of art from systems adversely affecting people across London and the rest of the United Kingdom is to stand a chance, then it has to start with a reclamation of agency by actors who have been conditioned to believe they do not have any.”
Artists arrested during opening in Belgrade
“With this artistic initiative, the Unbribables are aiming to break the public silence about the mental, psychological, and economic repression many citizens of Serbia are exposed to in their professional work, especially in the field of culture, media, and education.”
Appeal for international solidarity with culture makers in Poland
“In 2017, new social movements defending culture against the political designs of the far-right are flourishing.”
We are not surprised
“Many institutions and individuals with power in the art world espouse the rhetoric of feminism and equity in theory, often financially benefitting from these flimsy claims of progressive politics, while preserving oppressive and harmful sexist norms in practice.”
Beatrix Ruf: Rock Bottom
“This scandal is not about forgeries or a fraud. Instead, it revolves around the question: who decides what is desirable art? This scandal is about the freedom of museums (or rather, about the new unfreedom).”
Why was a far-right German politician invited to speak at the Hannah Arendt Center?
“We believe that Jongen’s participation in the conference, regardless of the organizers’ intentions, enabled him to leverage Hannah Arendt’s legacy to legitimize and normalize the AfD’s far-right ideology.”
A statement by the artists of documenta 14
“Receiving the world, as equals, contrary to anxieties, also contributes to radiance. The contemporary arts no longer looks toward a European exhibition to lead the way in ideas about what art can do, and what it should do.”
Franco “Bifo” Berardi: “The Inevitable and the Unpredictable”
“The political dissolution of the European Union seems inevitable, as racism and nationalism are growing in many countries of Europe. But we must remember the words of John Maynard Keynes: the inevitable generally does not happen, because the unpredictable prevails instead.”
Chris Dercon responds to open letter from Hands Off Our Revolution & e-flux
“The Volksbühne, like any other theater, is a sensitive, social organism whose operation since last Friday has been hampered and endangered by the occupation. As Director, I am responsible for our artists, and more than 200 employees. Most of them expressed their opposition to the occupation in order to be able to continue their work unhindered.”
