Art Monthly
issue 365
April 2013
INTERVIEW
The Minus Man: Michelangelo Pistoletto interviewed by Alex Coles
A key figure within Arte Povera, Michelangelo Pistoletto is one of the most significant Italian artists of the 20th century. Now in his 80th year, he continues to present challenging projects, such as his forthcoming exhibition at the Louvre. Here he talks about his evolving studio, the difference between design and art, and the path he negotiates between disinterested theory and radical politics.
FEATURE
Life and Death: Paul O’Kane on art and being
If art in secular societies plays some part in defining humanity, how have artists such as John Akomfrah, Nick Broomfield and Patrick Keiller met the challenges laid forth by globalisation’s increasingly pervasive and invasive brand of technocapitalism?
FEATURE
Identity Crisis: Maja & Reuben Fowkes on the return of the East European
When the coalition government recently proposed running an anti-UK advertising campaign in Eastern Europe with the aim of discouraging immigration, it brought an outmoded cultural categorisation back to life. Perhaps Number 10 might have looked at the work of Adam Chodzko, Roman Ondák, Dan Perjovschi and Nedko Solakov before returning the generic ‘East European’ to the discourse around identity.
EDITORIAL
Mallification
The ugly word ‘mallification’ perfectly describes the proposed redevelopment of the Southbank Centre, infilling its open spaces with glass-fronted retail outlets. Might this current Tory-led coalition, by refusing to list the building during the lifetime of its parliament, finally succeed where its Conservative predecessors failed?
LETTERS
Nicky Hamlyn and AL Rees object to Christopher Townsend’s review of the Film in Space exhibition at Camden Arts Centre in AM363.
ARTNOTES
Tory minister Ed Vaizey accuses the arts sector of scaremongering over government cuts but has his own interpretation called into question by those whose statistics he relied upon; the political reason for Westminster City Council’s axing of its arts funding is revealed; Belfast and Norfolk councils recognise the value of the arts and buck the trend for cuts; Space Studios petitions against planning policy changes; the public art sector shrinks; independent art schools open; galleries open and close; and all the latest news on appointments, prizes and more.
EXHIBITION REVIEWS
The Bride and the Bachelors: Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns Barbican, London – Mark Harris
Schwitters in Britain Tate Britain, London – Morgan Quaintance
Bela Kolarova Raven Row, London – John Douglas Millar
Xu Bing: Landscape Landscript Ashmolean Museum, Oxford – Stephen Lee
Rosa Barba: Subject to Constant Change Cornerhouse, Manchester • Turner Contemporary, Margate – Bob Dickinson
Carsten Nicolai: Observatory Ibid Projects, London – Eliza Williams
Shaun Gladwell: Cycles of Radical Will De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-On-Sea – Paul Carey-Kent
Hayley Newman and Emily Speed: The Practice of Space Castlefield Gallery, Manchester – Martin Herbert
Alice Channer: Invertebrates Hepworth Wakefield – Morgan Quaintance
London Round-up Matt’s Gallery • White Cube • Michael Werner Gallery • Carlos/Ishikawa – Chris Fite-Wassilak
BOOK REVIEWS
Jens Hoffman: The Studio
Alex Coles: The Transdisciplinary Studio
Jennifer Thatcher on the changing role of the artists’ studio.
Hito Steyerl: The Wretched of the Screen
Maria Walsh on image re-production in a networked age.
REPORT
Letter from Mexico: The Next Generation
Kathy Battista on the boom in the Mexican art scene.
ARTLAW
Site-specificity: Who Owns Street Art?
Henry Lydiate on the removal of street art from the public arena.
EXHIBITION LISTINGS
Art Monthly‘s exhibition listings and London gallery map can also be viewed online: www.artmonthly.co.uk/galleries
ABOUT
“Art Monthly – essential reading every month for more than 30 years”
Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate
If you want to get closer to the ideas behind new art, read Art Monthly.
Buy online: www.artmonthly.co.uk/buy
Free sample issue, email: subs [at] artmonthly.co.uk
Digital subscriptions from 8GBP: www.exacteditions.com
Art Monthly‘s free newsletter includes art jobs, residencies, competitions, exhibition opportunities, etc.
Follow on Facebook and Twitter.