Abramović through her defensive statement is trying to sequester her racism to a past self and exonerate her current self in infallible righteousness. If she claims responsibility, it is at best a weak claim that belittles the simple and inescapable truth–the racism that produced her journal entry all those years ago is a part of white identity. A terrible truth that needs confrontation, acceptance, and action–not negotiation or qualifications.
Read MoreThis article concerns the restriction of contemporary art discourse to the specificity of Philadelphia in the city’s DIY art scene. It strikes me that the focus on the geo-political and cultural particularity of Philadelphia produces a strange contradiction in how we think about contemporary art in Philadelphia. The contradiction is between the parochial fixation of trying to speak for a Philadelphia contemporary art (distinct from a contemporary art in Philadelphia) and the global status of contemporary art. In what follows I want to develop an understanding of this contradiction by paying particular attention to some interconnected issues such as the notion of contemporaneity, globality and internationalism. I close with a couple of questions, both oriented by the attempt to inquire into the very possibility of a discourse of contemporary art within the context of an explicitly regionalist focus.
Read MoreFor me, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of our artist-run projects felt most urgent when fed into a rightly inescapable question of: but for whom? Or more specifically, what is the responsibility of an artist project? To whom are we responsible?
Read MoreI’ve been watching a lot of The Office (U.S.) lately. The heavy heat and caustic politics of the summer demanded a light touch and comedic reprieve. For me, the driving conflict of The Office was always the quiet struggle of the Dunder Mifflin employees to remain human in an inhuman environment. Their work world is formed by a toxic and invisible atmosphere designed to suffocate any and all aspirations to dignity, compassion, and individuality.
Read MorePhiladelphia is always a place of many distinct and often contradictory feelings, and as the masses of politicians, reporters, delegates, protesters, lobbyists, promoters, and enthusiasts drain out of the city here are a few of the emotional highs and lows from last week.
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