Two features from the May 2012 edition of Art Monthly are discussed with writers Paul O’Kane and Omar Kholeif.
Omar Kholeif is a writer and curator at FACT, Liverpool, a visiting curator at Cornerhouse, Manchester, and is associate curator at the Arab British Centre, London. Paul O’Kane is an artist, writer and lecturer based in London.
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?
‘Sculpture, of all the arts, must surely be responsible for mapping the various journeys of thinghood. “What is a Thing?” – the question Heidegger asked in the 1920s – turns out to be a question that we have to keep asking.’
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?
‘Kraftwerk’s evocation of the cyborg has been discussed within academic music circles but rarely has its influence been positioned alongside contemporary visual art. For example, the work of infamous Cypriot-Australian performance and media artist Stelarc, who has used medical instruments, prosthetics and robotics to explore and alter how his body interfaces with its surroundings.’
The programme is hosted by Matt Hale who has worked at Art Monthly since 1991.
Previous episodes are available on Art Monthly’s website www.artmonthly.co.uk/events.htm
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