George Vasy and Maria Walsh discuss their feature articles from the November issue 371 of Art Monthly.
Self 2 Selfie
George Vasey on self-portraiture and feminist art
The serial photographic self-portrait was adopted in the 1980s by feminist artists such as Jo Spence and Alexis Hunter in order to rethink ways of acting. How has a newer generation of webcam artists, such as Petra Cortright and Erica Scourti, responded to their legacy and the challenge of new technology?
‘The majority of imagery posted online is fairly normative, yet the question remains: what kind of agency does this form of self-portrait produce? There are those who assume that the “selfie” is the outcome of an act of narcissism while others suggest a more complex reading.’
I Object
Maria Walsh on art and the new objecthood
Artists such as Mark Leckey, Hito Steyerl, Ed Atkins and Andy Holden are keen to dissolve their subjectivity in order to exist in a non-hierarchical network of things. But could this desire ‘to get unalienated’ be seen as an infantile abdication of responsibility and even, paradoxically, a narcissistic impulse?
‘Object-oriented philosophy insists on the life of objects, a life they deem no more or less valuable than our own. Does this new materialism offer more equitable relations between subjects and objects?’
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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