Enrico Baj [1972] The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli. Textured offset colour print, 75 x 68 cm. Edition 200.

The Crisis of Critique

The Crisis of Critique

George Orwell (1956). 1984. Harmondsworth: Penguin, p. 171.
George Orwell (1956). 1984. Harmondsworth: Penguin, p. 171.

Thanks to everyone who came along and contributed to an excellent discussion on Adam Curtis’ film Hypernormalisation. A very special thanks to Neil Lamont for facilitating! We watched a 13 minute excerpt of the film and the discussion revolved around consciousness and complicity. Neil handed out copies from George Orwell’s 1984 and read the passage on doublethink, comparing it to the concept of hypernormalisation, which Curtis borrows from Alexei Yurchak, a term he coined to describe the culture of resignation to the simulacrum of normality in 1980s Soviet Russia.

In February we’re joining Aris Nikolaidis to discuss The Fate of Representation, the Fate of Critique, chapter six in Jesse Cohn’s 2006 book Anarchism and the Crisis of Representation: Hermeneutics, Aesthetics, Politics. What would a radical anti-representational aesthetic look like today, beyond the binary opposition between autonomy and popular culture?

If you ever wanted to join the Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice course this is the time! We’re running the first independent [ART&CRITIQUE] course in April 2018 and we’re inviting submissions for a Fee-waiver Award. To apply please download the application form and return it by 5pm on Friday, 23 February 2018. For more information please follow the links below.

Enrico Baj [1972] The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli. Textured offset colour print, 75 x 68 cm. Edition 200.[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Cohn: Representation and Critique
Friday, 9 February 2018, 6:30pm-9pm
LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES
Facilitated by Aris Nikolaidis
Suggested donation £2, booking via Eventbrite

Patrick Mimran [2004] Billboard Project, New York. Photo Sophia Kosmaoglou.[ART&CRITIQUE] COURSE
Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice

19 April – 14 June 2018, 6:30-9pm + 5 May 2018, 2:30-5pm
Kupfer Arch 213, Ponsford Street, London E9 6JU
Tutor Sophia Kosmaoglou
£250 via Eventbrite or apply for the Fee-waiver Award

Announcements & Opportunities[OPPORTUNITIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS]
February 2018
The list of opportunities, open calls, deadlines, announcements & vacancies is updated regularly.
If you would like to post your listing for open calls, opportunities or vacancies on the list please send us the details.

IMAGE CREDITS
George Orwell (1956). 1984. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 171.
Enrico Baj [1972] The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli. Textured offset colour print, 75 x 68 cm. Edition 200.

2 thoughts on “The Crisis of Critique”

  1. Hello there,

    I would like to show the film HyperNormalisation at an event I am organising in Mexico City this September. Who did you contact to get the screening licence?

    Thanks in advance,
    Carmen

    1. Hi Carmen, thanks for getting in touch. We only screened a 10 minute excerpt of the film during the discussion so we didn’t request a license but you could try getting in touch with Adam Curtis directly and see what he says. The film was broadcast on BBC iPlayer but on TV, nor was it screened in cinemas so it might be worth researching the BBC iPlayer terms of use. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

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