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On ArtReview’s mind this September, as ever, is the question of what functionality or agency art may or may not have.
For starters, Adeline Chiaasks why the artworld is so hungry for the visions of resistance presented by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi. The collective, who consider themselves activists first and artists second, and whose work often takes the form of protest banners, posters, pamphlets and cardboard puppets, might be interesting ‘not despite being propaganda’, writes Chia, ‘but because it is willing to be propaganda – in support of a greater political cause’. Clive Chijioke Nwonka, meanwhile, looks to the redevelopment of London’s Hackney Wick into a ‘creative quarter’, and considers the unevenness that occurs when cultural institutions are enlisted for such endeavours. Elsewhere, Alexandra Symons-Sutcliffe discusses Terminal Piece (1972) by Kate Millett, an artist and writer best known for her works of feminist theory. The piece, made in response to the highly publicised murder of an American teenage girl, was recently qualified as a ‘crisis in language’: Millett initially found herself ‘unable to formulate a response in writing’ and turned to installation instead. Remaining ambiguous, the work accepts that ‘it’s too much to ask an artwork to correct ethical or political wrongdoings’, states Symons-Sutcliffe.
Also in this issue, Martin Herbert observes that Jasper Johns’s paintings often hide more than they reveal; Nicole Kaack argues that Sophie Becker’s ventriloquism performances become a tool by which to question who’s really in charge; Zoë Hopkins writes that the rich history of black graphic scores represents a visual culture that creates space for improvisation, imagination and unknowability; and Emily McDermott asks the poet Ana María Caballero about what art is and whether or not AI is going to screw us all. Plus, reviews from around the world, including London, New York, Barcelona and Antananarivo, and reviews of books by Catherine Liu, Charlotte Higgins and Simon Reynolds.
That’s not all. Included with this issue is a free 56-page supplement exploring the contemporary art scenes of South Korea, supported by the Korea Arts Management Service. The publication includes a look at the work of 30 Korean artists, interviews with the curators of the Busan Biennale and of the Gwangju Biennale, and an exclusive artist project by duo Sulki and Min.
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