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| The White Cube Inheritance / Is Art Public? |
An evening length talk by Jeremiah Day
// Date: October 1, 2014
// Start: 20.00
// Location: Essays and Observations, Maxstrasse 1, 13347 Berlin
When we say “public art” we generally refer to outdoor sculpture, or projects that directly engage a community, but what about the rest of it – the project rooms, galleries, kunstvereins, biennials and museums, in short the “white cube” in its varying types? Many such institutions draw their justification from a sense of broader contribution to the greater good or cultural significance – do these claims hold, have meaning? When the “commons” has lately been evoked when the cultural scene wants financial support from governments, it seems fair to ask if indeed contemporary art is part of public life. And if so, could it be the basis for an active participation in civil society – can art institutions be a kind of “neutral ground” from which to engage?
This evening length talk by Jeremiah Day will explore these questions not as theoretical abstractions but through concrete examples. The first part will focus on the lessons learned during practical experience at the intersection of politics and culture, from the 2011 battles around cuts to culture in the Netherlands, to the Based in Berlin / Haben und Brauchen debates that continue to resonate, and the failed efforts to establish a “Solidarity with the Public Working Group.” In particular, Day will draw upon his 2011-12 research project into Hannah Arendt’s key text on art “The Crisis in Culture: Its Social and Its Political Significance” as a background and historical context for a sober-eyed and unflattering look at contemporary art’s connection to the public realm. The second part will detail the mixed results of Day’s experimental efforts to participate in public life through performance and the exhibition of artworks.
The talk is part of General Public’s program “in exile” – at a moment in which maintaining a “white cube” has for various reasons become impossible - and will be hosted by Essays and Observations. After a long pause in exhibitions, the talk serves as well to commemorate the rigorous experimentation with the “white cube” format that Essays and Observations developed. This public event is one of a series marking the conclusion of Day’s Doctorate of the Arts project: “A Kind of Imagination that has Nothing To Do with Fiction? Allan Kaprow and Hannah Arendt and a Practice for a New Publicness of Art.”
*We ask you to please RSVP, as sitting space is limited - mail(at)essaysandobservations.com
Photo (detail): Reading of protest letter "Culture in Context," Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, June 24, 2011. Jeremiah Day and Rezi van Lankveld pictured; photo by Claudia Sola.
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