Who's in town?
Massimiliano Mollona
Salt Galata
March 2, 2017 19.00
Georg Simmel, The Philosophy of Money, Oxford: Routledge Classics, 2011 edition (Cover: Keenan)
SALT Galata, Workshop II-III
The Artistic Mode of Production. Art, Politics and Money in the Age of Survival: A View from the South
In this “Who’s in town?” talk integrating art, anthropology, and political economy, Massimiliano Mollona will discuss the value of art in the current context of late capitalism characterized by a dark imaginary of crisis and survival, immaterial monopolies, and the return of xenophobic nationalism. Introducing the concept of “curatorial gesture,” Mollona will frame art as a capitalist apparatus, and consider some examples of “anti-capitalist” art - including “post-Occupy” art - and their claims of political radicality.
By touching upon the Eurocentric anthropological imagination that underpins notions of radical politics, Mollona suggests a view of art value inspired by the South, not so much as “a state of mind,” but as both an historical post-colonial formation and a set of everyday practices of life and politics. He also proposes the idea of curating “as fieldwork,” and will examine this idea in relation to his recent curatorial work.
The talk will be held in English.
Based in London, Massimiliano Mollona is an anthropologist, filmmaker, writer, curator, and senior lecturer at Goldsmiths College. His publications focus on the fields of anthropology, visual art, and politics. He was the program and artistic director of the Athens Biennale 2015-2017, and one of the artistic directors of the Bergen Assembly, 2016.
The Artistic Mode of Production. Art, Politics and Money in the Age of Survival: A View from the South
In this “Who’s in town?” talk integrating art, anthropology, and political economy, Massimiliano Mollona will discuss the value of art in the current context of late capitalism characterized by a dark imaginary of crisis and survival, immaterial monopolies, and the return of xenophobic nationalism. Introducing the concept of “curatorial gesture,” Mollona will frame art as a capitalist apparatus, and consider some examples of “anti-capitalist” art - including “post-Occupy” art - and their claims of political radicality.
By touching upon the Eurocentric anthropological imagination that underpins notions of radical politics, Mollona suggests a view of art value inspired by the South, not so much as “a state of mind,” but as both an historical post-colonial formation and a set of everyday practices of life and politics. He also proposes the idea of curating “as fieldwork,” and will examine this idea in relation to his recent curatorial work.
The talk will be held in English.
Based in London, Massimiliano Mollona is an anthropologist, filmmaker, writer, curator, and senior lecturer at Goldsmiths College. His publications focus on the fields of anthropology, visual art, and politics. He was the program and artistic director of the Athens Biennale 2015-2017, and one of the artistic directors of the Bergen Assembly, 2016.
