“What should be exposed is always the
same: genuine tenderness or false flattery,
calm solidarity or inflated oppression,
true art or fascistic ‘entertainment’.”
SWEDISH POETRY MAGAZINE), ISSUE 6, 1987
No rooms are neutral. Art isn’t politics and
politics isn’t art.
Art is political! Always! Ambivalence and
confusion!?
The course is aimed at those who would
like to join us in exploring how we artists
and other practitioners can become more
aware and how we can use our artistic
position to act politically.
In artistic practice, in talk and in DOING,
the question of HOW is of vital importance.
Together we seek traces that seem
relevant to follow. We study periods
when the barricades chose art, which
intentionally or unintentionally became
political acts. We will also study the
aesthetic dimensions of politics and
marketing, where art is sometimes used
as camouflage. What does artistic
freedom mean and what is an arm’s
length?
We will learn about artists, living or
dead, who dared to take a stand when
others had gone quiet. We will look at
ourselves and our own blind spots. We
will watch films, listen to the radio and
meet practitioners who work directly,
on the street, in life – in conflict or
undercover. We will mix theory with
practice and invite artists and others
who use their language, their body or
their imagery – and their integrity – to
show their stand for democracy – FOR
REAL.
The course aims to provide students with
the tools for orientating in a time when
artists are increasingly used as instruments
for goals that we as practitioners are
seldom aware of. Using case studies
we will look at political agendas and
marketing strategies where political
art and aesthetics in politics coincide,
collapse or are even used as cultural
camouflage.
Throughout the course we will reflect
upon who represents who and in whose
name we are speaking, or not speaking.
Together we will study the aesthetic forms
of political expression.
The course is composed of workshops,
lectures, written assignments, talks and
discussions, field studies, field trips and
performance and exploratory segments,
both individually and in a group.