#art worker

“The split between art and real problems emerged in the 1960s in an essentially apolitical and asocial art--to the extent that, for most artists, political engagement meant moving to an extra art activity.”  In other words ... activism was an alibi for not making explicitly political art. ... Their politics were displaced onto their personal identities, enacted on the level of personal style rather than artistic content”

“What makes the coherence of the phrase art-workers challenging–even oxymoronic–is under capitalism art also functions as the “outside”, or other, to labour: a non-utilitarian, non-productive activity against which mundane work is defined, a leisure-time pursuit of self-expression, or a utopian alternative to the deadening effects of capitalism”

I’m interested in work that balances theory and practice, making its intentions known and holding space for participation in alignment with those intentions. These works often exist both in and outside art contexts, activating communities in disparate fields with real issues at stake. For example, Trade School is not just about the content education (practical skills), it’s about the format of education (barter and self-organization). Higher education in the US is both about information hoarding and debt burdens. By participating in an expensive MFA program, participants reproduce the value and social acceptance of expensive MFAs. By participating in Trade School, participants reproduce the value and social acceptance of mutual aid and self-organized learning systems.