cura: 1. spiritual charge: care. 2. to restore to health and soundness, to bring about recovery: cure. 3. Root of the word “curator” in Latin; one who is responsible for the care of souls, later, one in charge of a museum, zoo, or other place of exhibit. 4. instrument with two or three strings that is used in folk music. 5. small sparrow. 6. the name of a short story written by Cevat Sakir Kabaagacli, also known as the Fisherman of Halicarnassus (A Flower Thrown to the Sea from the Aegean, 1972). 7. “The double sense of cura refers to care for something as concern, absorption in the world, but also care in the sense of devotion” Martin Heidegger

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Politics of Visibility/ Poetics of the Political/ Helena Chavez MacGregor

Day 1: Politics of Visibility/ Poetics of the Political

Tuesday, July 29/ 18:30-20:00
Presentation
There is not a single or evident relationship between art and politics because these are not stable and fixed territories. Both are spheres in constant change that allows us to imagine different articulations and crossovers. More than trying to determine what can be labeled as "political art", what seems important is to imagine different articulations and crossovers. More than trying to determine what can be labeled as "political art", what seems important is to search the possible meanings of these territories, and to think in which ways the relationship between politics and art establishes different configurations and possibilities of action and reaction. The relationship that I want to point out , as a way to start digging in, is the aesthetic one between politics and art. the intention is to identify the politics of visibility that established the dominant forms of representation and identification in order to question the role of art practices within this structure of experience. Art practices can work to reinforce the established conditions and to maintain the dominant representations, or can create other rearrangements where other meanings, forms and objects can appear. Maybe, the political strength of art practices lies in the poetic potency of creation that confronts the dominant forms of representation. Perhaps in order to think of "political art", we have to think what each specific practice does to the political. Art is a practice that does not only move within some specific politics. It can also be a political practice when it enables action and mobilization. "How to play between politics and the poetical?" can be a question to think of the relationship between art and politics.

Round Table Discussion with......

Wednesday, July 30/ 18:30-20:30
How do we think about the relationship between art and politics?
It is a fact that a trend in contemporary art is to be "engaged" and related with politics. What does this fashion mean? Is the art world the new place for politics? When we identify politics with the state, does art become the substitution for political experience? Is "Political Art" just a market condition? Is it only a game between politics of representation and representation of politics? What can be gained within the art field for the political struggle? Can art practices change the condition of politics? Is any specific enemy to be defeated? How can art practices be political? How can we negotiate between economic conditions and radical practices? What is to be done?

These questions are only a starting point in trying to define where we stand. There are no simple answers or one single truth to corroborate, only meanings to create. The important thing here is to discuss what we can do, and how to think of it. The suggested texts pretend to ceate a common ground to open up the problematic hunting the relationship between art and politics.

Reading List

Inside and Outside the Art Institution: Self-Valorisation and Montage in Contemporary Art/ Marcelo Exposito

On the Researcher-Militant/ Colectivo Situaciones

Steps for Fleeing from Work to Action
Can artistic work be militant research? A field report in the project "ExArgentina"/ Alice Creischer/ Andreas Siekmann

Notes Whilst Walking on "How to Break the Heart of Empire"/ John Jordan

The Geopolitics of Pimping/ Suely Rolnik

Liar's Poker, Representation of Politics/ Politics of Representation/ Brian Holmes
Ten Theses on Politics/ Jacques Ranciere, 2000
Literature, Politics, Aesthetics: Approaches to Democratic Disagreement/ interviewed by Solange Guenoun and James H. Kavanagh
Resistence is Surrender/ Slavij Zizek
Jacques Ranciere and the Aesthetics of Equality/ Brian Holmes




1. Gun: Gorunurluk Politikalari/ Siyasi Olanin Siirselligi
Sanat ve politika istikrarli ve duragan alanlar olmadigi  icin, aralarinda belirli ve tek bir iliski yok. Her ikisi de devamli degisen, farkli eklemlenmeler ve gecisliliklere izin veren alanlar. Neyin "siyasi sanat" oldugunu belirlemekten ziyade, asil onemli olan bu alanlarin muhtemel anlamlarini arastirmak, siyaset ile sanat arasindaki iliskinin nasil farkli yapilanmalar ve etki/ tepki ihtimalleri barindirdigina bakmak. Konuyu derinlemesine incelemeye baslarken, benim dikkat cekmek istedigim, sanat ve siyaset arasindaki estetik iliski. Niyetim, hakim temsil ve aidiyet bicimlerini kuran gorunurluk politikalarini tespit etmek ve sanat pratiginin, deneyim icindeki rolunu sorgulamak. Sanat pratikleri varolan durumu dayatmaya devam edip, hakim temsilleri pekistirebilir, ya da yeni anlam, bicim ve objelerin ortaya cikmasini saglayacak yeni onermeler yaratabilir. Belki, sanat pratiklerinin politik gucu, hakim temsillerle yuzlesebilen siirsel bir kuvvet uygulayabilmesidir. Belki de, "siyasi sanat" hakkinda dusunebilmek icin, her ozgul pratigin siyasi olana etkisini dusunmemiz gerekir. Sanat, sadece bazi ozgul siyasetler icinde haraket eden bir pratik degil. Ayni zamanda seferberlik  ve haraketlere olanak tanidiginda siyasi bir pratik de olabilir. Sanat ve politika arasindaki iliskiyi dusunmeye baslamak icin, "Siirsel olanla siyasi olan arasinda nasil oynayacagiz/ gezinecegiz?

Gun 2: Yuvarlak Masa Tartismasi: Sanat ve siyaset arasindaki iliski hakkinda nasil dusunebiliriz?
Guncel sanatta siyaset ile "mesgul olmak" ve ilgilenmek gibi bir egilim ve moda oldugu bir gercek. Bunun moda olmasi ne demek? Sanat dunyasi siyasetin yeni alani mi? Siyaseti devletle ozdeslestrigidigimizde, sanat siyasi deneyimin yerine mi gecer? "Siyasi Sanat" sadece bir piyasa gercegi mi? Bu, temsil politikalari ve siyasetin temsili arasinda bir oyun mu? Sanat alani icinde, siyasi mucadele icin ne gibi kazanimlar olabilir? Sanat pratikleri siyasetin icinde bulundugu durumu degistirebilir mi? Yenilmesi gereken belirli bir dusman var mi? Sanat pratikleri nasil politik olabilir? Ekonomik durum ve radikal pratikler arasinda nasil muzakere edebiliriz? Ne yapilabilir.

Bu sorular, nerede durdugumuzu belirlemek icin sadece bir baslangic noktasi. Basit cevaplar, desteklenecek dogrular degil, uretilecek anlamlar var. Onemli olan, ne yapabilecegimizi tartismak ve yapilabilecekleri dusunmek. Onerilen metinler, sanat ve siyaset arasindaki iliskiyi tartismaya acacak ortak bir zemin olusturur gibi yapiyor.

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