Summary

94

Labour

Fall 2018

How do artists grapple with labour? Are they as alienated from capitalism as other workers are or can they act as models for imagining a life less focused on work? This feature section reflects on the issues of work time and unproductive work, the exceptionalism of art, the mechanisms of bureaucratic power, and the voluntary or self-exploitation of artists by addressing in a sensitive and engaged manner the tensions raised by these challenges, whether in relation to power dynamics, unequal working conditions, or the use of an unpaid workforce. The issue also discusses art practices that shed light on the situation of other workers—their pay conditions, their daily tasks, their physical or mental experience, as well as the materials that accompany their labour.

Current Issue

Family

Winter 2023

As the basis for social organization and the primary site of socialization, the family has drawn particular attention in the visual arts since the inception of art history. As contemporary art seems well engaged in an examination of cultural practices, the family, in all its forms, is returning to the spotlight. Many artists today revisit family traditions, sites, and taboos, challenge what has been held as unspeakable by digging into archives, and invent new, intimate forms of sociability out of biographical experiences. This issue reflects on family histories as they are rewritten in contemporary art.

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