Tag Archives: HyperNormalisation

NEWS

The Crisis of Critique

February 1, 2018 sophia 2 Comments

The Crisis of Critique

George Orwell (1956). 1984. Harmondsworth: Penguin, p. 171.

Thanks to everyone who came along and contributed to an excellent discussion on Adam Curtis’ film Hypernormalisation. A very special thanks to Neil Lamont for facilitating! We watched a 13 minute excerpt of the film and the discussion revolved around consciousness and complicity. Neil handed out copies from George Orwell’s 1984 and read the passage on doublethink, comparing it to the concept of hypernormalisation, which Curtis borrows from Alexei Yurchak, a term he coined to describe the culture of resignation to the simulacrum of normality in 1980s Soviet Russia.

In February we’re joining Aris Nikolaidis to discuss The Fate of Representation, the Fate of Critique, chapter six in Jesse Cohn’s 2006 book Anarchism and the Crisis of Representation: Hermeneutics, Aesthetics, Politics. What would a radical anti-representational aesthetic look like today, beyond the binary opposition between autonomy and popular culture?

If you ever wanted to join the Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice course this is the time! We’re running the first independent [ART&CRITIQUE] course in April 2018 and we’re inviting submissions for a Fee-waiver Award. To apply please download the application form and return it by 5pm on Friday, 23 February 2018. For more information please follow the links below.

[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Cohn: Representation and Critique
Friday, 9 February 2018, 6:30pm-9pm
LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES
Facilitated by Aris Nikolaidis
Suggested donation £2, booking via Eventbrite

[ART&CRITIQUE] COURSE
Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice
19 April – 14 June 2018, 6:30-9pm + 5 May 2018, 2:30-5pm
Kupfer Arch 213, Ponsford Street, London E9 6JU
Tutor Sophia Kosmaoglou
£250 via Eventbrite or apply for the Fee-waiver Award

[OPPORTUNITIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS]
February 2018
The list of opportunities, open calls, deadlines, announcements & vacancies is updated regularly.
If you would like to post your listing for open calls, opportunities or vacancies on the list please send us the details.

IMAGE CREDITS
George Orwell (1956). 1984. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 171.
Enrico Baj [1972] The Funeral of the Anarchist Pinelli. Textured offset colour print, 75 x 68 cm. Edition 200.

NEWS

Happy New Year!

December 30, 2017 sophia Leave a comment

Thanks to everybody who contributed to another venturesome year of free, autonomous, volunteer-run and self-organised alternative art education!

Thanks to everyone who came along to the discussions, crawls, workshops and meetings! Many thanks to everyone who chaired a book club, curated a crawl, facilitated a workshop or hosted an event. A special thanks to all the alternative art schools, organisations and individuals for the excellent meet-ups, exchanges and collaborations.

Many thanks to all those who coordinated events and venues, posted listings and promoted events, contributed materials and tools, attended meetings, complied minutes, carried out research, wrote proposals and summaries, made flyers and videos, did bookings and accounts, took photos, shared their feedback, set up, cleared up and did the washing up! Many thanks to everyone who donated, we’re almost breaking even thanks to your generosity. Thanks to everyone who supported the project by encouraging us, sharing, inviting friends and spreading the word.

Thanks to all who came along and contributed to a fascinating discussion on Guy Debord at the book club in December. A very special thanks to Aris Nikolaidis for chairing an excellent discussion.

In January we’re joining Neil Lamont to discuss Hypernormalisation, a 2016 film by Adam Curtis. Please book your place. We’ve just added more tickets, if they sell out please check back for cancellations.

See you next year! Let’s make it a good one x x x

[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Adam Curtis: HyperNormalisation
Friday, 12 January 2018, 6:30pm-9pm
LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES
Facilitated by Neil Lamont
Suggested donation £2, booking via Eventbrite

[OPPORTUNITIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS]
January 2018
The list of opportunities, open calls, deadlines, announcements & vacancies is updated regularly.
If you would like to post your listing for open calls, opportunities or vacancies on the list please send us the details.

IMAGE CREDITS
First Alternative Education Open-Day. 1 Oct 2017, SET Space, London. Photo School of the Damned.
ARTCRAWL#11 Hampstead to Finsbury Park, June 2017. Photo Cristina Sousa-Martínez.
BOOKCLUB#19 Bishop: Artificial Hells with Renata Mindolo. Guest Projects, 24 Jul 2017. Photo School of the Damned.
First Alternative Education Open-Day. 1 Oct 2017, SET Space, London. Photo Maria Christoforatou.
Neil Lamont [2006] Apple billboard on Paris metro. Digital photograph.

NEWS

Negation / Consumption

December 1, 2017 sophia Leave a comment

J.R. Eyerman [1952] Audience at the opening-night screening of Bwana Devil, the first full-length colour 3-D movie. Paramount Theatre, Hollywood, 26 Nov 1952.

We had a fascinating discussion on commitment and autonomy at the November book club on Adorno’s Commitment! Many thanks to all who joined and a special thanks to Nat Pimlott for facilitating the discussion.

We look forward to your company at the next book club, coming up on Friday, 8 December. This time we’re reading Negation and Consumption in the Cultural Sphere, the eighth chapter of Guy Debord’s 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle and discussing détournement with Aris Nikolaidis. For more information, to book your place and download the text please visit the page.

In August we visited Benedict Drew‘s exhibition The Trickle-Down Syndrome at the Whitechapel Gallery with students on the Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice course. The exhibition was a sprawling interconnected array of objects, banners, screens, cables and digital components. What is the Trickle-Down Syndrome? How does it relate to the infamous laissez faire economic theory? What are the throbbing fleshy forms and knobbly knotted forms represented in videos, banners and roughly-hewn objects? We spent a couple of hours viewing and discussing the exhibition and everyone was asked to write a 250-500 word review that evening for a workshop the next morning. Each review is written in a uniquely different style and approach, with a different interpretation of the exhibition. We were all very impressed by this outcome so we decided to share the results.

In January we’re discussing Adam Curtis’ 2016 film HyperNormalisation with Neil Lamont. Please book your place and view the film by following the links on the page. See you there!

[SYMPOSIUM] BOOK CLUB
Debord: Negation & Consumption in Culture
Friday, 8 December 2017, 6:30pm-9pm
LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES
Facilitated by Aristotelis Nikolaidis
Suggested donation £2, booking via Eventbrite

[ART&CRITIQUE] COURSE
Critical Theory in Contemporary Art Practice
11 January —15 March 2018, 6pm—8:30pm
Chelsea College of Arts UAL 16 John Islip Street London SW1P 4JU
Tutor Sophia Kosmaoglou
Booking via UAL

[OPPORTUNITIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS]
DECEMBER 2017
The list of opportunities, open calls, deadlines, announcements & vacancies is updated regularly.
If you would like to post your listing for open calls, opportunities or vacancies on the list please send us the details.

IMAGE CREDITS
J.R. Eyerman [1952] Audience at the opening-night of Bwana Devil. Paramount Theatre, Hollywood, 26 Nov 1952.
Patrick Mimran [2004] Billboard Project, New York. Photo by Sophia Kosmaoglou.
Neil Lamont [2006] Apple billboard on Paris metro. Digital photograph.
Daniel Clowes [1991] Art School Confidential. Eightball #7, Nov 1991.