Criticism and writing

The emergence of the curator has influenced art criticism over the last two decades. As the profusion of writing about art grows, there is an ongoing sense of crisis in the world of criticism and its methods. The label art writing has come to replace the old art criticism Whereas the so-called “critical art” is in greater demand. than ever. Current discourse on contemporary art takes the form of symposia, conferences and texts, and more and more artists are turning to writing as an artistic medium which is highly valued. So where does this leave us? How do we navigate through this ocean of wall texts, curatorial proposals, critical reviews, artist statements, experimental novels, and theoretical and philosophical essays?

This module tries to bring back some order by focusing on the central material: the text. We’ll analyse the purpose of art criticism in relation to an expanded cultural criticism, and we’ll study different genres including the essay, the review and the artist statement. We’ll also look into methods of subjectivity involved in writing, drawing on the works of authors who link art with fiction such as Chris Kraus, Lucy R. Lippard and others.

The module includes the reading and discussion of texts, film screenings, debates and exchanges of concepts and bibliographies, the ‘traffic’ of documents, and experiences for entering a phase where we become aware of the writing process or prepare for it. The module is run as a workshop and is aimed for people as varied as art critics, writers, curators, artists, thesis researchers and academics from the fields of art, literature, architecture, film and other humanities. 

The module is directed by Peio Aguirre with the participation of Nina Möntmann, Jeremy Millar and Jon Mikel Euba.