“With the introduction of violence and sexuality the identification with the victim or the perpetrator is stronger and more intense.”
Dutch artist Ronald Ophuis (born in 1968, Hengelo) has, since the late 1990s when I first saw his work in Amsterdam, built up a consistent pictorial oeuvre in which history, memory and narrativity emerge [...]
“I am extremely weary of the instrumentalization of the arts for social or political change, as it usually produces mediocre art.”
Dutch Nat Muller is a curator based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. With a background in literature, she ended up, via a detour, specializing in contemporary art and media in the Middle East. Some [...]
By Paco Barragán
Too often I hear the complaint that curators, especially when conceiving a concept-based group show, merely use artists to illustrate the statement they’re trying to put forward. This accusation is not only sustained by practitioners outside our artistic realm, but its fiercest champions are to be found among the ranks of [...]
By Paco Barragán
First capitalism took over pop culture, and now it has taken hold after years of high art. Defining culture can be very complex and contradictory (William Raymond’s definition is still valid), so I depart from an expanded notion that includes both high and low artistic expressions.
If we accept that pre-modern times [...]
By Paco Barragán
“Tell from time to time the truth, so they will believe you when you lie,” French playwright Jérôme Touzalin once said. This strong statement deals not only with truth and lies, but it also invokes, in a particular manner, concepts like reality and representation, veracity and fiction, veridicality and plausibility; in [...]
“I’ve become a very hyphenated artist”
Based in San Francisco, American composer, performer and new media artist Pamela Z has built a solid artistic career in which she punctuates voice experiments with live electronic processing, sampling and video. We spoke with Pamela Z about her origins, the interdisciplinary approach in her compositions, and the [...]
“We live in a new era where images are directly thrown in your face.”
Dutch artist Marc Bijl (1970, Leerdam) is currently presenting a big mid-career retrospective at the Groninger Museum in The Netherlands consisting of a selection of his iconic paintings, sculptures and interventions. Elements such as Modernism, graffiti and nationalism get a [...]
By Paco Barragán
Television brought the stars into our homes, and now social media enable us to go into anybody’s home (screen). It is easier today than ever before to become a celebrity, as there are more outlets than ever-reality television, YouTube, Myspace, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, blogs-and less talent required.
These all-accessible, democratic, egalitarian, [...]
By Paco Barragán
So you should always have a product that‘s not just “you.” An actress should count up her plays and movies and a model should count up her photographs and a writer should count up his words and an artist should count up his pictures so you always know exactly what you‘re [...]
