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Artistic exceptionalism and the risks of activist art
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Earley, Christopher (2023) Artistic exceptionalism and the risks of activist art. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 81 (2). pp. 141-152. doi:10.1093/jaac/kpad005 ISSN 0021-8529.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaac/kpad005
Abstract
Activist artists often face a difficult question: is striving to change the world undermined when pursued through difficult and experimental artistic means? Looking closely at Adrian Piper’s Four Intruders Plus Alarm Systems (1980), I consider why this is an important concern for activist art and assess three different responses in relation to Piper’s work. What I call the ‘conciliatory stance’ recommends that when activist artists encounter misunderstanding, they should downplay their experimental artistry in favor of fitting their work to their audience’s appreciative capacities. What I call the ‘steadfast stance’ recommends that activist artists have reason to use their privilege of artistic exceptionalism to challenge their audience’s expectations, even if this leads to misunderstanding. I claim that a middle position, which I call ‘liberal conciliation’, best balances the demands for actual change placed on activism and the experimental means that artists bring to activism.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Divisions: | Other > Institute of Advanced Study Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy |
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Journal or Publication Title: | The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism | ||||||||
Publisher: | Wiley | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0021-8529 | ||||||||
Official Date: | June 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 81 | ||||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 141-152 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1093/jaac/kpad005 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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