Art & Language — Guerrilla Girls: A Lecture by Irina Kulik

Date

Schedule

19:30–21:00

Place

Garage Education Center

DESCRIPTION

The season's opening lecture will trace the history and key ideas of two art collectives that have promoted criticism of aesthetic theories and practice, although from entirely different perspectives.

Art & Language is a movement founded in the UK in the 1960s by a group of artists aiming to overcome formal approaches to art, as well as its commercialization typical of the era. Informed by the notion of language as the basis of any knowledge about the world, Art & Language members, whose number increased significantly in just a few years, worked within the context of conceptual art while also manifesting their theoretical ideas in the Art-Language journal published until 1985. The group had a New York-based branch before it disintegrated in the mid-1970s. Art & Language have become best known for encouraging contemporary artists to question conventional mediums and the very nature of aesthetics, as well as for their inclination towards institutional critique and activism.

Guerilla Girls is a female art group which has gained international acclaim for anonymous interventions and staged acts criticizing particular issues on the intersection of politics and art. A feminist “guerilla” brigade, the collective’s name is also a play on words referencing the gorilla masks its members wear during performances to remain unidentified. Addressing sexism and racism as their key subjects, Guerilla Girls have been publishing books and posters, making billboards and stickers, organizing public actions and independent exhibitions since 1985, when the the group was founded in New York. In spite of many controversies surrounding their activity, as well as internal contradictions between the members, it remains one of the most influential artistic movements against established social hierarchies and inequalities.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Irina Kulik, PhD is an art critic, culture expert, lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), and author of numerous publications on contemporary art, cinema, and music.

HOW TO TAKE PART

Entrance is free, but space is limited. Please arrive early.

Please note that the lecture cycle will be conducted in Russian without translation into English.

Priority booking for GARAGE cardholders. Please send requests to members@garagemca.org