Epis.328: Ben Davis, National Art Critic for Artnet News and author most recently of Art in the After-Culture
Ben Davis, Artnet News's National Art Critic and author most recently of Art in the After-Culture, talks about:
Cultural Appropriation in its many forms, including in the context of Dana Schutz\u2019s controversial \u201cOpen Casket\u201d painting; Conspiracy Theory culture, including how videos connecting Marina Abramovic with satanic cults are far, far more viewed than videos about Marina Abramovic herself or her work; the culture that Conspiracy narratives come from, how they persist (often through individuals\u2019 alienation), and why they become so popular; the luxury of people who get to say \u2018neener-neener-neener\u2019 in judgement of those who buy into them (the socially superior judging the inferior); Rubem Robierb\u2019s ice sculpture at a fancy club during Miami Basel, which spelled out Greta Thunberg\u2019s \u201cHow Dare You\u201d addressed to politicians, and what that said/says about Art and Ecotopia, i.e. art and climate change; his experiences with the groups \u2018Extinction Rebellion\u2019 and its splinter group, \u2018Extinction Resilience,\u201d and his continuing involvement with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), among other causes.