Now is the Time: Discussing 9/11 and Art
What impact has 9/11 had on the visual arts and how do artists depict the post-9/11 world? Often the terrorist attack of 9/11 and its political and military aftermath are interpreted as an appeal to artists to leave their ivory towers and produce politically engaged art dealing with the social impact of the war on terror, as in the abuse of Abu Ghraib prisoners for example, the complicity of the mass media in war propaganda, or the introduction of rigid national immigration policies and the rise of an ‘economy of fear’. On the other hand, Karlheinz Stockhausen called 9/11 ‘the ultimate artwork’. There appears to be a perpetual fascination with the visual spectacle triggered by this and successive attacks. How do these two reactions relate to one another? How does contemporary art relate to art from other periods dominated by social conflict and disorder? On Tuesday October 28, W.J.T. Mitchell, Professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago, and visual artist Sean Snyder will talk on this topic as part of the Now is the Time lecture series. The discussion will be moderated by Jaap Kooijman.
tags 9/11, Now is the Time posted in Debate, News