After weeks of riding around the North of Amsterdam in varying mixtures of the following elements: rain/wind/snow/sun/wind/rain/mist/frost – I am beginning to understand at least one increddibly important aspect of the Dutch terrain (both physically and metaphorically) that with every dijk there comes a polder and vice versa. As we have been researching the history of the area in an attempt to familiarise ourselves with its current state(s) I’ve realised that, as other groups of people may map their time, the development of their society, by monarchys, by changes in government, by years up to or after a certain significant/catastrophic event – these neighbourhoods gauge theirs by the manipulation of the landscape around them. ‘Oh yes,’ you will often hear, ‘that was before they constructed that dijk’ or ‘Well, this would never have been the case had they not reclaimed this section of land from the sea’. No mention of the collapse of the shipping industry in the 80s which left almost the entire town unemployed, or the flood in the 1960s which meant that residents had to be boated out and scattered to relatives across the country. It’s all about dijks and polders.

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University of Amsterdam – Spectres, Hauntings and the Archive Postgraduate Conference

Now is the Time – Belief with Terry Eggleton and Boris Groys 15 January

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Have you ever been stood up by a lecture, disappointed by a famous speaker or not so convinced of the expertise of the so-called “experts”? Have you ever wished you could be a more active member of the audience, engaging the usual suspects on matters at hand?

Announcing the first in a series of tongue-in-cheek (intellectually sound) non-lectures conceived to challenge the cult of personality and aloofness in the creative field, and to provide a platform for both experienced and upstart critical thinkers to exchange knowledge. This series uses the spectres of the usual suspects and the areas of research associated with their various oeuvres as a starting point for generating new conversations.

You are invited to participate in the first of these meetings taking place on Monday, the 26th of January, 2009 when Jacques Derrida will NOT be presenting an inaugural explication of the Art of the Non-lecture and the Spectre of the Public Intellectual. At 18.00 hours in de Nieuwe Ooster begraafplaats, Kruislaan, Oosterpark, Amsterdam (followed by refreshments elsewhere, please see blog for directions)

For further details regarding the background and framework of the project, reading suggestions for our meetings, or to ask questions and give feedback please visit
‘The Usual Suspects’ blog: http://artofthenonlecture.wordpress.com
or email: artofthenonlecture@googlemail.com

A project sponsored by Fonds BKVB

The following are some thoughts I jotted down during our time in New Orleans two weeks ago:

New Orleans Day 3: Ways of writing –
‘and so the challenge lies with writers to use a different vocabulary, to find ways of speaking about art from this city,’ said Willie Birch in a particularly difficult-to-guage public discussion with Prospect 1 curator, Dan Cameron at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) last night. The artist himself, a New Orleansian, left the city and gained national recognition in what would be considered more as America’s art ‘centres’ (or ‘centers’ depending on whether you’re writing about the country or from it) before returning to his hometown in 1994 where he decided to stay. This unique situation presents something of a crux within the biennale’s architecture – the view of which at the best of times thus far has been conceptually very murky (no Mississippi-esque puns intended) – in that, as a child, Birch was never allowed to even enter the park surrounding NOMA due to not the museum but the park’s racial segregation regulations. To now see his work prevalently hung in the reception hall of that institution is something of an obvious, yet equally heart-warming coup.

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So reason for being in Miami in the first place? As a participant of the de Appel Curatorial Programme we were sent on our “big research trip” to the den of sin – Art Basel Miami – and something less high profile, Houston, Texas and from there, the Big Easy (the post-Katrina animal of New Orleans). Something of a mixed but necessarily diverse bag of aesthetic and personal experiences. In ten days, well, yes, it is not nearly possible to gain an informed impression of anywhere – however, the intense mode in which we were working and meeting various practitioners, thinking and reading, some insights into what is an incredibly financially and socially complex art network in a super power in crisis.

Glen Ligon

What are the ethics of drinking free champagne, walking round neglected downtown, mostly black populated neighbourhoods in high heels toting thousand dollar cameras and Gucci bags, or indeed art tourism in a city still grappling with the devastation of man-made disasters three years on? These are all some questions raised, asking is more important than answering right?

So day one of Art Basel Miami and our group of young curators has already concluded that most things about Miami is ‘artificially flavoured’. From the NADA collectors fair on the less palatable North West side of the city’s ‘tracks’ to the parallel universe-esque Art Miami on the South Beach the atmosphere is, well, to put another food rich in there – excessively rich…in terms of taste and expense. After almost 12 hours of walking and seeing and meeting and smiling and then doing that all over again – the need for some outdoor beachness was great. So, the new slogan of our protest after day one: more fresh air, no more art fairs! (for now)

for

Erwin van Doorn at TAC on Friday.
DATUM: vr 28.11 TIJD: 21:00 uur ENTREE: gratis

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http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n2_v84/ai_18004723

This Buenos Aires born artist hosts cooking sessions, pays peoples’ parking fines and challenges the politics of poverty through his work. An interesting addition to the kitchen of thought.

For an insight into de Certeau’s thoughts on the art of cooking from ‘Practice of Everyday Life: Living and Cooking, Vol.2′ ref:
http://books.google.com/books?id=NHJNScWvV70C&pg=PA283&lpg=PA283&dq=de+certeau+-+practice+of+cooking,+excerpt&source=web&ots=Y1YSvr-moZ&sig=904tiPU5k8zHtwYuhZtecQjPzzc&hl=nl&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA174