A 2017 of revolutions... only they can save us.
May 2017 be a year of revolutions, a year of new ways of imagining. The world (of which sometimes forget we are part of) DESPERATELY needs it.
Read MoreOn the importance of Marcel Proust
On 10 July it was Marcel Proust's birthday. I am still reading À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time, or Remembrance of Things Past... or A la Búsqueda del Tiempo Perdido, as I am reading it in Spanish), taking my time with it, trying to read the way the book itself shows its reality: in detail, with caution, creating a world with every sentence. It is not easy or fast, but as one of the people in this article says "Proust sought to translate into words a phenomenology of human experience." Perhaps it is because this is also my own obsession (one which doesn't easily let me focus on academic knowledge) but I find Proust's work not only extraordinary but moreover essential; as someone who feels, remembers, thinks, experiences and lives.
Read MoreAdorno and Marcuse: critical opinions on student protests, violence and democracy
This was originally posted as a way to better understand the nature and consequences of student protests in South Africa. However, read it carefully and you will see that at the heart of the problem is that of the consequences of violence, the possibility of using "democracy" as a flag for oppression, and the possibility of the rise of net-fascisms in the name of the left (or the idea of "freedom").
Read MoreRest in peace, Mr. David Bowie, dear inspiration of mine
I am broken-hearted. I cannot find words that will do justice to what I feel about David Bowie’s passing; neither about his death nor about how much his artistry influenced my life. He is the first person (and one of the only ones) I ever saw who showed that what you produce and show to the world can be anything: music, acting, a life of artistry in general and to the full extent of the word.
Read More"Comfort women," memory and reparations. A comment on the recent decision reached by the governments of Korea and Japan
The issue of "comfort women" is a lot more problematic than the recent decision reached between the governments of Japan and South Korea would seem to suggest. This is my personal comment, but with it I am also sharing a link that caught my attention. Unlike most media that praised the reparations the Japanese government is offering to former Korean "comfort women" (who were basically based as war-time forced prostitutes of Korean origin), the authors have a very critical perspective
Read MoreWhat can photography do for a world that came? A commentary on “For A New World To Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography, 1968-1979”.
What can photography as a field and photographers say about the time and place they live in? This is not the central question the exhibition ponders, but rather it is a question that connects the social and political context in which Japanese photography developed betweek 1968 and 1979, and that of the world nowadays. The Japanese artists and photographers whose works and ideas are depicted in this exhibition are preoccupied with the particular sociocultural setting of their time, just after the political struggles of student protests, the social climate of distrust by the Japanese Left and the masses in the face of a rapidly changing social, political and economic climate of the Japan of the 1970s. What can this tell us about our seemingly very different contemporary world?
Read MoreBeing consequential, the real thing to do.
What I DO think is that good wishes evaporate in the air. Prayers are just that, good wishes. Putting up a picture of a flag on your Facebook wall is the same thing. Furthermore, reminding people that they are being hypocrites for not paying attention to other less media-favored societies is exactly the same. Good wishes, ideas, that one week from now will disappear when life becomes, once again, "business as usual".
Read MoreFrench flags on Facebook? No.
I am not putting a French flag on my picture. I refuse to do that because doing so demonstrates exactly what is wrong with this war the world has been in for 14 years now. I stand in solidarity with the French people, but also with those in Lebanon, Syria, Irak, Afghanistan, the United States, and really all humanity at this point. I also stand in solidarity with refugees in Europe, who ran away from terror only to now there being political voices in Europe saying that they shouldn't find peace there either.
Read MoreThe links between then and now in photography
Here is a link to an amazing set of photos that resonate today. These were taken by one of Hitler's personal photographers in Jewish ghettos in Poland at a time when color photography was still in its infancy (but resonate with us modern viewers because they appear natural to our color-accustomed eyes).
Read MoreThe problem with simplifying reality and romanticizing science
The problem is not so much science itself (these research studies do have problems of their own), but rather how media and companies use science as a way to push or sell an idea that will have an impact on viewers and consumers.
Read MoreMusic as something that is consumed
To think that the main problem with contemporary music is the problem of revenue for artists shows the degree to which Capitalism (without you noticing) has permeated music since before many of us started listening to it enthusiastically. But this is not what music is about. In fact, it wasn't like this only 30 years ago.
Read MoreIn praise of dirty, sexy cities
Here's a link to an excellent article about the importance of the seedier aspects of cities around the world. This is not Marxist nostalgia or a form of utopia. On the contrary, I believe much of what Benjamin loved about these cities (Marseille, Napoli and Moscow) is what has made New York City great but it is rapidly losing it as well.
Read MoreThe end of capitalism is at hand? This is the most capitalist thing one could say!
The argument in this article is based on the notion that access to information is getting humanity out of Capitalism. But access to information is limited around the world [...] What the author is arguing is that, from the Capitalist producer point of view, this is a different type of Capitalism… but the rest of society continues to “thrive” under the ideas, systems of exploitation (material and information) made from above??? Dear gents and ladies, this is Capitalism at its best!
Read MorePatti Smith: on the relationship between creativity and the urban space of New York City
One of my heroines, talking about the relationship between creativity and the city (or more specifically, how New York City --specifically the East Village--has lost its creative edge to favor the clean, high-end of the "creative industry"). This is a great interview!
Read MoreExhibition Review: The Chinese Photobook, at Aperture Gallery, New York City
I went to see this today. The curators did an incredible work of compiling (or creating) a history of the use of photography publications throughout the 20th century in China. The entire exhibition is a study of the uses of visual culture, particularly for political purposes.
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