Models of Resistance

Project Partner:
National Sculpture Factory

Contact:
www.corkcaucus.org
www.nationalsculpturefactory.com

Date: 14 May 2005
Venue: Caucus Centre, Evergreen Street

Project Description:
As a prelude to Cork Caucus, the National Sculpture Factory and Caucus participant, Sarah Pierce, organised a day-long discussion to tease out key strands and assumptions of and about Cork Caucus.

“As Caucus posits artistic activity as a means of creating the possibility for change in society, whatever shape that might take, and so positions art as a socio-political methodology, does this in some way preclude aesthetics, or a particular type of art-making?”

‘Models of Resistance’ aimed to address issues concerning aesthetics and politics, namely their polarisation in recent debates, and to look at practices that claim political territory and the aesthetic models they invoke and play out. The day gathered people together whose own practice may or may not directly engage as political activity, but who felt that a group discussion would provide a challenging and productive framework to delve deeper into aesthetics and politics in relation to specific practices.

The day included open group discussion as well as four presentations from individuals whose research involves concrete terms for questioning, engaging, and organising historical, social, and cultural notions of the aesthetic and the political in art: D.A.E Projects (San Sebastian), Bettina Funcke (New York/Weimar), Natasa Petresin (Ljubljana), and Katya Sander and Simon Sheikh (Copenhagen/Berlin).

In the spirit of an active exchange texts were placed on the Caucus website (www.corkcaucus.org), or were available via email, and participants were encouraged to read before them before May 14th's discussion.