Hermes LectureCulture Class: Art, Creativity, Urbanism
Rosler's Hermes Lecture addressed the social and political position of visual artists in the context of Richard Florida's model of the “creative class” - a model that is increasingly embraced and adopted by local politicians and city governments. How will it affect the arts when the presence of artists in a city or urban region is primarily seen as a catalyst for economic growth? To what extent is the design-based model of the creative industry something in which the autonomous visual artist can flourish without problems? Does the triumph of the creative class stand for the long-awaited social emancipation of artists, or rather for their instrumentalisation and functional subordination?
The Hermes lecture is a “spoken essay” about the position of the artist in the cultural and social field and is given once every two years by an internationally renowned artist. Rather than discussing their own work, he or she will address theoretical and controversial issues such as: What is the relationship between visual art and contemporary visual culture? What is left of the critical role of the artist? Should visual art position itself in society or even show social commitment, and if so, how? What is the future of visual art as an independent discipline with its own critical discourse and specific intellectual tradition? For the Hermes lecture artists will be invited to speak who have demonstrated their capacity for theoretical reflection at the highest level. Immediately afterward, a co‑assessor will react to the lecture. The lecture itself is available to the audience in printed form as well. The first Hermes Lecture was given by the Canadian artist Jeff Wall on 29 October 2006 at the Province Hall of 's‑Hertogenbosch. Liam Gillick gave the second lecture at the same location on 9 November 2008.
The Hermes Lecture is organised by the Hermes Lecture Foundation, which started from a collaboration between Hermes, an entrepreneurs' network in 's‑Hertogenbosch, and AKV | St. Joost (Avans Academy), also based in 's‑Hertogenbosch. The AKV Research Group of Visual Art has editorial responsability for the lecture and gives advice in the selection of speakers. The Research Group, headed by professor Camiel van Winkel, carries out research into the cultural position and function of the visual artist. The Hermes Lecture's first goal is to propagate that not only critics and theorists but also artists themselves have a substantial contribution to make, both in speech and in writing, to the discourse on visual art in relation to contemporary culture. Secondly we aim to re‑affirm this discourse in its place in the public domain, or, in other words, in civic public life, of which it used to be a part for so long. Not just visual art itself, but the theoretical reflection on art as well, is a living issue at the heart of our society. |