The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest is a Los Angeles based artists collective whose magazine sits at the discursive juncture of fine art, media theory and anti-authoritarian activism. Please join co-founder and collective member Marc Herbst for a presentation and theoretical retrospective of the past seven years of the project’s life.
Monday, May 12, 7:30pm, free
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
Since March 2001, the Journal has seen itself as one critical and dialogical site for the disparate progressive cultural movement. Coming out of the globalization movement, we have adjusted our focus as world events have unfolded and our personal knowledge, needs and experiences have changed. Spanning our movement's recent trajectory and the Bush era, we have moved from elation during the globalization era's heyday, visionary during the freaky early days of the war in Iraq, sad as reality set in and now we have a guarded sense of optimism in seeing groups and individuals re-articulate themselves.
One of the many constants throughout this era has been our sense that the Journal is a tool for a large group of engaged cultural activists (politicos, artists, media workers, theorists etc.). Another constant has been an equal sense that while we have taken on this task, no one has asked us to do it. We understand this to be the nature of the current movement-moment; a disparate, disorganized, un-aligned, busy and highly energized thing.
For our talk at The Change You Want to See Gallery, we'll attempt to survey the theoretical landscape we've worked through over these 7 years- summing and theorizing what we do and how we do it. We will try to discuss the problematics and possibilities of how it is to try and channel the interests of a broad movement through our private and personal project. We'll share the intellectual tools we've created for ourselves while working on this project.
ABOUT THE JOURNAL
http://www.journalofaestheticsandprotest.org
A "weirdo think-tank", The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest publishes an annual journal, runs a small press that distributes other editors’ projects, and hosts events and discussions. Los Angeles is our home below the swaying palms. Current editorial collective members include Marc Herbst, Robby Herbst and Christina Ulke. Previous collective included Cara Baldwin, Ryan Griffis, Allen Minsky and Lize Mogel. We work with designers' Kimberly Varella and Jessica Fleischmann. We have worked with a large number of writers, contributors and contributing editors. DIY, we are not a non-profit and have not received any grants. We rely on subscriptions, sales, and an art raffle (10$ a ticket) and hours of donated labor for funding. Recent projects include a taco truck/vans parking lot street party and happening with RoutesandMethods to celebrate the LA release of An Atlas of Radical Cartography (Lex Bhagat and Lize Mogel editors), and wait for the immanent release of the Whirlwind project (Team Colors editors). We are now also in the process of editing our sixth (6th) journal issue.