are many definitions of art but what if skill took us deeper into an embodied understanding of contemporary art? Claiming that “my kid could do this” at the museum, if taken seriously, reveals expectations and misconceptions about visual arts that our host, Joana P. R. Neves uncovers in the first part of this artist conversation episode.
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In the second part, the Swiss contemporary artist Reto Pulfer who defines himself as self-taught, addresses the question of skill, art tradition, craft, art education. Together, they uncover art in a rarely exposed raw and dynamic relation with us and the world around us.
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To know more about the Reto Pulfer:
Follow him on Instagram: @zustand_retopulfer
Visit his website: www.retopulfer.com | www.artmap.com/retopulfer
Or have a look at his gallery, Hollybush Gardens, London
https://hollybushgardens.co.uk/artists/reto-pulfer/
You can find his novel, Gina (2020) in the links below:
Les Presses du Réel: https://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=10421&menu=0
Presse Books: httpshttps://tinyurl.com/yc2m3x6b
Hollybush Gardens: https://by-association.online/reto-pulfer-gina-a-zustand-novel/
Jingle: "Wunder", experimental poem by Joana P. R. Neves.
00:00 Intro: Art Redefines Itself through SKILL
06:55 Genres, Skill, Tradition, Drawing
08:39 Pulverising Skill and Genre: Dada and Surrealism
12:49 Genre is dead, long live the medium
17:30 Art, redefined constantly
21:52 21rst century: art education and the self-taught artist
29:14 Tradition, contemporary and the hierarchies of skill and craft
33:05 Unlearning in order to respect traditions
39:44 Why and what do we underestimate in contemporary art?
Created & Hosted by Dr. Joana P. R. Neves, art curator and writer with over 20 years of experience in the contemporary art field. Artistic director of Drawing Now Paris since 2018, she has worked across the industry, from the art market to education. She co-launched the art residency and project space Worlding in 2020. Exhibitionistas’ first year offered exhibition discussions with guest co-host Emily Harding; organically, it grew into a more experimental show exploring art topics, stories and interviews complemented by Joana’s publication Art Thinkosaurus on Substack. She champions ‘Art Wonderment’s’ embrace of complexity against the lure of ready-made opinions. A polyglot, she grew up in Lisbon, studied and lived in Paris, to finally settle in London with her artist husband, four children and two cats.