Afterall Journal Issue 18 Explores Madness in Art and Society
The 18th issue of Afterall Journal, released on August 26, 2008, by Stacey Allan, delves into the concept of 'madness' through historical, cultural, and artistic lenses, drawing on Michel Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization' (1961). It examines the transition from divine understanding to social exclusion during the seventeenth-century 'Great Confinement.' This theme is mirrored in the editorial choices, showcasing artists like Javier Téllez, William Pope.L, Cameron Jamie, and Sturtevant, who address madness and critique institutions. Téllez's film 'Oedipus Marshal' (2006) connects museums with psychiatric facilities. Pope.L's performance art critiques race and class, Jamie captures American subcultures, and Sturtevant's replicas question notions of originality. Essays by Michélle Faguet, Dieter Lesage, and Ian White further investigate otherness and institutional authority, implying that modern psychiatry often aligns with commercial interests.
Key facts
- Afterall Journal Issue 18 published on 26 August 2008
- Issue explores madness as a cultural concept, referencing Michel Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization' (1961)
- Foucault proposed that the decline of leprosy in the Middle Ages cast the insane as pariahs, expelled on 'ships of fools'
- The 'Great Confinement' of the seventeenth century built asylums to isolate 'unreasonable' members of society
- Javier Téllez, son of psychiatrists, compares museums to psychiatric hospitals; his film 'Oedipus Marshal' (2006) was co-written with patients from a psychiatric facility near Aspen, Colorado
- William Pope.L, known as 'The Friendliest Black Artist in America', performs acts like crawling up New York streets in a Superman suit to critique race and class
- Cameron Jamie documents American subcultures, stating 'The creepiest things in the world are always the ones that are considered to be the most normal'
- Sturtevant replicates works of male contemporaries, challenging originality and authorship taboos
Entities
Artists
- Javier Téllez
- William Pope.L
- Cameron Jamie
- Sturtevant
- Michel Foucault
- Sophocles
- Andrea Geyer
- Sharon Hayes
- Ashley Hunt
- Katya Sander
- David Thorne
- Michélle Faguet
- Dieter Lesage
- Ian White
- Stacey Allan
Institutions
- Afterall
- The MIT Press
- Aspen, Colorado psychiatric facility
Locations
- Western Europe
- Netherlands
- New York City
- United States
- Aspen
- Colorado
Sources
- Afterall —