Afterall Journal Launches with Issue 0, Featuring Artists Exploring Utopia and Critical Discourse

Afterall, a new publication launched on June 1, 1999, aims to discuss contemporary artists by linking their work to broader social, political, and philosophical contexts. Founded by Charles Esche and Mark Lewis, the journal positions artists as critical intellectuals who challenge commonplaces, inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's ideas. The pilot issue, Issue 0, focuses on five artists whose practices engage with Utopia and the artistic avant-garde, examining themes like scenario creation and symbolic projection. Featured artists include Pavel Büchler, whose performances and photographs relate to intellectual space in former socialist states; Desa Philippi, who surveys Büchler's work; Fiona Banner, who explores modernist media gaps; Jeremy Deller, known for collaborative productions; and Superflex, whose Biogas project serves as a small Utopian model. Additional contributors include Liam Gillick, who writes on methodology, and Jean-Christophe Royoux, who analyzes individual pieces. Essays by Gertrud Sandqvist and Josephine Berry analyze Utopian settlements, such as Swedish social democracy from 1932 to 1973 and the Internet, rejecting modernist hyperbole for critical analysis. The journal structures each issue with descriptive texts and discursive responses for four or five artists, complemented by contextual essays, emphasizing art's role in testing propositions amid economic and political structures.