Artpress editor decries shrinking space for art magazines at FIAC

In a November 2010 editorial, artpress editor Richard Leydier criticizes the diminishing physical presence of art magazines at the FIAC art fair in Paris. He describes how during the 2010 edition at the Grand Palais, magazines were crowded onto a linear stand, with representatives squeezed into small spaces and forbidden from posting signs. Leydier warns that if the trend continues, magazines may disappear from the fair entirely, reduced to a hyperlink on the fair's website. He argues that the art world often treats the press as a mere accessory, and that much of the press has capitulated to market forces and institutional authority. He calls for criticism to act as a guiding light in a disoriented era, noting a public desire for theory and clarity. artpress plans to publish a series of debates throughout 2011, starting with a discussion among art critics in the January issue.