Gillo Dorfles on the Inescapable Individualism of Postmodernity
Curator Daniele Capra recalls his encounters with the late art critic Gillo Dorfles, who argued that capitalism's consumerist pressures transformed artists from societal members into isolated individuals. Dorfles believed that no revolutionary tool, including the internet, could overcome postmodern individualism, as it is determined by the immutable capitalist economic system. Capra reflects on Dorfles' sharp analysis and the generational loss of utopian imagination.
Key facts
- Dorfles stated that capitalism's consumerist system turned artists from society members into individuals measuring their intellectual being exclusively personally.
- Dorfles argued that postmodern individualism is inescapable because it is determined by the capitalist economic system.
- Dorfles believed that even the internet would not help find a viable way out of individualism.
- Capra met Dorfles multiple times over the last ten years, often over breakfast.
- They discussed politics, the intellectual class's willingness to yield to power, and the evolution of capitalism.
- Dorfles recounted that in the 1950s, the controversy between figurative and abstract artists sometimes led to physical fights.
- Dorfles noted that avant-garde groups flourished between the wars and postwar period but that shared artistic projects are now impossible.
- Capra describes Dorfles' words as a 'bitter legacy' and confesses he still hopes for a better tomorrow.
- Dorfles lived in Milan on Piazzale Lavater.
- Dorfles preferred Cannonau or Nero d'Avola wine even with light dishes.
Entities
Artists
- Gillo Dorfles
- Daniele Capra
- Franco Jesurun
- Giuliana Carbi
- Elena Forin
Institutions
- Premio Trieste Contemporanea
- Festival Comodamente
- Triennale
- Artribune
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- Piazzale Lavater
- Trieste