Charlotte Kent is an arts writer and Associate Professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. In this fascinating conversation, we talk about digital culture and emerging technologies. From her love for Proust to how surrealism supported socialism and surveillance capitalism, we delve into how artists use technology in unconventional ways. We also discuss the importance of using the word « image » instead of « picture » when referring to images created by algorithms and the importance of reading and questioning things. Reading (and listening) is a community. Enjoy listening!
2’42 – Childhood with a diplomat father and a film critic mother.
8’15 – We don’t like the same art at all ages. She loved Renoir’s paintings as a child and now loves landscapes.
9’30 – In college, she studied philosophy, became an artist’s model, and began viewing art differently.
10’57 – She went to graduate school to read Proust on art. She was interested in why certain writings about art are excluded from history. She studied 1930s surrealism and its support for socialism.
14’23 – She examined the contemporary period by disrupting art historical discourse.
14’54 – In NY after 2011, a campaign said: If you see something, say something. This worried her as it hindered education, which could teach people to interpret the world visually using art.
17’03 – Artists working on surveillance led her to consider emerging technology. She was interested in unconventional uses of this technology by artists.
20’32 – In 2020, she was unhappy with the NFT conversation as it ignored older practices. The same issue existed with AI, which has been a concern since 2010 due to filter bubbles and algorithms.
25’45 – The 20th century disrupted authority by disrupting historical styles. How is it disruptive to be disruptive now?
27’ – There is a place for new aesthetics because people want to rest their eyes.
35’ – Mobile devices and social platforms influenced photography by allowing many photos and creating styles on platforms like Tumblr, Flickr, and Instagram. We now appreciate selfies’ new angles.
43’30 – Many artists ask: why use the media they use? Every medium has its history, politics, social influence, and practices. This is a challenge for artists, who often face questions about their methods.
48’ – She worries when photographers avoid engaging with other practices using technology.
50’30 – With algorithmically generated works, she prefers « image » over « picture » to address the complexities of input, systems, text, tagging, and algorithms. However, discussing photography’s role in people’s experiences remains essential. How do we manage this for the audience?
55’10 – Reading is important. Reading is a community.
57’45 – She does not believe in the hierarchy of art.
1’02 – Exercise for her students: choose an artwork and view it in person for an hour twice a week for one or two months.
Charlotte Kent’s website: https://ckent.art/
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