Aesthetica August/September Issue - Without Limits

Text by Cherie Federico

The line between production and consumption is blurred. As a society we yearn for more; of what, we’re not sure, but it could be anything. As a result, we create more and more. It’s a complex dynamic, one which needs to be considered. On a recent visit to Amsterdam, I saw Willem Popelier’s Showroom Girls; it was a fascinating exhibition, which made me think about the past and the future, but more importantly the now and how all this production and consumption is forging a new identity.

Many of the features in this issue are about time and awareness. In art, the V&A’s latest blockbuster show, Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990 explores architecture, design, popular culture, film and fashion and the manner in which they challenged modernism. Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface opens in San Diego and investigates how artists like Robert Irwin and James Turrell appropriated and utilised light as a medium. The first major UK retrospective of French artist, Charles Matton, opens at AVA, London and presents his miniature boites. Investigations of a Dog from the FACE collection emphasizes today’s social reality, and we also give you a snapshot of this year’s Arles Photography Festival and introduce the work of Lara Jade, one of fashion photography’s rising stars.

In film, it gets gritty with Break My Fall. We also chat with Xanthe Hamilton, the Director of Branchage Film Festival in Jersey, about the rise of the boutique festival experience. In music, Scottish band FOUND discuss art, winning a BAFTA and their new album. We also consider the rise of app music and how this is changing the way music is produced. In performance, we preview Re-Triptych from New York-based Chinese choreographer Shen Wei; complete with stunning visuals and inspiring movement.

Finally, we chat with artist Mariah Robertson about her show on now at Baltic, which investigates analogue techniques with work sprawling across the gallery.

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