[iDC] [Criticality] Social Ethics, Social Aesthetics, Social Beauty

[katie hargrave]

Hi Sal,

Kanarinka's proposition is an interesting one, and I think that social
practices is an interesting case for consideration.  As artists, criticism
is something we have learned to do: critique our experiences, our world, our
peers, and supposedly our own production.  For our own work, however, this
is intended to occur in the pre-production and production stages so only
complete, successful projects are presented to the public.

For me, the moments where my actions do not butt up exactly with my
intentions often appear like failures initially, only to slowly reveal
themselves as probing deeper (more successful, surely not) than projects
that look the same on paper as they do in action. When we propose a project
to a space, a long negotiation commences between that point and the projects
completion.

As Sal has already pointed out, weeding out projects that are not quite
right is very simple for studio based practices, but I have a hunch that
social artists engage a similar editing process (even if they fail publicly,
as suggested).

It is telling though, that we do not publicly discuss our failures and
questions, when oftentimes, those failures present spaces for an increased
discourse to occur.

This reminds me of Hideous Beast's <http://www.hideousbeast.com/> current
project "Field Test: A Peer Review" (also presented at the Open Engagement
conference).