Ewa Majewska

In our conversation we acknowledge Krzysztof Wodicko's notion of critical-affirmative contemporary avant-gardes, the limits of Alain Badiou's Inaesthetics for critical social theory, John Roberts' Hegelian conceptual ontology of avant-garde post-art, and the tensions between class and identity politics in contemporary art.

Marc stressed his interest in the predominance of the petty-bourgeois habitus today as the post-avant-garde shifts from failed sublation, in Peter Bürger's terms, towards repressive desublimation, in Léger's terms. Using Lacan's Four Discourses, Marina Abramovic's Discourse of the Master iss contrasted to Martha Rosler's mobile strategies for resisting the commodification mechanisms of the capitalist art market, whether Hysteric, Analyst or University. Moving between the truths of philosophy and materialist dialectics, we try to find out how an emancipatory universality could be again possible in artistic practice and theory, opting for different Marxist perspectives. 

Marc James Léger is a Marxist cultural theorist living in Montreal. He has authored, edited and co-edited important volumes on contemporary avant-gardes, including: Brave New Avant Garde (Zero Books, 2012), Don't Network: The Avant Garde after Networks (Minor Compositions, 2018), Vanguardia: Socially Engaged Art and Theory (Manchester UP, 2019), The Idea of the Avant Garde - And What It Means Today, Volumes 1 and 2 (Manchester University Press, 2014, Intellect, 2019); Zapantera Negra: An Artistic Encounter Between Black Panthers and Zapatistas (Common Notions, 2018); Identity Trumps Socialism: The Class and Identity Debate after Neoliberalism (Routledge, 2023); Class Struggle and Identity Politics: A Guide (Routledge, 2024). His articles have appeared in: Afterimage, Art & the Public Sphere, Art Journal, International Journal of Zizek Studies, Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Journal of Avant Garde Studies, On Curating, Parachute and Third Text. 

Zrealizowano w ramach stypendium Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego.