This class will seek to interrogate the categories of art & activism by looking closely at the following efforts: Occupy Wall Street movement, Gulf Labor Coalition & Global Ultra Luxury Faction (G.U.L.F.), the direct action wing of Gulf Labor Coalition, & the Direct Action Front for Palestine-NYC & Black Lives Matter. These case studies will sketch the possibility of a practice in which artist’s work does not simply add an artistic flair to this or that campaign, but rather theory and research, action & aesthetics, debriefing & analysis. Close readings of texts and visual materials form the core of the class supplemented with field trips, & special guests.
