Subjectivating the "other"?

critical art practices, migration politics, and the public sphere in Europe

Andrei Siclodi

pp. 327-353

in: Andreas Oberprantacher, Andrei Siclodi (eds), Subjectivation in political theory and contemporary practices, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

Abstract

In this chapter, Siclodi discusses crucial aspects of visual art practices that position themselves as counter-public(s) to normative,hegemonial publics and can provide viable models for the conceptualization of the encounter with the "Other" beyond the "integration paradigm". By focusing on the connection between the terms "public" and 'space" to determine their relevance in locating artistic practice bordering on the political, he is also addressing the radical mediatization of the public sphere, and the resulting consequences for the art context. The chapter concludes with the case study of a lecture performance by artist Ana Hoffner, showing how artistic articulations that use strategies of "overidentification" or activism in agonistic public spaces can open concrete emancipatory perspectives for migrant subjects both within and outside of the art context.