Woodbury students and faculty turned out in large numbers to hear Professor Rossen Ventzislavov in conversation with artist Carmen Argote and curator Amanda Sroka at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The event, called “Philosophical Provocations” and held in conjunction with the exhibition Carmen Argote: I won’t abandon you, I see you, we are safe, examined the philosophical aspects of Argote’s process as well as the improvisations and gentle conceptual provocations that emerged among the artist, the collaborators, and the institution over the course of the exhibition period. Dr. Ventzislavov says he was glad to see the event draw a diverse crowd of artworld fans and professionals, but “it was especially rewarding to see many Woodbury students and faculty in the room. Our students found the discussion intriguing and participated enthusiastically in the Q&A.” You can read more about the exhibition itself in this essay that faculty member Dr. Linda Dove published in Cultural Daily.
Dr. Ventzislavov is a prolific speaker on aesthetics and philosophy. Last spring, he presented a study of the performative power of fashion in helping create one’s identity at the Thinking Fashion Conference hosted by the CUNY Graduate Center. He also spoke about the cultural resonance of Los Angeles nightlife at the Pop Conference, hosted by the NYU Clive Davis Institute. Recent publications include “Taking Up Space: Architecture, Performance Art and the Ethos of Encounter” in Aesthetic Investigations and “Performative Activism Redeemed” in the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. In his essays, Dr. Ventzislavov posits that while performance art can be credited with its revolutionary approach to space-making and inhabitation, philosophical aesthetics should look more closely at the way performance art complicates our relationship with built form. He also considers structural and methodological overlaps between performance art and political activism against a backdrop of extant philosophical scholarship on performativity, a selection of art historical examples, and a critique of the charge of “performative activism” that has become popular in the last decade.
Last Updated on October 23, 2023.