Ross Simonini began his podcast, Subject, Object, Verb, in 2020, with the desire to “ express the sonic dimension of contemporary art, and an audio show seemed like the best format for doing that.” Produced by ArtReview magazine, the show’s title is a kind of manifesto that joins the dots between artist, art, and the life driving them. “Art is not created in a vacuum,” Simonini says. “The personality and the life of the artist are connected to the work. We live in an era where people want to understand those connections more than ever - the rise of social media, activism, the # MeToo movement, identity politics. “Even if an artist wants to stay out of the work and hides in the woods, and completely rejects the capitalist system, their hermetic life is reflected in the work, and people will consider the artist’s refusal when they see the work. Think about Lee Lozano or David Hammons or Thomas Pynchon or JD Salinger - known as much for their work as their ...
An archive of arts writing by Neil Cooper. Effete No Obstacle.