SPOON-ANN: Conference: Art of Oppression and Art of Subversion (fwd)
Alan Sondheim
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 11:42:48 +0000
From: Andre Spicer <Andre....@wbs.ac.uk>
To: spoon-ann...@lists.village.virginia.edu
Cc: m.a.s...@bham.ac.uk
Subject: SPOON-ANN: Conference: Art of Oppression and Art of Subversion
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The following are two streams on 'The art of opression' and 'the art of sub=
version' which will be included in the second 'Art of Management and Organi=
zation' conference to be held at ESCP-EAP European School of Management, 79=
, avenue de la République, 75543 Paris, France, 7th to 10th September 200=
4
More information can be found on the conference website at:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/AFM/emc/second_art_of_management_and_org.htm
Contributions are welcomed from accross the social sciences, humanities and=
artistic practice.
The Art of Oppression
"In a situation where the miserable reality can only be changed through rad=
ical political praxis, the concern with aesthetics demands justification*"
Marcuse (1979) The Aesthetic Dimension
Marcuse's words neatly encapsulate the aim of this stream proposal - what d=
oes art (and aesthetics) have to do with management? Why, when capitalism s=
till grows fat on the fruits of child labour, and squeezes its profits from=
the sweatshop, are we concerning ourselves with the frivolity of art and a=
esthetics?
Of course, the birth of organizational aesthetics in the early 1990's heral=
ded a welcome recognition that processes of human sensemaking, organizing a=
nd managing at work are far more sensuous, embodied, passionate and 'aesthe=
tico-intuitive' (Gagliardi 1996: 576) than traditional modernist organizati=
onal discourses had tried to make out, and these issues are undoubtedly rip=
e for exploration - indeed these themes have provided fertile ground for th=
e convenors of this stream - and yet, within this hallelujah chorus, it is =
worryingly hard to make out the critical voice that started the whole 'aest=
hetic movement' in the first place. Have things gone a bit too far? Are we =
in danger of becoming a bunch of 'organizational lovies'?
While there is much of analytic interest to be had from an aesthetic perspe=
ctive on management and organization, the "dark side" of Art and Management=
is not insignificant. Theatre used as a mode of controlling organizational=
actors, art used as a way to mollify political demands, style used as an o=
ffensive weapon - in corporate life we can find a number of ways in which a=
rt and aesthetic moves are used not to enhance organizational experience bu=
t to establish hegemony. The romantic notion of art as a panacea is of cour=
se a fallacy, but one we buy into far too easily.
The official "art" of Nazi Germany, Soviet socialist realism and the celebr=
atory aesthetics of almost any dictatorship shows us how art can be used in=
an oppressive fashion. Still, the modern versions of this - corporations s=
ponsoring "suitable" art, the omnipresent portraits of great men in company=
boardrooms, art used as symbolic capital in company presentations - has st=
rangely enough escaped our attention, for the most part. Art, in the eyes o=
f management and organization studies, is still "a good thing".
So, in this (we hope) deliberately antagonistic stream, we invite critical =
submissions that question the implications of a celebratory perspective on =
the integration of the arts, aesthetics and management. We envisage papers =
that address the following areas but this list is by no means exhaustive an=
d we would welcome creative interpretations of the stream:
· Art as ideological/managerial oppression
· Art as a mode of resistance against change and subversion
· The appropriation of aesthetic experience by organizations
· Art as the handmaiden of capitalism
· Management though "art"
· "Corporate realism"
· Aesthetics as control
· The cultural capital of aesthetics in management studies
· The ethics of researching aesthetic experience in organizations
· The aestheticization of teaching
· The aestheticization of research
The aim of the stream is thus to question, problematize and deepen the way =
in which notions of art and aesthetics are used within management studies, =
and to allow a space for critical and political analysis of the interest in=
such notions. Although the stream looks favourably on different interpreta=
tions and approaches to this issue, the main interest will be on the "polit=
ical economy of art in organizations" - i.e. theoretical and empirical inve=
stigations of how art and aesthetics can be used to establish the hegemony =
of contemporary corporate capitalism.
All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of researchers, and acceptance =
will be based on theoretical and/or empirical interest, as well as the dyna=
mics they bring to the stream seen as a whole. The stream convenors particu=
larly welcome submissions from doctoral students, and such submissions will=
receive special attention. Performances and artistic expressions are welco=
med, and will be double-blind reviewed by a panel of artists to ensure aest=
hetic potential. The aim of the convenors is to develop a dedicated publica=
tion or publications based on the submissions for the stream.
Alf Rehn
Associate Professor
Royal Institute of Technology
Stockholm, Sweden
alf....@indek.kth.se
Samantha Warren
Lecturer
Dept. of Business & Management
University of Portsmouth, UK
sam.w...@port.ac.uk
The Art of Subversion Art Against Management, Art For Different Organizatio=
nal Futures
Conveners: Steffen Böhm, André Spicer and Mel Strauss.
In this stream we hope to explore how art has been and can be used as a too=
l for subverting dominant organisational hegemonies, such as market manager=
ialism, and, perhaps, organizing and articulating viable alternatives.
On waking, it seems that we are instantly sucked into a cold cash nexus ope=
rated by massive corporations, regulated by faceless multinational bureaucr=
ats, and policed by American military might. This network goes under a numb=
er of titles including world-wide capitalism, globalisation, and most recen=
tly Empire. Countless social critics have gone to great lengths to trace ou=
t the many tentacles of this global empire, and detail just how all pervasi=
ve it is. Despite the breadth of the debate there seems to be at least a br=
oad agreement that a central part of this empire is the process through whi=
ch the 'market' and 'management' are applied to nearly every sector of soci=
al life. Nearly any problem that social life produces (increases in poverty=
, mounting alienation, obese children) is deemed to be something that can b=
e solved through more market and more management. Because this idea is so p=
revalent we might call it one of the dominant forms of hegemony in our time=
. Given the app
arently all-encompassing nature of market managerialism as a form of hegem=
ony, are we simply to wave a resentful fist at it? Are we to embrace it wit=
h a cynical smirk? Or, is another configuration of organization possible?
If we cast an eye across social life, we can see that resistance to market =
managerialism is, in fact, not particularly futile. There are many practice=
s that pensions and punks, immigrants and corporate insiders are engaged in=
that challenge the continued dominance of market managerialism in their ow=
n lives. These include street protests, traditional political mobilization,=
consciousness raising, whistle blowing, and organizing alternative economi=
es. Perhaps one of the most interesting ways of contesting market manageria=
lism has been cultural means, and in particular the visual culture. This ha=
s included culture jamming, the use of art as a form of political protest, =
deliberate reflection on the economy in recent contemporary art, the develo=
pment of artist run spaces, and anti-war art to name just a few manifestati=
ons. Surveying the worlds of contemporary art we are struck by the thousand=
s of reactions to market managerialism. At the heart of many of these refus=
als is not just
an attempt to question some aspect of contemporary capitalism, but also a=
n attempt to develop alternatives.
In recognizing resistance to current market managerialism we are also remin=
ded that there is a rich and deep history within art practice that has cont=
inually called capitalism into question and posed alternatives. This has in=
cluded the arts and crafts movement, socialist and labour art, Dada and oth=
er avant-garde movements in the 1920s and 1930s, responses to 'the organiza=
tional society' during the 1950s and the 'consumer society' of the 1960s, a=
rt produced by colonized peoples, and the many and varied artistic response=
s to the effects of neo-liberalism all over the world. Perhaps by recalling=
the histories of these artistic struggles, we may be able to contribute to=
contemporary struggles against market managerialism.
In order to explore this territory, we would like to include contributions =
exploring artistic practices of resistance to and subversion of 'market man=
agerialism' (broadly put). Contributors may want to explore, for example:
The influence of market managerialism on cultural institutions, and ways i=
n which cultural workers work within and resist the rising tide of neo-libe=
ralism.
Artistic re-actions to the introduction of mechanized cultural production =
and attempts to create alternatives.
The cultural labour process and various forms of resistances within this l=
abour process.
Attempts to critique and build alternatives to consumerism through artisti=
c means.
The art of the labour movement and its role in organizing solidarity.
The development of political artistic communities.
The role of art in organizing resistance movements.
Artistic imaginations of alternative social organizations.
Although this stream in interested in exploring the role of art in subverti=
ng and resisting the hegemony of market managerialism, it does not aim to b=
e simply negative. Ultimately we seek to include contributions that not onl=
y expose, critique and resist dominant management discourses in society but=
indeed attempt to explore alternative organizational futures. That is, thi=
s stream aims to be affirmative rather than simply negative or even nihilis=
tic. In our view, art plays an important part in imagining a different worl=
d, and in this stream we hope to be able to stage and give voice to some of=
these images of what could, perhaps, be radical different views of social =
organization.
We are particularly interested in historical, empirical, theoretical, or cu=
ltural forms of artistic engagement with how 'market managerialism' is resi=
sted and how organizational alternatives are imagined. We seek to put toget=
her a truly transdisciplinary group of artists, professionals, academics an=
d students to present contributions that can range from academic papers to =
paintings and from sound installations to multimedia presentations. With th=
is stream we are particularly keen to explore the political possibilities o=
f art, which includes an engagement with the pressing political issues of t=
oday's world and its socio-economic-cultural 'goings-on'. In our view, art =
needs to be politicized in order to effectively resist and subvert these 'g=
oings-on' and explore alternative futures. We hope that our stream will con=
tribute to such a project. All this is to say that we imagine this stream t=
o not simply be another academic conference but indeed an event: an artisti=
c space that pr
esents a multitude of political, subversive engagements with the hegemony =
of market managerialism, a space that might create images of alternative or=
ganizational futures.
Enquires should be directed to:
André Spicer
andre....@wbs.ac.uk
Industrial Relations and Organizational Behaviour,
Warwick Business School,
University of Warwick,
Coventry,
CV4 7AL,
United Kingdom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
André Spicer
Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour
Warwick Business School
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom
Andre....@wbs.ac..uk
+44 (0)24 7652 4513