What is most terrifying about Bourriaud’s Manifesto therefore, is its absolute lack of acknowledgement of the real and dangerous future that we face. Rather than speaking out and demanding the dramatic changes that are necessary, it seems to support a continuation of the status quo of the last twenty years. In his video interview on the Tate website, Bourriaud describes the purpose of the altermodern as the “cultural answer to alterglobalisation” (Bourriaud 2009a). However, rather than questioning the carbon-heavy lifestyles that a globalised world promotes he seems to complicitly buy into them, insisting that “our daily lives consist of journeys in a chaotic and teeming universe”.
- Ellie Harrison, Altermodernism: the Age of Stupid
while in my last post i simply had trouble being persuaded by what Bourriaud claims, the above article goes right into taking Bourriaud’s word for it and criticizes him for not acknowledging the environmental problems and impending doom of earth and the human populace. interesting take on the subject, seems like Bourriaud’s fancy for internationalism and the altermodern manifesto’s effect on how artists view their practice will only make the age of stupid a reality… if jetsetting is going to get you into the Tate Triennial, who’s going to think about reducing carbon emissions?
