94 – Labour

Fall 2018

How do artists grapple with labour? Are they as alienated from capitalism as other workers are or can they act as models for imagining a life less focused on work? This feature section reflects on the issues of work time and unproductive work, the exceptionalism of art, the mechanisms of bureaucratic power, and the voluntary or self-exploitation of artists by addressing in a sensitive and engaged manner the tensions raised by these challenges, whether in relation to power dynamics, unequal working conditions, or the use of an unpaid workforce. The issue also discusses art practices that shed light on the situation of other workers—their pay conditions, their daily tasks, their physical or mental experience, as well as the materials that accompany their labour.