WEEK 3: Art for the people: A problem of power and altruism

Reading: Glen Ligon, ‘Thomas Is a Trip’ (Artforum, 2013) and selected articles on Mark Leckey’s ‘Music and Video Lab,’ Cornwall UK

Originally published in Artforum, this essay by African-American artist Glen Ligon’s engages with the socially enaged work of Thomas Hirschorn — a white, Swiss artist — in the South Bronx.  With rigour and openness, Ligon leads us through the challenges and pitfalls which artists encounter, when they attempt to empower marginalised communities.