Art Should Show Things People Do Not Want to See
In an effort to make art more accessible, progressives have often campaigned for its democratization. Speaking to Jacobin, the art historian Boris Groys argues that these initiatives tend to rely on a commodified vision of culture which we should reject.
Boris Groys, photographed in 2013. (Valerij Ledenev / Flickr)
Few living people have been as influential in the fields of art theory and history as Boris Groys. Born in East Germany, he grew up in the Soviet Union and currently teaches as part of the Russian and Slavic Studies Department of New York University and is the author of over a dozen books on the relationship between artistic experience and politics.
Central to his work is the idea that art should not seek to reassure or comfort its viewers: it is the antithesis of marketing and propaganda. In this interview, Groys spoke with Jacobin about the problems with the idea of democratizing art, the role of the internet in contemporary culture, the value of the modern museum, and the aesthetics of memes.
Carlos Egaña
You did your undergraduate studies in mathematical logic at the University of Leningrad, yet nowadays you’re mostly known for your works on art theory and art history. It seems to me like this is an important shift – especially considering the hyperspecialization of academia, its more and more niche research topics. I would like to know, then, how you link your experience with mathematical logic to art history.
Boris Groys
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