N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A,
a blog about photography by Sofia Silva
I only care about the truth. This statement, though not false, might well not be entirely true. Fact is: I’ve been obsessed with truth since a very young age. It first manifested in an existentialist type of quest and then evolved into other things – radical politics, artistic expression, spirituality, etc. – contaminating every aspect…
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I’ve been following Nihilsentimentalgia for the past six years or so. I visit the blog every two or three months and read an entry or two. It’s an open but stable relationship. It seemed that every time I read the blog there are texts exactly matching the issues I currently grapple with, like a creepy…
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Vito Acconci passed away last Friday, the 28th, at 77. Acconci’s performances were partly responsible for my interest in staged photography, which then developed into an interest in durational performance, again inspired by Acconci, Tehching Hsieh and Marina & Ulay’s performances. When I heard the news about Acconci’s death I remembered something he once said about Marina Abramovic’s retrospective…
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Most of us will agree on one thing: this year’s WWP winning photograph is not their typical choice. But that’s it! The consequences of this choice are as multilayered as the photograph itself. One of the first persons to speak openly about why this photograph “should not have won such a prize” was the chairman of the…
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Documentation of Casey Jenkins‘ performance Casting Off My Womb. Image via http://hyperallergic.com Casting Off My Womb was a 28-day performance by artist Casey Jenkins, that took place at the Darwin Visual Arts Association. A local television network documented the performance and later made it available on youtube, gathering over 6 million views and triggering hundreds of…
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Broomsticks, circa 1960. Tipalet, circa 1970. Badeda, circa 1970. «The demands of fashion for women reveal sexism, for men experience much less pressure to conform to clothing trends. While they are not totally immune, the basics do not change for them – suit and tie, pants and a shirt. Casual clothes can be very simple…
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When I first saw Gregory Crewdson’s photographs, roughly 10 years ago, they didn’t appeal to me. Aesthetically, they still don’t. Throughout the years, in classes and other events, there were various encounters with his lynchian universe, but my immediate reactions weren’t changed and beyond my interest in some of the technical issues called forth by…
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all images © Isaac Pereira. Courtesy of the artist. This conversation took place in July 2014, over the virtual space that unites Macau and Lisboa. The original, portuguese version, of this conversation, can be seen HERE. Sofia: We’re having this conversation mainly because of your exhibition, Tree, now held in Macau. Although I couldn’t be…
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Marina Abramovic, © Marco Anelli The first time I cried while reading a book I was going through some spectator’s reviews of The House With the Ocean View, in the book featuring that performance. I naturally connect to the atmospheres Marina often tries to create and can understand the importance of immateriality and spirituality in…
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* An elderly couple took a photograph each season in front of their house.
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© Alicia Rios, from A Temperate Manu (An Edible Garden). Photographs by Jesús Porteros. excerpt from a conversation between Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Alicia Rios + Christopher Winks, regarding the work A Temperate Menu firstly showed at the Centre for Performance Research, Cardiff, Wales (UK), in 1994. Published in TDR (1988-), Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer,…
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* the title references the following post: ‘A Woman’s work is never done‘ © David Catá, from the series Ni Conmigo ni sin mí (Neither with me nor without me), 2011 © David Catá, from the series Ni Conmigo ni sin mí (Neither with me nor without me), 2011 * * * * * ©…
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© Eliza Bennett, all photographs from A woman’s work is never done Using my own hand as a base material, I considered it a canvas upon which I stitched into the top layer of skin using thread to create the appearance of an incredibly work worn hand. By using the technique of embroidery, traditionally employed…
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The title references Pierre Bourdieu’s critique of Kant’s famous essay on aesthetics – The Critique of Judgement. Bourdieu’s take on Kant’s distinction between ‘taste’ (available to all animals) and ‘beauty’ (exclusive to the humankind) implies a marxist notion of the separation of classes. For him, Kant’s praise of beauty and of ‘pure taste’ is a…
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© Endre Tót, ZEROPOST, Stamps, signed and dated, 1976 © Endre Tót, in the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, 1987 © Endre Tót, if I look to the right: right rain / if I look to the left: left rain, 1973 © Endre Tót, Outdoor Texts, 1980 © Endre Tót, Hopes in the Nothing (Six outdoor…
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© Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus D’Aspremont, 2012 / photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk © Berndnaut Smilde, Nimbus D’Aspremont, 2012 / photo by Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk “I came up with a method using temperature controllers, moisture and backlighting. It took a while but I eventually got the hang of it. It’s not really a particular high tech…
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“Augustin Rebetez breathes energy in his works. He has developed a very ownable style over a very short period of time, even though this is not easy to put in a box. With a combination of free and staged photography using his immediate surroundings, he constantly surprises with his work. Augustin is not afraid to…
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caption (above): © Babette Mangolte’s portrait of Stuart Sherman, from the Spectacle Performance Stuart’s Thirteenth Spectacle (time), 1980, can be seen here “Stuart Sherman, a member of the important generation of American avant-garde performance artists who rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, developed his own unique style across various media, the…
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“A man is an animal first of all. And then he is a Social animal, Political animal and so on. I am an Art animal, that’s why, spectator, I need your physical and psychological efforts to make sense.” Oleg Kulik © Oleg Kulik, Mad Dog Performance (photographs), 1994 © Oleg Kulik, I bite America and…
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This post serves the sole purpose of sharing documentation about my favorite Marina Abramovic’s performance: “The House with the Ocean View”. There are not many photographs available on the web, so here is a a contribution. photo documentation (day 1 – day 4) photographs by Attilio Maranzano photo documentation (day 5 – day 8) photographs…
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N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A, 