Beginning from some reflections on the ‘What Will They See of Me?’ exhibition, this talk will explore the strange affinity of art for idleness, uselessness and indifference. Drawing on a range of artists and theorists, including Warhol, Emin, Freud, Blanchot and Bataille, as well as pop culture (The Big Lebowski, The Simpsons) it will raise some provoking questions about the place of art in a culture increasingly driven by the imperative to banish the negative from our horizons.
Josh Cohen is Professor of Modern Literary Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a psychoanalyst in private practice. He is the author of numerous articles on psychoanalysis, modern literature and aesthetic theory, and four books including Interrupting Auschwitz: Art, Religion, Philosophy, How to Read Freud and most recently, The Private Life: Why We Remain in the Dark.