Quodlibetica originated from the desire to write about art and visual culture in ways not confined by academic conventions or journalistic hype. Part journal, part blog, Quodlibetica fosters critical conversations about visual arts in a forum that is accessible, engaging, and committed to quality writing. Based on the Latin quodlibet, which has entered the English language as (1) a statement proposed for disputation, (2) the actual discussion, and (3) the whimsical combination of familiar elements, Quodlibetica is a space to argue eloquently and whimsically about art, find out what’s happening in the Twin Cities art scene, and engage with writers, artists, and critics, who like to think. Contact us if you want to get involved.
The Summer Travel Issue!
Never before has a constellation sported contributions as geographically diverse as this August: from Berlin to Venice, North Carolina to the Netherlands, our contributors have generously shared their experiences and insights gleaned from traveling to time zones far removed from the Twin Cities. For our editorial, click here.
By Susan Armington.
Dreaming in the Heat of the Day: Notes from Rolduc Abbey, Kerkrade, the Netherlands.
July. The sun pours down on ancient stone walls that once housed monks and priests-in-training. I’m in the shade, resting beside an immense hydrangea, when I look up. Just above me, are two giant spermatozoa, [...]
Published 8.1.2011
Quodlibetica and writer Emily Atchison regret to inform that the interview scheduled to appear in this spot was withdrawn by the Chinese artist involved who feared possible recriminations.
Published 8.1.2011
In the spring semester of 2011, two thirds of Quodlibetica’s editorial team visited Barbara Wolbert’s Visual Anthropology course at the University of Minnesota. The final course assignment asked students to investigate a part of the Twin Cities’ art scene they were unfamiliar with. Curious to see how self-proclaimed outsiders travel [...]
Published 8.1.2011
In the following article, I call out a current and historic trend regarding the universal, the primitive, and the creator in film art. The trend has reversed the usual trajectory: Rather than innovations in art film trickling down to the popular cinema, a two-decade fascination with afterlife, vampirism, dissociation and quantum physics in popular media [...]
Published 8.1.2011
When I was a young, my parents put a limit on how many times I could re-arrange my bedroom. Seriously, they were afraid I was going to wear out the carpet. I was 7 or 8. It all started when I found myself feeling bored with the configuration on my room; [...]
Published 8.1.2011
I did not expect to like the Venice Biennale; but I did.
Much maligned as yet another tourist trap, the Biennale of my imagination revolved around nauseating crowds and sensationalist, market-driven art. Instead, the range of work on view, the plethora of questions this very range sparked, made for a fascinating, multi-facetted experience. And, of course, [...]
Published 8.1.2011
Short-term installations and community-based art “events” have become de rigueur, it seems. I wish this were only a U.S. phenomenon. But a summer of travel in Europe—Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, and Leipzig—reveals that other cities are “celebrating the local”—which often unfortunately translates into, “Look at the crap anyone can make.”
The desire to attract audiences, to [...]
Published 8.1.2011